Hans Gál OBE (5 August 1890 – 3 October 1987) was an Austrian composer, pedagogue, musicologist, and author, who emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1938. Gál was born to a Jewish family in the small village of Brunn am Gebirge, Lower Austria, just outside Vienna, the son of a doctor, Josef Gál.

May 26, 2017 · The Concertino for Cello and Strings, the last of Gál’s five concertinos, was written in 1965, inspired purely by Gál’s inner impulse, rather than a commission. It was premiered in 1968 by the Sudwest Rundfunk Orchestra. What exactly does Gál mean by a “Concertino” rather than a “Concerto”?

Both works demonstrate how much fondness Gál had for the cello as well as a thorough understanding of its tonal colours, its range and abilities all of which he fully exploits.

Laced with melody and introspection are the unaccompanied Cello Sonata and Cello Suite, both from 1982, and the sturdy, Brahmsian utterances of the Sonata for Violoncello and Pianoforte of 1953.

The Cello Concerto, completed in 1944 but not premiered until 1950, reveals him as a composer of impressive technical fluency with an astute ear for translucent orchestration, particularly important when writing for the cello as a solo instrument.

Apr 25, 2012 · cellist s brilliant international career and a string of acclaimed recordings including a half-dozen for Avie. His latest for the label includes a. couple of firsts: the world premiere recording of the Cello Concerto by Hans Gál, and Antonio s first recording of the Elgar Concerto. A true virtuoso. --Gramophone Disc of the Month.

Die Heilige Ente (The Sacred Duck) was Gál's most successful opera, performed extensively before the banning of Gál's works by the Nazis in 1933. This revival in 2020 follows the widely acclaimed performances and subsequent recording of Das Lied der Nacht in Osnabruck in 2017.

The present disc provides us with the first recording of the three-movement Cello Concertino, a late work (the composer was 75 when he wrote it) written without commission and premiered in 1968.

After the rise of Hitler and National Socialism, Gál, an Austrian Jew working in Germany, was dismissed from Mainz Conservatory, and his music was banned. Fearful for his life, he fled to Britain, finally settling in Edinburgh. Like many composers of his time, he became marginalised.

Avie’s latest contribution to its burgeoning discography of music by Austrian-born Hans Gál focuses on the cello, an instrument that very much resonated with his lyrical inclinations.