Three Sonatas and Two songs for viola, piano, voice

Jurriaan Röntgen, a grandson of the composer Julius Röntgen found the manuscript of the extraordinary song cycle Lyrische Gänge inside a cabinet belonging to another Röntgen descendant in 2004. It is a surprising piece, thanks to its unusual use of voice, viola and piano; Röntgen was clearly following in the footsteps of Brahms and his Zwei Gesänge op. 91 when he composed these works in March 1926. The three viola sonatas display Röntgen's melodic talent and the diversity of means on which he could draw. Röntgen's three viola sonatas were an important addition to the repertoire. Both the a minor and the a flat major sonata, as well as the Lyrische Gänge are worldpremiere recordings. Francien Schatborn (viola) and her regular duo partner pianist Jeannette Koekkoek (piano) were awarded the Zilveren Vriendenkranz of the Royal Concertgebouw in 1994; they have given recitals in Europe and the U.S.A.. Their first duo CD of Romantic Dutch music by Röntgen, Hendrik Andriessen, Geza Frid and Bosmans was extremely well received. Margriet van Reisen (mezzo-soprano) was a prize-winner of the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels in 2000. She has appeared as soloist with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Spain, the Weimar Staatskapelle, the Schönberg Ensemble and the Dutch Bach Society.