Press

“With great cultivation and sensitivity, Christian Euler and the pianist Paul Rivinius emphatically and deliberately advocate three British viola sonatas from the first half of the past century, heard extremely rarely in Central Europe, by Arthur Bliss, Arnold Bax and Ralph Vaughan-Williams.” KLEINE ZEITUNG, 1 October 2013

“One must indeed be a master violist like Christian Euler in order to do justice to the demands made by this music. Euler can allow his instrument to sing both in the low register and the highest registers and, if need be, he can also coax heftier tones out of the instrument (third movement of the Bliss Sonata). In Paul Rivinius, he is joined by a pianist who listens with precision and also sits firmly in the saddle when in precarious situations. It is a great joy to listen to these two when they make music – the music of Bliss, Bax and also Vaughan-Williams is certainly well worth listening to.” ensemble, June/July 2013

“Two large three-movement sonatas by Arthur Bliss and Arnold Bax as well as the chamber version of Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Suite for Viola and Orchestra are introduced here. The distinguished viola virtuoso Christian Euler and the experienced pianist Paul Rivinius perform the complex major works with a flawless technique, and their interpretation of the Suite is also notable for its seriousness and attention to details of tempo and dynamics. The work by Vaughan Williams comes off best, for the structures are simple, the movements quite brief and not so diverse in their respective characters; thus this pastoral music finds expression beautifully in its reservedly elegiac, at times playfully communicative gestures. …” www.klassik-heute.com, 23 August 2013

“This is truly virtuoso music, what Arthur Bliss composed for the viola in 1933: the highest registers and speedy runs – challenges that Christian Euler masters with ease. In the other late-romantic works, too, the Kassel-born musician shows his brilliance, precisely supported by his partner at the piano, Paul Rivinius. The full, dark viola tone is brought out especially well in the Sonata by Arnold Bax, as is the humoristic talent of the viola in the Suite by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Not least, one can enthuse over the warm and detailed tone in the best SACD resolution. This is the best advertising for an underestimated instrument.” AUDIO, May 2013

“… Christian Euler emphatically dedicates himself to the common features and the differences between the pieces with great flexibility of tone and gesture. Accompanied by Paul Rivinius at the piano, his scale of expression is romantic, but it adds the characteristic traits of each composer. The Bliss Sonata reminds one of the brittle objectivity of a Paul Hindemith; through the inclusions of Celtic folklore, he gives the Bax work an aura of fantastic melancholy; and Vaughan Williams sounds at first like Christmas before the dancing begins.” Frankenpost, 7 October 2013

… as an upbeat to a viola course given by Christian Euler in Murcia, there was a duo concert with his piano partner Paul Rivinius.

Excerpts from the review:

“This concert included known entities – the Second Sonata of Brahms as well as the Adagio and Allegro – supplemented by Ernest Bloch’s Suite Hebraïque and the delightful Sonata of Arthur Bliss. We could consistently admire the complete identification of the two interpreters and a sumptuous viola sound – not very powerful, but of an absolute beauty, purity and refinement. Lessons as represented by the sonatas of Brahms and Bliss, and the manifestations of the highest degree of elegance shown by the two encores by Ravel and Gluck, must have had a profound influence on the young students. …”

SYMPHONY CONCERT
Tender Tones in the Church

Bernhard Lang directed the second Symphony Concert 1994/95 of the Kassel State Theatre at the Martinskirche (St. Martin’s Church). Works of Olivier Messiaen, Johann Christian Bach and Camille Saint-Saëns were on the programme.
“For violists there is only a small repertoire of solo pieces that can be played in concert. Christian Euler, originally from Kassel and now teaching at the Academy of Music in Graz, presented a guest performance with an adapted concerto of the youngest Bach son, Johann Christian, a valuable Adagio embedded between two thrilling Allegro movements. Bernhard Lang had to hold the orchestra back quite a bit in order to allow the solo viola room to unfold, for its alto tone does not carry as far as that of the violin. Euler surprised the listeners with a gentle, almost spherical softness that also attained depth of content in the slow movement. Here, Johann Christian may have once again envisioned his father’s famous D-minor Double Concerto. …”

HNA Critic Georg Pepl on

“Ulf Hoelscher – Music with Friends” on the Occasion of the Kassel Music Days

“Ulf Hoelscher, Felicia Terpitz (violins), Christian Euler, Yannis Kormpetis (violas) and Alexandre Vay (cello) played the finely wrought String Quintet in B minor, Op. 69 by Kassel’s musical hero Louis Spohr, then Mozart’s great C-major Quintet and, after the interval, the String Quintet in A minor of Max Bruch. The last-named work proved to be a pleasant surprise: this late work of 1918 has many attractions to offer.

Listeners could experience Hoelscher’s old-school charm and a violin tone that did not always sound flawless despite all the renown musician’s experience. Thus it was another musician who provided especially beautiful moments at this concert, acknowledged by the intensive applause given by the 230 listeners: this was the clearly focussed viola tone of Christian Euler, originally from Kassel, who is a Professor at the Music Academy in Graz Hoc. …”

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