When Germany invaded Austria in 1938, Robert Fürstenthal, born in 1920, took the path of many Viennese Jews and fled to the United States, where he made his living as an accountant; the fact that he had written music in his youth was soon forgotten. Reconnection, after 35 years, with the woman who had been his first love rekindled both that flame and his urge to compose, and from then on songs and chamber music flowed from his pen, preserving the spirit of fin-de-siècle Vienna under the Californian sun – ‘When I compose, I am back in Vienna’, he explained. He died in November 2016, aged 96, knowing that his lyrical, eloquent music was at last attracting the attention of both musicians and microphones.

“It has been a been a privilege to get to know these songs and I will certainly return to them when out of reviewing duties. The young baritone Rafael Fingerlos is a congenial interpreter of them with his beautiful lyric voice and his sense for nuances. He is expertly accompanied by Sascha El Mouissi. There are valuable biographical notes by Françoise Farron-Fürstenthal, an illuminating article by producer Michael Haas on ‘Exile, Identity and Music’ and a musical analysis of the songs by Professor Erik Levi. A fascinating insight into the world of Robert Fürstenthal.” – Music Web International, May 2017 (TOCC0354)

The Rossetti Ensemble:
- Kathryn Thomas (flute)
- Malcolm Messiter (oboe)
- Sara Trickey (violin)
- Sarah-Jane Bradley (viola)
- Timothy Lowe (cello)
- John Lenehan (piano)