Max Reger was born in Bavaria, but made a career in music in Leipzig. He left a large amount of works, but not much of it is played nowadays. He was critically acclaimed in his time, especially his organ music and songs. This record presents us with his two string trios, composed in 1904 and 1915. He died in his hotel in Leipzig in 1916, aged just 43.
There are not many real important works in the genre of the String Trio. I think it is because the instrumentation is a bit challenged. It is one violin shy of a quartet, and weirdly that makes a lot of difference. That second voice for the violins just balances the whole.
I love the painting on the cover. It is painted by German expressionist Franz Nölken, who worked in nearby Dresden. It is a portrait of the composer at work, painted in 1913.