German Music Folder

[lechner1110]

 
  Baußnern's symphony, I hope too!
  Especially, no.5 and no.6 are interesting work with name.


  Sinfonie Nr. 5 Es ist ein Schnitter, heißt der Tod
  Sinfonie Nr. 6 Psalm der Liebe


  A.S

[eschiss1]

Paszthory, Paszthory... ... any (close) relation between Casimir and Ditta? (Paszthory, Pászthory per Günter Brosche's book on him, Pásztory in Ditta Pásztory-Bártok's case... how common a family name is it, I wonder )
Cello sonata op13 published by Litolff in 1936; some info on composer available at de-Wikipedia here fwiw...
(The Duo Nitsch-Allendorf website has sonatas both by Paszthory and also by Alexandrow- Juri Alexandrow, Anatoly's son, I think?... for mp3 download.)

[JimL]

Hate to be a pest (actually it's a guilty pleasure ), but anybody hear back from anybody about the movement titles/tempos for the Hiller PQuintet?

[eschiss1]

about Hiller piano quartet no.3 op.133 there is this to start with - composed in? 1868, published by Kistner of Leipzig 1870. Hope to be able to add more though from the recording or otherwise (ah, speaking of Oliver Triendl - see thread elsewhere - and also the Minguet Quartet whose Fuchs recordings I adore...- well, three of the quartettists anyhow. yay!) (A minor... no noun, just "A minor"- "A-moll") - Master microform at Boston Public Library (nearer by than usual to me, but not too near- anyone near (correction...) Andover MA though?)
("Microfilm. Andover, Mass. : Northeast Document Conservation Center, 1991. microfilm reel ; 35mm."

[JimL]

Looks like someone is going to have to go into the Wiki works listing on Hiller and change Op. 133 from A Major to A minor.

P.S. By any chance can someone get their hands on the movement titles for Reuss' 2nd SQ in G minor, Op. 23 No. 2?  And maybe even the Hiller PQ 3?

[eschiss1]

Re the Reuss- I can't even figure out who first published it, confirm the opus number, etc.

[JimL]

My bad.  The Reuss 2nd SQ is Op. 23 No. 1.

[eschiss1]

actually, no, those are his 4th and 5th quartets near as I can tell, if the list on Wikipedia (while I helped compile it, I am not certain of the results, for reasons I will go into- indeed there is a problem and they may be quartets 3 and 4) is correct.
Main problem I remember: Several works attributed to Heinrich XXIV Reuss v. Kostritz, younger line, in various sources, seem to be at least possibly by other composers named Reuss (for example, August Reuss, or older composers named Heinrich Reuss, e.g. Heinrich IV Prince Reuss who composed a string quartet in F major published in 1874. I kid not.) This difficulty encompasses at least one, I think maybe two of the string quartets attributed to Reuss (and one that I attributed to Reuss mistakenly but which was indeed by August Reuss- this was my mistake and not anyone else's.)
As far or near as I can tell- I think- Reuss' string quartets are-

quartet no.1 in D minor, opus 1, published 1881.
quartet no.2 in F major, opus 11. (possibly by another Reuss. My only source for this quartet is a publication by Eulenburg (usually August Reuss' publisher, not Heinrich's? for instance they published two of August's quartets, in D minor and E...) poss.ca.1893 (or later?... if I find it in HMB I'll jot the date down), attributing it to him, and while that should be enough, I find myself wanting to look at the score itself and answering some ambiguities for myself...)
quartet no.3 in A-flat major, opus 16 (1903?)
quartet no.4 in G minor, op.23 no.1 (ca.1904)
quartet no.5 in  E-flat major, op.23 no.2 (ca.1904)
(yes, I am aware that's a bit of work, though not yet a lot, to go into for a composer for whom no one has expressed quite that amount of interest. I hadn't heard any and am always curious about trying to order things- not necessarily well... what can I say...)

[JimL]

Mark downloaded a spate of his chamber music about four pages down the German thread.  Nothing earthshaking, just good, solid, pleasant chamber music.  I've coupled the Reuss string works with the Hiller downloads on 2 CDs.  Hiller - now there is a master at work!

[eschiss1]

Bronsart-v.-S. piano trio: thanks for this, just noticed that Liszt praised this as one of the best trios of its day (iirc...) and superior to Rubinstein's trios written up to that date (whenever it was he wrote that letter to Agnes Klindworth - guessing around the time of composition, 1856/7,... - Walker doesn't say when the letter was written, I think, but does give a reference, to a page in La Mara's Briefe an eine Freundin- will have to find that I suppose; that volume- v.3 of Liszt's Briefe - may have been digitized... Anyhow, Rubinstein's 3rd trio was published in 1867, so he may only have meant the opus 15 pair.) Have skimmed the score of the Bronsart-

    Allegro molto: Maestoso - Appassionato (G minor) (edit: well-chosen indications)
    Vivace (D major) (edit: nice! clever movement this, with varied return of trio, generally through-composed feel...)
    Adagio ma non troppo (B minor) - (attacca) (edit: funeral march. sort of belated homage to Chopin??)
    Grave - Allegro agitato (G minor)

(from IMSLP)
and it really looks quite good. Commercially recorded once that I knew of -the 1993 CD - and on the LP I didn't know about too (31 minutes on the 1993 Canadian Piano Trio CD.) Anyhow, again, looking forward to hearing it which I shall soon-thanks again.
(And for the reasons given on Wikipedia, it's Schellendorff with two fs.)

[eschiss1]

Ok... well- not quite done listening to the Bronsart-v-Schellendorff trio - but so far - Liszt was rather sparing in his praise.
(Humor if you've read what he did have to say about the work, again- but I'm not sure I'm kidding.
Well, there are some weak points here and there but what I mean is- really- this is excellent. Recommended! )

[semloh]

I just love the Bronsart Piano Trio, especially the slow movement, but when I hear those extended rapid piano trills at the end of the first and the chase-like motif that starts and ends the second - plebeian that I am - I can't stop myself thinking of silent movies! In particular, Helen Holmes or Mary Pickford being tied to the railway line, alternating with camera shots of the oncoming steam engine!  Oh dear!
I hope I am alone in this!

[eschiss1]

I was worried looking at that in score after downloading it from IMSLP, but at least in the performance to hand, the 2nd movement seems to work. My big concern with the piece maybe is some overreliance in the third movement on recollections - I may just be imagining this anyway- of the main section of the funeral march of the Chopin 2nd sonata- in rhythm and manner and general obsessiveness etc. more than actual content. (I do think it clever- if even intended - that the violin fools us into thinking it's the cello until the cello turns up in its actual register in the middle section of the same slow movement. As I should have recalled from the score and even more from the part, where the fact that the cello part of the 3rd movement is wholly silent until the switch to 5 sharps is easy to remember even on a quick skim... - except I didn't remember it... )
I'm trying to remember now who some of the better-known composers were who wrote for silent film- besides Saint-Saëns... though I take your point in principle !

My favorite qualities? of the piece are the sheer strength and drama of the outer movements - and especially the first. Schumann gives us this to my ears in his first violin sonata and maybe in his first piano trio but between in Romantic era piano chamber music I don't hear that much that seems as well-argued and impassioned before the first movement of the Tchaikovsky trio .  (I don't know when those two qualities became opposed rather than reinforcing I really don't. In the very best sonata works of a certain kind that I know - early middle and late and recent - the development heightens the suspense, the recap brings temporary relief- or it can work differently, but in a way that makes sense in context always..., etc. - these qualities work together, not against each other. But yes, I know at least a good part of the history of the why of it. Just lamenting.

Two (better-known though still relatively unsung) exceptions maybe (rating highly in both, not just one or the other) - Volkmann B-flat (also a Liszt connection since I think Liszt was the pianist at its premiere) ; Goetz. I know the Volkmann and Goetz have been recorded a few times each now and the Bronsart only twice I think- once on LP, once on CD about 13 years ago - and I have a recording of the Volkmann; but I'd like to see a CD with those three trios!

Eric

[semloh]

Eric - I wish I'd said that!

[eschiss1]

Re Rudorff: there is also a serenade no.1 in A major op.20 (in 6 movements, pub. 1875 by Simrock, ded. to Joachim- Denmark Royal Library has scanned and uploaded the full score). Hopefully they have and intend to do the same with the 2nd serenade (or someone does)... (and likewise hopefully someone performed or will perform the first, which seems interesting.)