Woldemar Bargiel (1828-1897): Catalogue, biographical sketch & discography

[Mark Thomas]

With apologies to Alan Howe, who has already posted a partial Bargiel catalogue here.

Woldemar BARGIEL
(03.10.1828-23.03.1897)


Bargiel in 1885

Bargiel was born in Berlin, the son of a music teacher. He was (through his mother's previous marriage) a half-brother of Clara Schumann and the two were close throughout their lives. Bargiel received basic music tuition from his father, learned to play the piano and violin and was a chorister. On the advice of his brother-in-law Robert Schumann, and with the recommendation of Mendelssohn, he studied between 1846 and 1850 at the Leipzig Conservatory, where his teachers included Joachim, Moscheles, Ferdinand David, Rietz and Gade. In Berlin he worked as a independent teacher and began composing, then moved to Hiller's Cologne Conservatory in 1859. Between 1865 to 1874 he was Kapellmeister in Rotterdam after which returned to Berlin, where he remained for the rest of his life, teaching at the Hochschule für Musik as a highly respected professor and honoured by the Akademie der Künste.

Bargiel's oeuvre is not large but he was a well-regarded and often-performed composer in his lifetime, firmly in the conservative camp and opposed to the innovations of Liszt and Wagner. He was categorised as an admirer of Schumann, rather than as an imitator, whose works demonstrated solid and considered craftmanship.

This catalogue is based on a much more detailed one prepared by Dean Cáceras:

ORCHESTRAL:
WoO. - Overture (1849, unpub.)
WoO. - Overture for small Orchestra: Spring (1850, unpub.)
Op.16 - Overture: Prometheus (1852, rev. 1854 & 1879)
Op.18 - Overture to a Tragedy: Romeo & Juliet (1856)
Op.22 - Overture: Medea (1861)
Op.24 - Three Dances (orch. 1868 of piano four hands original, 1864)
Op.30 - Symphony in C major (1864) @
Op.38 - Adagio for Cello & Orchestra (1870? p.1872 also arr. cello & piano) +++
Op.46 - Intermezzo (before 1875, p.1881)

CHORAL & VOCAL:
WoO. - Song: New Life (1847, unpub.)
WoO. - Two Lieder (1848, unpub.)
WoO. - Jery and Bätely - Singspiel after Goethe for Singers and Orchestra (1851, unpub.)
Op.25 - Psalm XIII for Chorus & Orchestra (1862)
Op.26 - Psalm XXIII for 3-part Women's Choir & Small Orchestra (1862)
Op.33 - The 96th Psalm for Unaccompanied Double Choir (1867)
Op.35 - Three Spring Songs for Three-part Female Choir with piano (1867)
Op.39 - Three Spring Songs for Three-part Female Choir with piano (p.1872)
Op.43 - Psalm LXI for Choir, Baritone & Orchestra (1877-78)

CHAMBER:
WoO. - String Quartet No.1 (1848, unpub.)
Op.6 - Piano Trio No.1 (1851) ***
Op.10 - Violin Sonata (1854)  *** # ++
Op.15a - Octet for strings (1849-50) *
Op.15b - String Quartet No.3 (1851, p.1877)
Op.17 - Suite for piano & violin (1858) #
Op.20 - Piano Trio No.2 (1857) **
Op.37 - Piano Trio No.3 (1869? p.1870) **
Op.38 - Adagio for Cello & Piano (1870? arr. of orch. version) ***
Op.47 - String Quartet No.4 (p.1888)

PIANO FOUR HANDS:
Op.7 - Suite (1853)
Op.23 - Sonata (1862)
Op.24 - Three Dances (1864 - orch. 1868)
Op.29 - Gigue (1853? p.1864)

PIANO:
WoO. - Rondo (1847, unpub.)
WoO. - Sonata (1847, unpub.)
WoO. - Piece (1849, unpub.)
WoO. - Three Fugues with a Prelude (1849, unpub.)
Op.1 - Three Character Pieces (1848-50) ~~~ [No.2 only]
Op.2 - Night Pieces (1850) ~~
Op.3 - Three Notturnos (1849-51) ###
Op.4 - Six Bagatelles (1851) ~~~ [Nos.1 & 2 only]
Op.5 - Fantasie (1850-51) ##
Op.8 - Three Character Pieces (1853) ## +
Op.9 - Three Fantasy Pieces (1853) ~~~
Op.11 - March & Festive Dance (1855)
Op.12 - Two Fantasies (1855) ##
Op.13 - Scherzo (1857)
Op.15 - Fantasy Pieces (1856)
Op.19 - Three Fantasies (1858)
Op.21 - Suite No.1 (1860)
Op.27 - Fantasy Piece (1863)
Op.28 - Three Pieces (1863)
Op.31 - Suite No.2 (1864) ##
Op.32 - Eight Pieces (1866)
Op.34 - Sonata (1867) ~
Op.36 - Etude for the Stuttgart Piano School (p.1875)
Op.40 - Album Leaf & Waltz (p.1870 & 1879) ### [Album Leaf only]
Op.41 - Eight Pieces (p.1853) ###
Op.44 - Impromptu (1869? p.1880)
Op.45 - Etude & Toccata (p.1880)

UNKNOWN:
Opp.14 & 42 were apparently unallocated. The missing String Quartet No.2 may be the arrangement which Bargiel made for string quartet of the first movement of the Octet Op.15a.

RECORDINGS:
* Hyperion Helios CDH55043
** MDG 303 0805-2
*** MDG 303 0806-2
# Koch 3-7492-2 H1
## Marco Polo 8.223606
### Romantic Discoveries CD45
~ Romantic Discoveries CD46
~~ Romantic Discoveries CD94
~~~ MDG 604 0729-2
+ FSM FCD 97 733
++ Capriccio CAP 5040
+++  RCA Red Seal 09026 68800
@ Available for download from UC here.

[eschiss1]

Unfortunately, the PDF link no longer works... sigh.

[Mark Thomas]

Assuming that you mean the link to Dean Cáceras' full Bargiel catalogue, Eric, I've now uploaded it to MediaFire here.

[eschiss1]

ah, thanks.