Bernhard Stavenhagen 1862-1914

[giles.enders]

Bernhard Stavenhagen  Born 25.12.1862 Greiz, Germany -  Died 25.12.1914  Geneva, Switzerland

He studied the piano from the age of six.  From 1874 his parents resided in Berlin where he studied under Theodor Kullak and later privately with Friedrich Kiel and Ernst Rudorff in Berlin and later on with Franz Lizst in Rome.  In 1890 he became court pianist in Weimar and from 1895 was also music director there.  He later had a similar post in Munich.  He separated from his wife Agnes Caroline Stavenhagen nee Denninghof in 1908.  He married his second wife, Victoria Bogel¹ in 1909. From 1907 he lived in Geneva until his death in 1914.
He is buried in Weimar

Orchestral

Piano Concerto No.1 in C major  Wo.  1879/80  Lost
Piano Concerto No.2 in B minor  Op.4  1894  pub. by Ries & Erler
Piano Concerto No.3 in A major  Wo.  1912  Orchestral parts lost. ( Has been re orchestrated in a style not sympathetic to that of Stavenhagen.)
'Ingeborg und Suleika' Two dramatic scenes for voice and orchestra - declared lost (see post declan-murphy 9.9.21)

Piano

Piano Sonata in F major - lost
Three piano pieces:  Presto, Pastoral, Caprice. Op.2 1882  pub. by Ries & Erler
Three piano pieces;  Capriccio, Intermezzo, Menuetto Scherzando.  Op.5  1894  Pub. by Ries & Erler
Three piano pieces    Notturno, Mazurka, Gavotte-Caprice.  Op.10  1906  pub. by Ries & Erler
Cadenzas to Beethoven's piano concertos nos. 2,3,4.  Op.7
Variation on an original theme for piano - lost
Spanish Suite for piano - lost
Three pieces for two pianos; Pastorale, Caprice, Menuetto-Scherzando.  1894  pub. by Ries & Erler
Drei Klavierstucke : Nocturne, Wiegenlied, Capriccio. Op.13  pub. by Ries & Erler  1911
There is a version for two pianos of the A major piano concerto.

Songs

Three orchestral songs - Fairy Tale, Serenading the Heavy Evening and ?
Six lieder Op.1- Lied an Meieli 1/1. Lied an Meieli 1/2. Storm' leise 1/3. Lied an Hafisa 1/4. Erste Begegnung 1/5. Die verschwiegene Nachtigal 1/6
Six lieder Op.9
Five lieder Wo. Der Sennerin, Sonatagslied, Ingridslied, Standchen, Madchenlied
Two quartets for women's voices

Drama

Der Tor und der Tod  Op.6  libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Krippenspiel,  Incidental music for a childrens play  Wo.


I would be interested to know what opus numbers 3, 8 and 11 refer to and also any mention of his first piano concerto now lost.  Was it ever performed?

1. Victoria Bogel - concert pianist .
Son, Hans Bernhard William  17.8.1909

[Gareth Vaughan]

It is an enormous disappointment that Stavenhagen's 3rd PC was re-orchestrated in a quite hideous manner: sickly harmonies and colours, and prodigal use of the vibraphone (an instrument not invented when Stavenhagen was alive) - a monumental waste of effort and a reflection on the clumsy egocentricity of its perpetrator.

[Jonathan]

Hi All,
According to my CD (which is this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stavenhagen-Piano-Concerto-No-2-Lehmann/dp/B000026BZR/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1343151856&sr=1-4), the second concerto is in A major and is the one which has been reorchestrated...

There is also a recording of several piano works by Stavenhagen, these are from Op.5, Op.2 and Op.10; the same disc contains several Lieder from Op.1 and some op.posth ones as well.  It rounds off with some of Stavenhagen's own recordings of works by Liszt and transcriptions by Liszt, as well as his own Menuetto Scherzando played by Ernest Hutchinson.  The pianist is Elgin Strub and the other artists are Moniker Dehler (Mezzo), Ernest Hutchinson and, of course, Stavenhagen himself. 

It was on the Symposium label but was deleted however, if anyone wants a copy, the CD can be purchased via the Liszt society by going here: http://www.lisztsoc.org.uk/ and clicking on the "News" section and scrolling down to the bottom.

Hope this helps.

[giles.enders]

There is no evidence that Stavenhagen wrote a piano concerto after the A major one. I think Gareth's posting says it all, about the recording and even the research about the A major.  It is a travesty of what should have been a very fine concerto.  I hope that one day someone will do a more authentic orchestration.  Along with the Elgar it should be consigned to the bin.

[giles.enders]

Is there any information about opus numbers 3, 6, 8 and 11 ?  I have been unable to trace what works they refer to.

[adriano]

Stavenhagen was Ansermet's predecessor at the Geneva Orchestra, later re-named Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. His post as a Conservatory piano teacher was then taken over by Vianna Da Motta.
His wife, the soprano Agnes Caroline Stavenhagen (née Denninghof - they separated in 1908), sang the solo part in the world premiere of Mahler's Second Symphony. She was a well-known Kammersängerin and had also worked with Richard Strauss. Brahms had financed her early singing lessons, then a niece of Richard Wagner completed her formation. Her recitals were frequently accompanied by Hermann Zilcher.

[giles.enders]

Did they have any children ?

[adriano]

No children with Bernhard.

[eschiss1]

Op.6 is "Der Tor und der Tod : Drama von Hugo von Hofmannsthal". See http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AL00472224. (There's a couple of other entries for the work @ ÖNB.)

[giles.enders]

Thanks for this: will add it to work list.

[declan.murphy]

Hi

Is there any way to purchase a score of the A major Piano Concerto? The piano reduction one obviously as I understand the orchestral parts remain lost. I always hear about the CD but never about the actual score of Stavenhagen's concerto. I'd like to have a go at re-orchestrating the concerto from scratch since I play a lot of Stavenhagen's music

I also purchased a copy of the score of "Der Tor und der Tod". A nice violin and harp duet of two pieces.

Also if you're still adding to this list, opus 13 is once again "Drei Klavierstucke" I. Nocturne, II. Wiegenlied, III. Capriccio. He also wrote music for a children's play entitled "Krippenspiel" (no opus number)

Op.13 was published in 2017 so copyright will be on that for a while. It can only be ordered by another library. My college library has ordered it so I will update you further if I can get it

In your debut post you mention two quartets for women's voices and the 5 lieder Wo. Would you know where to find these?

Thanks for reading this if you ever come back here

[eschiss1]

Op.13 was (first?) published by Ries & Erler in 2011, yes, so afaik probably in copyright everywhere for some while.

[cypressdome]

I've spent some time today trying to track down the 2 piano score of the A major piano concerto to no avail.  It is not mentioned in any of the Hofmeister publications up through 1918 suggesting it wasn't published in any German-speaking areas of Europe up to that date.  A publication of the work between then and the 1992 recording seems unlikely.  The liner notes to the 1992 recording are most unhelpful.  No mention is made if the score was an engraved, published score or a manuscript.  No mention is made of the source of that score. It's not even mentioned if Joachim-Dietrich Link's version has been or is to be published.  So, assuming it is a manuscript then where is it?  RISM is no help. The first performance was in Geneva in 1912 while Stavenhagen was teaching at the Conservatory.  A search of their online catalog turned up nothing (but that shouldn't be considered definitive).  Stavenhagen was buried in Weimar.  Searches of the online catalogs of the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, the Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv Weimar, SLUB Dresden, ThULB Jena all turn up nothing.  Perhaps the manuscript is held by Ries & Erler. That firm seems to have published most of Stavenhagen's output. Perhaps you could send them an inquiry.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Or approach the record company.

[declan.murphy]

Thanks for the replies and the time you spent doing the searching for me. I agree, it probably is best to approach that company. They published most of Stavenhagens music when he was alive and dead so that's our most likely lead. They might know some things about the quartets for women's voices too.
Also yes approaching the record company is an idea too
Thanks