Richard Wetz

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Wetz occasionally pops up in these pages. I've recently revisited the three symphonies - what mightily fine and impressive works! (I'm less impressed by the Violin Concerto, which rather seems to lose itself).

However, to the question: Wetz, I believe, composed two string quartets. On the basis of the compositional skills displayed in the symphonies I'd think the quartets must surely be works deserving of serious attention? They haven't - to my knowledge - ever been recorded. Has anyone heard them or got a view of them?

[eschiss1]

The second (E minor, Op.49 published 1924) has been recorded (on a perhaps no longer available 1993 MDG CD) but you can hear the first (F minor, Op.43, pub. 1918) @IMSLP here played by Steve's Bedroom Band.

His other small-ensemble works - piano and organ works, his solo violin sonata, and songs still I think await recording (as I expect does his opera Das ewige Feuer).

(Erm, no, I'm mistaken there, his 1930-published Passacaglia und fuge for organ seems to have been recorded too - I think?... let me look into that... maybe the earlier toccata too? ... ah- re the passacaglia & fuge see here.)

[Rainolf]

I would say, the second quartet is a rather harsh work, compared to the first. It develops the harmonic language of the 3rd symphony into a stronger chromaticism. All movements are in the minor key. The first two (Allegro with slow introduction and Adagio) are maybee the darkest pieces in Wetz's instrumental music. The music here contains passionate outbursts switching with passages, to be played "ohne Ausdruck" (without emotion). The scherzo is different from the scherzos of the symphonies and seems rather ascetic to my ears. The finale is a "per aspera ad astra" piece, which overcomes the somewhat chaotic character of the first movement.

His violin solo sonata, more a four-movement suite of ca. 15 minutes, is an ealy piece, lovely, but not on the same level then the quartets.

His main work for piano are the Romantic Variations.

[britishcomposer]

You give a fascinating account of the second quartet, Rainolf, but you didn't mention the beautiful second subject of the Adagio. I cannot help, it moves me to tears every time I listen to it. The impact of such a lyrical outpouring ways so much because of the overpowering darkness around it. This is my favourite unsung (German) quartet. The MDG recording is superb but I hope cpo will tackle a new recording of both quartets some day...

[chill319]

His main work for piano are the Romantic Variations.

Oh, how I wish that would turn up on IMSLP!

The Requiem is another work by Wetz that I love and recommend.

[eschiss1]

Likewise, especially if it was first published in the US before 1923 (I seem to recall this is so) and would be accessible therefore in all three main zones.  Likewise many of his other scores published before that point (hrm- 2nd symphony or so?... )

[Rainolf]

@chill319

It's not the Romantic Variations, but have you seen the manuscript of the five piano pieces op. 54, which remained unprinted until today? (NB: The most important unprinted work of Wetz is the 3rd Symphony.) The Brahms Institute has digitalized this pieces:

http://www.brahms-institut.de/web/bihl_digital/musikmanuskripte_units/1994_0223.html

[eschiss1]

Hrm, didn't know the 3rd symphony wasn't published. (I -should- have worked that out )

[chill319]

Can't wait to get those under my fingers. Thanks much, Rainolf!

[chill319]

For anyone who might want to explore Wetz's opus 54, be forewarned that, unfortunately, there is a significant error in the digitalized score. The tenth page erroneously replicates the seventh page, rendering the fifth piece in the collection unplayable. Since there isn't the slightest graphical difference between digitalized pages 7 and 10, the error clearly lies not in the manuscript but in the upload.

[eschiss1]

Rainolf on Wetz's 2nd string quartet:
"It develops the harmonic language of the 3rd symphony into a stronger chromaticism."

Just interloaned the MPH score of Wetz's first symphony, which I've known from the cpo recording almost since it came out but have never seen in score before, and what I find remarkable is that this composer's "stronger chromaticism" (and rapid changes of tonality, and... ...) somewhat earlier than the 2nd quartet (1915-16, when this symphony was written) is never remarked upon.  To tell from reviews of the cpo recording - and the misleading, a bit inaccurate (and extremely negative) MPH preface, you'd think this was a 19th-century work written a bit late.

I don't think this is Bader and the Cracow orchestra's fault, or cpo's, or the recording- I think some people start hearing something new-to-them that sounds "Brucknerian" and just smush under the rug anything that doesn't fit the category they've put it in...  (If it's -that- much like Bruckner, the scherzo of his 9th symphony (outer sections) and the end of the first movement thereof, maybe...)

[chill319]

Well put, Eric. Easy recognition can blind us to what is different and new and creative in many "derivative" late Romantic composers.