Franz Clement: Violin Concertos 1 & 2

[Mark Thomas]

Available now in the Downloads board here is a recording of an excellent performance of a really fine early-romantic violin concerto by the virtuoso Franz Clement. His D major Concerto of 1805 was issued a few years ago on a commercial CD, played by Rachel Barton Pine, and it's robust idiom and romantic colouring were impressive for a work written so early in the 19th century. There is strong evidence that it influenced Beethoven to write his own concerto the next year, which he dedicated to Clement.

The new work is Clement's unpublished Violin Concerto in D minor, written in 1810, which is a major advance on what I suppose we must now call his First. Clement in his turn is clearly influenced by Beethoven's concerto in this lyrically dramatic work, which even quotes from the Beethoven in the long opening movement's cadenza. Although there are plenty of opportunities for the soloist to shine, as one would expect from a work written by a virtuoso, the Concerto's character isn't that of a glittery show-piece, but of a major symphonic composition of serious intent. His writing for the orchestra is particularly effective. It's a very strong piece, undeniably romantic in its outlook, which in its boldness and forward-looking style, to my ears completely overshadows the contemporary works of Rode, for example.

I see that Clement wrote several more violin concertos. They presumably post date this one as the designation of "No.2" comes from the manuscript, which was recently discovered in the Bavarian State Library in Munich. Judging by the two concertos which we now have, Clement was a very considerable early-romantic composer, and I'd love to hear more of his music.

[Alan Howe]

This is a magnificent piece. It knocks into the proverbial cocked hat all those VCs by Rode, Kreutzer, etc. Clement was clearly more than simply a virtuoso who wrote concertos for his instrument: he was a genuinely fine composer. Naxos, are you listening?

[eschiss1]

The movements, from what seems to be a Fleisher Collection entry, are

#Moderato --
#Adagio --
#Rondo ; Allegro.

Worldcat also lists a published but rare Clement piano concerto (pub.ca.1803), it seems.
The 1805 one seems to have been only recently enough published too (2005) (just to warn anyone against taking "published" as meaning "in the 19th century"- at least... not as far as I know?... maybe, could be... there's a couple sources I haven't checked, e.g. ONB's "Quicksearch" which has lots of info on Austrian music publications not also found in Worldcat, and since the piano concerto was published in Vienna... hrm- ah. A violin concerto- I'm guessing (guessing) the D major- was published by Vienne : Au Magasin de l'imprimerie chimique I. R. (same publisher as the piano concerto, yes, and yes, a major publisher of Beethoven's), with plate 259. (Anyone in Vienna want to stop in at the library for a quick check? Joking.) From other publications of theirs uploaded to IMSLP etc. 1805 seems a not bad guess for plate 259, though, and 1810 might have corresponded to a rather larger plate # (if it were published and were the parts-set in Q rather than the 1805-composedorpublished-concerto.)

Some 38-odd works were published with opus, it seems(?) though this one went without...

[JimL]

I just gave the piece a preliminary listen-to, and all I can say right now is "Whoa!" 

[semloh]

Yes, a fine work, and thanks to Mark for drawing it to my/our attention. 

Both concertos, and the Concertino Brillante in F# Major are available on YT but I had never noticed them. Listening to the other two works will be interesting.

[Richard Moss]

I have a recording of VC #1 in D maj by Rachel Pine (dated 1805 - the work, not the recording!).  It will be interesting to dig that out and compare the two works.

Many thanks Mark for this upload.

Richard

[Alan Howe]

No.2 is more adventurous - hardly surprisingly. The fact that it's in the minor key is a major factor here (no pun intended!)

[jerfilm]

VC 1 can be heard on YouTube.

Jerry

[eschiss1]

in this case unsurprisingly since there's at least one commercial recording of the first concerto...

[oldman]

For those interested, A sample of the score from A-R editions of the D major concerto can be found at

https://books.google.com/books?id=rRb7_9xVA4AC&pg=PR7&lpg=PR7&dq=franz+clement+piano+concerto&source=bl&ots=qjIsArWdGY&sig=nPTCYJbjUc45NR9DjTpn_pVDI9o&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBmoVChMI7dWohrKVyAIVRzI-Ch0V2QFK#v=onepage&q=franz%20clement%20piano%20concerto&f=false

Between what was uploaded and what is on Youtube, we now have just over 90  minutes of music from this fantastic unsung!

[John H White]

I see there is quite an interesting write up on Clement in Wikkipedia, but no indication as to whether he wrote anything other than for his own instrument for which it claims 6 concertos.

[eschiss1]

Maybe I should add to their list. The offertorium, at least, despite its violin solo, suggests he was not quite wholly a violin composer- if it is indeed by this composer...

EDIT: NOTE TO SELF: In worklists, select "don't use bixies/smileys" option. otherwise, certain eights become, yknow, ...

Just from the ÖNB catalog and Hofmeister HMB- assuming, assuming, these are all by the same person- I see the following (admittedly, all or mostly for violin...)
They might be, some of them, by Félix Clément, who also composed and published works in the 19th century (though more in the latter end...) according to Hofmeisters Monatsberichte. Also, Franz and François Clement/Clément (and "F. Clement", etc., too, and... &c) are probably but not absolutely definitely the same composer seen from two sides of a border; just because it's extremely likely doesn't make it always the case... so- caveat, there.

*Op.2 (maybe 11). String trio. (Vienne : Au Bureau d'Arts et d'Industrie (same as Magasin de l'imprimerie chimique, basically I think?). Plate 38)
*8 Variations (poss. same as the following work??) (Magasin de l'imprimerie chimique, plate 232, ca. 1805)
*"8 Variations pour le Violon Sur la Marche tirée de l'Opera "Die Neger". Composées par François Clement." (pub. by Cappi, plate 1130.) (Nr. - Op.? - 3)
*In turn, perhaps the same work as???
**VIII variations avec coda pour le violon sur un thème de l'opéra Alimelek (digitized by BSB, in a ca.1815 publication by  Prague: Krammer)
*Also - other Op.3: Piano Quartet (@ BSB, not digitized)
*"Variations pour le Violon Sur l'Air /: Wer hörte wohl jemals mich klagen, de l'Opera :/ Die Schweitzer Familie" (Op.? 4) (Cappi, plate 1472)
*"Variations pour le Violon Sur un Thème tiré de la Pantomime /: Die 3 Sclaven" (Op. (? just says No. again) 8) (pub. by Cappi, plate 1487)
*"[Op. 31.] Six Variations pour le Violon avec accompagnement d'une Guitarre, sur un air de l'Opéra: La gazza ladra [Gioachino Rossini]; composées et dediées à Mr. le Comte Charles de Soltik" (T.Weigl, publisher)
*"[Op. 36.] Rondeau brillant pour le Violon avec accompagnement de deux Violons, Alto et Violoncelle. Composé et dédié à Monsieur Albert de Rosty à Gyula" (Mechetti/Weigl)
*"[Op. 38.] Six Variations sur un thême de J. Rossini, pour le Violon principal avec accompagnement de Pianoforte. Composées et dediées à Monsieur François Pechatschek" (pub. by Diabelli. plate M.A. 812.)
*"Drey beliebte Arien der berühmten Saengerin Angelica Catalani, nach ihrer eigenen Angabe gesetzt, und mit Piano-Forte. Begleitung, hrsg. von Franz Clement" (pub.ca.1821 by Weigl) (#1: Pietosa a miei lamenti. Weigl plate: 1879)
* Polonaise p. Violon avec Orchestre (in A) (Mechetti, pub.1829)
* Another Polonaise (Polonaise für die Violine mit Begleitung von 2 Violinen, Viola und Violonzello ) in E major (pub.ca.1802, Diabelli, digitized @ BSB)
* Divertissement for violin and strings (Diabelli, 1830)
* Concertino brillante p. Violon av. Acc. de 2 Violons, Alto et Bass (in Fis.) (Diabelli, 1838)
* Offertorium (Ave, o rosa mistica) f. Sopran u. Violin, Solo m. Begl. v. 4 Singstimmen, 2 Violinen, Alt, 2 Hoboen, 2 Fagott, 2 Hörner, Vclle u. Contrabass. Op. 30 (Diabelli, 1841) (ONB copy of parts has plate D&C No. 7115)
* VI Etudes pour le Violon. Composées et dediées à Monsieur Antoine Sieber, Eleve de l'auteur, par Fr. Clement. Cahier I. (Vienne : Magasin de l'imprimerie chimique, plates 233-4)
* Variations sur la Romance de l'Opera "Joseph und seine Brüder" pour le Violon seule (by Clement) (pub. by Weigl) (Vienne : Magasin de l'imprimerie chimique, plate 1441)

[eschiss1]

Oh, the D major 1805 YouTube -isn't- Pine's recording...

[Wheesht]

The German book "Grosse Musikführer, Musik der Romantik" (by Alfred Baumgartner, published in 1983) mentions "some chamber music, piano concerti, overtures, a mass and several stage works" without giving more details. The brief entry says, literally translated, that his style "moves in the shadow of the First Viennese School" and also, intriguingly, that his penchant for eccentric playing techniques contributed to his fame as a virtuoso performer quickly fading away.

There is a reference to an article (that I haven't seen): R. Haas, The Violinist Franz Clement, The Musical Quarterly XXXIV, 1948

[eschiss1]

ah, also I did see on Worldcat some reference somewhere to the parts of a 1803-published piano concerto, right... other piano concertos makes sense. According to Brown (2005), "R. Haas" would be "The Viennese Violinist, Franz Clement," Musical Quarterly 34 (1948): 15-27. His footnotes also list an 1835 article in German by the composer/writer Ignaz von Seyfried which may be available digitized...  there's also a 1969 dissertation on Clement by Manfred Merk, to which Brown
refers several times.

According to Brown, two of the violin concertos by Clement, both in D, possibly earlier than the 1805 work, are "said to be" lost.

By the way, the ca.1810 concerto that's the subject of this entire thread has a plate number, is a printed score, and is not a manuscript. It was published by the Imprimerie ca.1810, plate 1504. (Possibly composed much earlier. Please, could we once and for freaking all stop with "written in" 1810 when the evidence only allows for "published in" or "published by/around"? I know it only matters so much - usually - though Bach works "written in" 2012 might confuse people- and if you don't understand that reference I'll explain...)