Hubert Ferdinand Kufferath (1818-1896)

[Alan Howe]

tpaloj - looking forward to having a snifter at the other symphony.

I think 'D Symphony' is a typo. As far as I know he only wrote one.

[tpaloj]

The record is here, and it looks genuine to me: https://opac.kbr.be/LIBRARY/doc/SYRACUSE/18197700

133 pages. Allegro molto - Poco adagio - Allegro vivace (Scherzo) - Molto All(egro) vivace (Finale)
Manuscrit autographe, daté à la fin : "17./7/1853"
Dans la finale figurent le chant national autrichien et la Brabançonne

[Alan Howe]

I do beg your pardon! I was going by the biographical information I'd been sent which doesn't mention another symphony.

To avoid confusion, though, perhaps it might be better to refer to it as 'Symphony in D' or 'D major Symphony.'

I'm not sure what I might think of a symphony featuring both the Austrian and Belgian national anthems in the finale! Still, Kufferath's a fine composer, so who knows?

[Mark Thomas]

featuring both the Austrian and Belgian national anthems

- and one wonders why? I suppose the most likely reason is that the Symphony (or at least its finale) was composed to commemorate an event involving the two countries and, guess what? - on 22 August 1853 Leopold, Duke of Brabant and heir to the Belgian throne, married Archduchess Marie Henriette of Austria. The manuscript is dated 17 July 1853, so that looks like what prompted Kufferath to include the two anthems.

[Alan Howe]

I'm generally allergic to this sort of thing in what is otherwise a non-programmatic symphony. However, maybe Kufferath can pull it off.

[Alan Howe]

Has anyone else been listening again to K's magnificent Symphony in C in Reverie's superb realisation? I just can't get it out of my head.

I also keep coming back to the thought that it was written in Brussels. Is there any significance in this?

[Mark Thomas]

Why would there be, Alan? Belgium's recent independence, perhaps?

[Alan Howe]

Compositionally, it was surely a bit of an outpost, with Fétis the influential figure. I was just wondering whether this gave Kufferath more freedom to compose this magnificent symphony...

[Mark Thomas]

I hoped that Fétis himself might give a clue in his entry on Kufferath in vol.5 of his Biographie universelle des musiciens (1860-68), but he just writes [excuse the translation] "In 1844, after two years of travelling, M. Kufferath settled in Brussels as professor of piano and composition, and since then he hasn't left the city", followed by a list of his compositions (but mentioning only one symphony).

[Alan Howe]

Thanks for that. What we need is an insight into Kufferath's mind. I wonder whether there are any letters/articles that can tell us?

For example, can anyone access this article about Clara Schumann and the Kufferath family?>>>
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3687189?origin=crossref

[Alan Howe]

I note that a concert of Kufferath's music was held in 2018 to mark 200 years since the composer's birth:
http://www.collegium-musicum-mannheim.de/Historie/2018Programm.html

It included the Symphony in C!
Performers:
Collegium Musicum Mannheim
Conductor: Dr. Matthies Andresen

Wonder whether it was recorded?

[tpaloj]

Great to know there has been a performance. I wonder if they had a published full score to conduct from, or if they used a scanned manuscript? IMSLP has just the parts, of course.

I haven't heard anything of the Symphony in D yet. Either they are busy and haven't responded yet, or it is being worked on, or they did not care to look into it at all...

[Alan Howe]

A former student of mine has kindly managed to access the JSTOR article for me. More news anon...

[Alan Howe]

Actually, there's little of real substance in relation to Kufferath, except that early on (1840) Robert Schumann, while noting the influence of Mendelssohn, also made clear that his music demonstrated that he wasn't an official student of that composer.

I certainly can't hear anything of Mendelssohn in the Symphony in C...

[Mark Thomas]

Maybe his independent nature, as demonstrated by the Symphony, also influenced his decision to remain in the relative musical backwater of Brussels, or perhaps he married a Belgian woman who was reluctant to leave her country?