Esser, Heinrich Joseph

[Reverie]

Esser, Heinrich Joseph (1818-1872)


Heinrich Esser was a violinist, conductor and composer born in Mannheim and active in Vienna.

After studies with Franz Lachner (1803-1890) in Mannheim and in Munich he went to Vienna in 1839 to study with Simon Sechter (1788-1867).

In 1840 he worked briefly as Kapellmeister at the National Theater in Mannheim. In 1841 he became conductor of the Liedertafel (Singing Society) in Mainz. In 1845 he became Kapellmeister at the Mainz Theater. During these years he taught composition to Peter Cornelius (1824-1874).

In 1847 he moved to Vienna to become Kapellmeister at the Vienna Court Opera. In the 1860/1861 season he functioned as its interim Director.

During his years in Vienna Esser also directed concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic. In 1859 he became an honorary member of the Vienna Male Choral Society and in 1862 he was on the Board of the benevolent Tonkünstler-Societät (Society of Musicians).

In 1858 Esser conducted the Viennese premiere of Richard Wagner's (1813-1883) Lohengrin. As a consultant for the Franz Schott publishing company, he came in contact with Wagner in 1859.

Esser was one of the first to appreciate Hans Richter (1818-1872) who played in Esser's orchestra. Esser recommended him to Wagner as copyist and arranger. Richter would later be the first to conduct Wagner's entire Ring cycle in Bayreuth.

Esser retired in 1869 to Salzburg because of ill health and died in 1872 from tuberculosis. Richter succeeded him in 1875 at the Vienna Court Opera.

In late 1869, Esser retired and moved to Salzburg where he died of tuberculosis in 1872.

.................

Listen to the The Symphony in B Minor - Op.79 (1869)


1.Lento / Allegro
2.Adagio
3.Scherzo
4.Finale / Allegro

LINK TO THE SYMPHONY: (30 mins)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsqHO1fCjVY

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks so much, Martin. Can't wait to hear it.

[Alan Howe]

According to Alfred Baumgartner's 'Musik der Romantik' Esser wrote five symphonies, of which only two were ever published.

Wikipedia mentions No.4 in D minor Op.44 (1853), so this Symphony in B minor, Op.79 (1869) would plausibly be No.5. On the other hand, Rebecca Grotjahn, in 'Die Sinfonie im deutschen Kulturgebiet 1850 bis 1875', lists Op.79 as No.2, while the earlier Symphony in D minor is unnumbered. I suppose it all depends what happened to the other three symphonies: were they destroyed, or are they languishing in manuscript in some collection somewhere...?

Btw, Grotjahn lists two performances of Op.79, one in Vienna on 6th December 1868, and one in Stuttgart 'before' 1st March 1869. She also quotes one Emanuel Klitzsch's dismissive review:

"This Symphony can be ranked as one of those good salon-style orchestral pieces. It will make a good impression on the listener - an impression which, however, probably won't last after the concert is over."

Oh, dear! What a daft opinion of such a serious-minded work. Salon-style? Piffle!

[Wheesht]

I thought the name Klitzsch rang a bell and a search revealed that I had mentioned his review of Paul Caro back in June 2020:

An earlier review (in the Neue Zeitung für Musik from October 1885) of Op. 2, the Sonata for Piano and Violin, is positively scathing, with the reviewer, Emanuel Klitzsch, wondering how one can have the audacity of calling something as immature and lacking ideas a sonata.

Turns out Klitzsch was also composer – he has an entry in German Wikipedia.

[tpaloj]

There's no end to these great symphonies is there! I thought the first movement and the Scherzo lacked a little character and were somewhat indistinct to my taste, but the Adagio was lovely, and the Finale has a lot of character. Really, hah, I wouldn't call this saloon music in any circumstances!

[Alan Howe]

Klitzsch - or Darth Vader?

[eschiss1]

Have been curious about Esser's symphonies and other works, so will listen soon. Thank you very much!

[eschiss1]

tpaloj- salon != saloon. By a lot... (The great discussion saloons of Paris. Don't bring a knife to a book fight.)

[Gareth Vaughan]

The British Library purports to have the score of the B minor Symphony and to have digitised it so that it can be viewed online. However, when one clicks on the link on the BL website it takes you to digitised images for Esser's 2nd Orchestral Suite in A minor!!!  Hopeless.

[eschiss1]

IMSLP has the full score of the op.79 symphony uploaded, from the Dutch Radio Library.

[eschiss1]

also, the 1869 date refers possibly to publication but not to composition (premiered 1868 before the invention of the time machine.) Mentioned in the Jan. 1870 HMB so probably published no later than earlyish 1870. IMSLP also has the full score of the A minor suite (if BL has the parts, that's hopeful.)

[Mark Thomas]

I thought the first movement and the Scherzo lacked a little character and were somewhat indistinct to my taste, but the Adagio was lovely, and the Finale has a lot of character. Really, hah, I wouldn't call this saloon music in any circumstances!

Absolutely not! What an absurd judgement. It's quite an earnest symphony, maybe rather old-fashioned for 1869, considering what Raff had already written and what Brahms was about to finish, but overall a very solid and worthwhile piece of work. For me the finale was by some margin the most individual and successful movement and the middle pair rather anonymous, but overall yet another worthwhile disinterment. Once again, we're in Reverie's debt. 

[Gareth Vaughan]

BL doesn't have the parts, Eric.

[Alan Howe]

I have enjoyed Esser's Symphony, but I think it has one major failing, i.e. the over-repetition of certain rhythmic figures. It's been good to get to know yet another mid-century symphony, but I think I can see why it didn't survive. Zellner did this sort of thing better in his F major Symphony.

[Reverie]

I agree with that summary Alan.

I must say I started with gusto but fell out of love with it rather quickly but just felt I needed to finish it. Anyway it's there for posterity as they say.

I think the same can be said of the Ernst Pauer Symphony which I have looked into. Very form driven too. I think many German composers of this period we're driven by a disciplined formal structure at the expense of free melody and adventurous harmony. (Wagner managed to strike a balance which is where his genius shines through imo)

Anyway upward and onwards .... back to Ulrich. He loves a good tune