Question about Paul Scheinpflug

[eschiss1]

He was a student of Felix Draeseke, and I was just looking at his string quartet published in 1912. If it had been published 2 years later I would not have been surprised by the Andante marcia funebre that interrupts the progress of the first movement and which begins with what looks like an almost-quote from Draeseke's op.6?... (but as it is it's from the year before Draeseke died, not after, so that's a bit odd.)

Is anyone familiar with this work?

[Rainolf]

The relation between Draeseke and Scheinpflug seems to have been a troubled one. Scheinplug left the Dresden conservatoire in dispute with Draeseke, but when Draeseke had finished his Christus Scheinplug wrote an enthusiastic article about the oratorio. When parts of the work were premiered in 1900 in Bremen, Scheinplug, who was then leader of the municipal orchestra, gave his old teacher a friendly welcome, and it seems that he was a driving force behind the premiere. Draeseke strongly disagreed with Scheinpflug's later development as a composer. In a letter to his friend Theodor Röhmeyer from 6 April 1907 Draeseke attested Scheinpflug "outstanding foolishness" ("hervorragende Tölpelhaftigkeit").

Here you can read it in Draeseke's collected correspondence, which was published recently:

https://ul.qucosa.de/api/qucosa%3A81932/attachment/ATT-0/

I don't think that Draeseke was right in his judgement on Scheinpflug's abilities! Scheinpflug's String Quartet seems to be a very great piece, and in general it is time to revive the works of this composer.

The funeral march in the first movement of the quartet resembles Draeseke's funeral march, I would say, as members of one family resemble each other. But the resemblance is not so exact that I would call it a quote or at least a hommage. Considering that Scheinpflug was definitely not one of Draeseke's favourite pupils (Draeseke had strong personal ties e.g. to Paul Büttner, Bernhard Schneider-Krawc, Carl Ehrenberg, Percy Sherwood, Leland Anthony Cossart), it seems to me that the similarities in the case of the string quartet are by accident.

[eschiss1]

Fair enough- and thanks! (There seems to be no commercial recording of the quartet, at this time.)

[Rainolf]

Unfortunately this quartet had been overlooked so far. There is a conductor who wants to perform it as a string symphony (and to record it), but this project has not materialised yet. I will inform you, if something into this direction is done.