Albert Dietrich symphonies

[eschiss1]

I was reminded of the older "Composers who wrote just one symphony" thread by something I noticed when searching dorkily through the Gewandhaus orchester archives and noticing that Albert Dietrich's 1870-published symphony was supposed to have been performed as early as 14 December 1854 under Rietz. Was that the same D minor symphony (if maybe in an earlier revision) as the one that exists today, the now-lost C major symphony, or whoknows?... The description in NZM on page 283 (22 December 1854 issue) isn't very helpful, though presumably the Gewandhaus archives have other sources in determining what work was played - sometimes. Then again, sometimes mistaken assumptions are made. I wonder what by Dietrich was played in 1854?

[Alan Howe]

IMSLP has this entry:
Op.20 - Symphony in D minor (Leipzig: J. Rieter-Biedermann, 1870; full score, parts, piano 4-hands arrangement) (performed at the Gewandhaus 14 Dec. 1854 (!), conducted by Rietz)
https://imslp.org/wiki/List_of_works_by_Albert_Hermann_Dietrich

IMSLP's assumption is that this is the same work - it reminds me of the long period associated with the gestation of Grimm's Symphony.
However, the booklet notes accompanying the cpo recording say this:

"The work (edit: the D minor Symphony) was Dietrich's second symphony. He (edit: Dietrich, not Rietz!) had conducted a performance of his first symphony in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig already in December 1854, when he was residing in Düsseldorf and enjoyed success with it. That symphony was never printed and may be regarded as lost."

So, we have a genuine mystery here. Was the 1854 performance that of an earlier lost work or of the D minor Symphony? And was Rietz or Dietrich the conductor?

[John Boyer]

I would guess it's the earlier lost symphony, not the modern sounding D minor symphony of 15 years later.  Of course, it is quite possible that material from that earlier symphony found its way into the later one.

There is a letter by Joachim that roundly criticizes a violin concerto by Carl Reinecke.  This letter is from the early 1850s, so it cannot be the later G minor Concerto that Joachim premiered in 1876, but perhaps the 1876 concerto is a reworking?   

Anyway, the 1850s Dietrich symphony is probably not the one we know. 

[Alan Howe]

That's my hunch too. The confusion over the conductor in 1854 is odd, though. My guess is that it was Rietz...

[Wheesht]

The 'Signale für die musikalische Welt', issue 12, December 1854 mentions, favourably, a performance of a symphony by Dietrich ('new, manuscript') in four movements on Thursday, 14 December 1854 at the Gewandhaus but does not name the conductor.

[Wheesht]

A short note in the 'Neue Wiener Musikzeitung', 11 January 1855 mentions the 10th 'Gewandhaus-Conzert' and refers to Dietrich's symphony as his first work ('Erstlingswerk') !?

[eschiss1]

"IMSLP's" assumption is mine. I'll fix that. fixed. The Op.20 was given its first Gewandhaus performance on 28 October 1869 under Reinecke; I don't know if that was the premiere. As to the 1854 concert, Rietz's name is from the Gewandhaus' own records, but the identification in that record as "D minor symphony Op.20" is clearly a later interpolation, not least since it wasn't yet Op.20 and wouldn't be until 1870, leaving room for its being incorrect in that more fundamental other respect. Whether it's the C major symphony that a library has incomplete parts of that are mentioned in the RISM database, or another symphony still, ... I don't know. (Doesn't mean it's unknowable- maybe his correspondance could be trawled..)

[Alan Howe]

Oh, well done, Eric. That's much clearer. One wonders, though, where the earlier symphony got to...

Just to recap, this is the reference Eric found back in 2012 to a library record in Krakow, Poland:
https://opac.rism.info/rism/Record/rism300257497?documentid=300257497

[Simon]

Just to recap, this is the reference Eric found back in 2012 to a library record in Krakow, Poland:
https://opac.rism.info/rism/Record/rism300257497?documentid=300257497

Checking this entry in RISM, I have some doubts regarding the attribution of this symphony to Albert Dietrich. The title mentions "Con Fundamento Basso" which seems unlikely for a symphony written around 1850, unless Albert Dietrich was trying to compose some pastiche in the baroque/classical style...

[Alan Howe]

I agree - it's a bit of a stretch.

[Double-A]

There is also the incipit which looks nothing like middle of 19th century, more like early Haydn or even Vivaldi:  Three chords I-V-I, followed by a climb up the C-Major triad with trills thrown in, followed by a simple cadence.  Plus there are three movements in C-Major, G-Major and C-Major rather than 4 as usual. 

[Alan Howe]

Thanks. I think's a misattribution.

[eschiss1]

or an early study work, but yes.