Amanda Maier was Julius Röntgen's first wife and a skillfull violinist.
For some information see Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_R%C3%B6ntgen-Maier).
Besides a violinist she was also a composer, but after her wedding with Julius her musical activities in public and composing stopped. Unfortunately.
I have made a list of her works based upon two sources: the Dutch website of the Netherlands Music Institute (see this (http://rontgen.nederlandsmuziekinstituut.nl/iframes-amanda.html)) and the Röntgen biography Gaudeamus by Dr Jurjen Vis (p.184-198). BTW, a new Röntgen website, both in Dutch and English, is now online. See www.juliusrontgen.nl (http://www.juliusrontgen.nl)
Published works
- Sonata for violin and piano in B minor "Till min käre fader" (1878)
- Six pieces for violin and piano (1879)
- "Zwiegespräche. Kleine Klavierstücke von Julius und Amanda Röntgen". Ten small pieces for piano, a joint composition with Julius (1883)
- "Schwedische Weisen und Tänze". A joint composition with Julius. For piano and/or violin?
- Quartet for piano, violin, viola and cello in E minor (1891)
- Orchestration of the six pieces for violin and piano by Fr. Rosenkranz
Unpublished works
- Romance for violin and piano
- Trio for piano, violin and cello (1874)
- Concerto for violin and orchestra (1875)
- Quartet for piano, violin, viola and clarinet in E minor
- "Nordiska Tonbilder" for violin and piano (before July 1876)
- Intermezzo for piano
- Two string quartets
- March for piano, violin, viola and cello
- Romances on texts by David af Wirsén
a. Den sjuka flikans sång
b. Aftonklockan
c. Ungt mod
d. Sången
- Trio for piano and two violins
All published and unpublished works are in 1997 handed over to the Statens Musikbibliotek at Stockholm.
The only work that has been recorded is the Sonate for violin and piano in B minor. However, this CD is not available anymore. See here (http://www.amazon.com/Kammarmusik-Chamber-Music-Musica-Sveciae/dp/B005AXMY56/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1327245348&sr=1-1). Has anybody got this disc or ever heard the piece?
Fascinating, of course, is the Violin Concerto (key?). Julius helped Amanda with the score for the violin (because she had troubles with her eyes). Amanda composed the work in 1874-75. On 8 February 1876 the concerto was performed by the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig under the baton of Carl Reinecke with Amanda playing a Stradivarius violin (owner: Heinrich Flinch). It was a tremendous success. Between 1876 and 1879 her concerto was performed more than 37 times. On 18 November 1876 she played her concerto with the Royal Swedish Orchestra at the prestigious Opera House of Stockholm.
Amanda's Violin Concerto must be a glorious piece. How much I would like to hear it. Who doesn't? Is there anybody who can do something with the score, which is in the State Musical Library at Stockholm?
This is very exciting/intriguing. How marvelous that the score of the violin concerto survives...
David
Maybe a challenge for Bo Hyttner?
Before I suggested it to Bo, I'd want to be confident of its quality. An unknown work by an unknown composer is a bit of a gamble without some idea of the composition's value.
QuoteHas anybody got this disc or ever heard the piece?
It's a two disc set, I believe and I have it. But back in Minnesota. If someone wants to check on whether it is uploadable, I'd be happy to do that when we return home in April.
Jerry
Peter1953,
Yes, this is a 2CD set of chamber music by Swedish women composers of the later 19th century & most of the contents are only recordings. THe serial number is MSCD528/529 and is still available. (www.toccata.nu). There is also a copy on ebay at the moment for £18.92 (+ postage)- try searching under'Tegner'!
I obtained this set after hearing the Maier sonata (when the BBC broadcast such things on a regular basis!) and wasn't at all disappointed!
Thanks, Martin! I've just listened to the excerpts of Amanda Maier's Sonata for violin and piano in B minor and they sound promising, go to here (http://www.classicsonline.com/catalogue/product.aspx?pid=1090917).
Mark, I understand what you mean. The only thing I can say is that the VC was performed successfully quite a lot of times. Maybe somebody (working for Sterling) can have a close look at the score? Who knows it's a hidden treasure...
I have obtained this double disc. What a very pleasant and various pieces of chamber music by those Swedish women composers! BTW, it includes excellent, very informative booklet notes.
The Sonata for Violin and Piano in B minor by Amanda Maier is a lovely piece, but for me a revelation are both String Quartets by Valborg Aulin (the sister of Tor), with deeply heart felt passages, especially the slow movements. And I think Elfrida Andrée's Piano Trio in G minor is such a wonderful trio that it inspired me to go for further listening to other works, like her 2nd Symphony and other chamber music. Gosh... my wantlist is growing and growing.
Thanks BC for the chamber music upload. Very nice pieces.
J
Indeed they are, especially the Quartet, the movement titles and performers of which I've added in the Swedish thread on the Downloads Discussion board. To be honest, I preferred her work to several of Röntgen's own chamber pieces; hers seems to have a real spark to it. Maybe the Violin Concerto is worth a punt after all...
Has anyone read through the score of the Violin concerto? If so any opinions?
Interesting discovery. I will ask to Bo about the score. Peter 1953 follow in this forum?
Re Rontgen-Maier's violin concerto, did anyone here attend the modern premieres (the performances in 2014 and 2015 in Karlstad and Stockholm respectively) of the concerto? (Obviously this had not happened yet when Peter1953 started the thread in 2012. But since then Mark Starr prepared a new edition, which got published, and- well: see http://www.juliusrontgen.nl/en/home/actualiteiten/ (http://www.juliusrontgen.nl/en/home/actualiteiten/).)
(I don't know if there's a recording in the works, but it looks a lot more likely to me now, with an edition and reduction prepared and 2 more recent performances having occurred (the last performance before 2014, I think, was in 1876 or so, it says...), than previously :D )
There's a copy of Starr's published piano reduction (Noteworthy Musical Editions, which may have to do with the program Noteworthy Composer) in the library of Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan... Amazon.com offers the solo part, the reduction, and the full score for prices from $12.50 to $30 (solo to orchestral score) btw. No incipit provided to suggest what key it might perhaps be in (to answer that initial question) though.
The E minor piano quartet has, as of 2010, been published too.
Her concerto can now be heard on video (ok, I realize I'm still assuming people are actually interested :) )... I noticed someone in one of the Facebook groups I belong to ("Swedish Romantic Composers") announcing it yesterday.
Hope this link works :) (http://konserthusetplay.se/#KXetRZcdSKQotREsfims-w)
A very very very beautiful concerto; not a great masterpiece but very enjoyable. I wish the composer had written more for Orchestra; she brings out some amazing colours with beautiful use of woodwinds. Her style seems very akin to Godard - using short or seemingly short motifs and building up entire movements on them. I think this can stand beside the Dietrich Violin Concerto [sadly neglected] any day! :)
Love to hear what others think of them.
A nice concerto, yes. But nowhere near the quality of the Dietrich VC in my view. The Dietrich, by contrast, is something close to a masterpiece.
I acknowledge that the general consensus of opinion here regarding Hyperion's Romantic Violin Concerto series is that the choice of repertoire (with a few notable exceptions) has seemed rather limited, with unadventurous duplications - but I for one would be more than happy to have duplicate performances of Julius Röntgen's two violin concertos if it meant we could have a first class recording of this rather splendid concerto by Amanda!
Agreed, Martin. Although that would make three recordings of the A minor concerto by Julius...
I've added to our Downloads section here (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,5759.0.html) an mp3 made from the video of the performance. I must say that Röntgen-Maier's Concerto is a highly attractive and enjoyable piece, very persuasively played. Considering that Maier was only 22 years old and a comparatively inexperienced composer, the work is something of a triumph, but I do think that an objective comparison with another violin concerto recently "discovered" here, that by Eduard Lassen, does highlight that she had some way to go before equalling his achievement in that work.
The concerto has the inestimable advantage of being played by a sensitive soloist and a top-class orchestra and conductor in the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Sakari Oramo. I've certainly enjoyed listening to it, but would put, say, the Lassen a long way ahead in terms of accomplishment - and especially originality. Still, it's a most interesting find and certainly worthy of a recording.
I'm surprised that the Philharmonic site does not give a key signature for this lovely work......
Jerry
No, I couldn't find a key signature or tempo indication anywhere online.
Unless there's some distortion in the Konserthuset video, the work's opening minute or so is in D minor
(I don't have perfect pitch, but I did call up a piano-keyboard page and checked to see what pitch-center was being, well, tonicized.)
It's -possible- that the opening is a big misleading thing (e.g. opening of the finale of Beethoven quartet no.8) of course- I haven't really listened to the work just yet- but I'm guessing "D minor" is the answer here...
There is a description of the concerto ("in D minor, ...") here (http://musicalassumptions.blogspot.com/2010/01/more-photos-of-amanda-maier-and-her.html) (first comment, by Mark Starr, the fellow who made the edition of the work.)
Thanks, Eric. I'll add the key signature to the details in Mark's post in the Downloads board. Note too that the work's title (translated) is: "Violin Concerto in One Movement".
I noted that the concerto, according to the blog is in a single sonata-style movement, rather than the compressed 3 movements of, say, the Wieniawski 2nd. Did anybody get the tempo of the movement?
Thanks, Eric and Alan.
This is Mark Starr's description of the work:
The concerto, in D minor, is a dramatic, virtuoso work, about 17 minutes in duration. It is not in three contrasting sections compressed into one continuous movement -- as is, for example, Joseph Joachim's Violin Concerto No. 1. Rather, it is a large-scale movement in sonata-allegro form, with a rich symphonic role for the orchestra. There are intimations of Grieg, Mendelssohn and even Brahms. But Maier had a fiery voice of her own in this work. The high point, in my view, is the majestic violin cadenza -- which is free and intense.
http://musicalassumptions.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/more-photos-of-amanda-maier-and-her.html (http://musicalassumptions.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/more-photos-of-amanda-maier-and-her.html)
I don't know where he got that information about Joachim's 1st VC, but it's just plain wrong. The G minor concerto of Joachim is also a single sonata-form movement, with a cadenza and coda. There are no separate movements whatsoever - not even a central slow episode interrupting the development.
Jim- not knowing what counts as a "beat" in the score, not sure I could guess well enough what the real tempo marking is. The only available scores, as Mr. Starr points out (unless the manuscript's location is known and someone can get a photocopy of the first few pages from its owner, or something) are the recently-published scores (full, violin, and reduced- full released since he made that comment) available directly or via Amazon (directly or as reseller). And unless someone here has purchased one of those, questions like opening metronome mark etc. are probably going to remain mysteries for awhile, I fear :) (or of course, email Mr. Starr directly, that might be best of all...)
Re Joachim- odd since he could have chosen 288 other Romantic examples to make his point correctly, yes?...
Yes, perhaps you could contact Mr Starr and get back to us, please, Jim? Try this email address: noteworthymusic@zasu.us
We're all on tenterhooks.... ;)
I don't mean the metronome marking. I mean "Allegro", "Moderato assai" or whatnot.
Mr Starr will have the answer for you, Jim.
Done!
I tried emailing Mr. Starr at the address above. Several times. The DAEMON bounced it back at me saying that his mailbox was full and this was a "permanent error". Any other ideas?
Try snailmail - it's cheaper for you than for us!>>>
Noteworthy Musical Editions
& Orchestral/Band Music Rental Library
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Los Altos, CA 94022-1045
After listening to the recording I feel the urge to add something to the qualifications given in various posts. Whatever the merits of the work in comparison with others: It is worth pointing out how very violinistic the solo part is written and how the soloist never needs to force the tone. This happens when the composer is also a master violinist. Most of the great "sung" concertos from the 19th century were written by non violinists and in many of them one can not fail to notice that (excepting the ones by Paganini, Wieniawski and others who wrote them for themselves, but how many of them are truly "sung"?).
On the negative side: Why is the cadenza--which is indeed great--at the conventional location shortly before the end? It interrupts the movement and kills the momentum which is supposed to carry us through the coda. If I wrote a concerto in one large sonata movement I'd put the cadenza in a more strategic location e.g. at the end of the development section and use it to lead back to the recap. Or else--like Bruch--no cadenza at all.
I've listened to the piece a number of times now. It does sound very violinistic, but I'm bound to say that, despite its attractiveness, it's not a work I'll be going back to very often. I'm looking forward to the Gernsheim VCs in the hope that a superior composer will have more to say...
I finally got hold of Mr. Starr and emailed him. The single movement is in tempo Allegro risoluto. There are a couple of "Poco meno mosso" indications, probably for secondary material, and of course, the cadenza, but the overall indication is the aforementioned.
Thanks, Jim. I'd forgotten about your quest for this information. I must say I'd forgotten about the piece too. I'll have to give it another listen...
I just have. It's not a masterpiece, but it's a very engaging and well-written piece of work. A most satisfying listen.
I only happen to know the violin sonata, and coincidently even ran through it with a violinist friend a couple of weeks ago. A first glance at the score immediately shows the resemblance to Schumann's first violin sonata opis 105, the piano figure in the opening bars very closely mimicking the writing in Schumann's work. There is of course no shame in taking Schumann as an example (2nd movement of Brahms' second sonata is also clearly influenced by the second movement of this same sonata). Overall I find it an enjoyable piece, not very original perhaps, but fun to play, and certainly very idiomatic for both instruments, and well within the limits capable amateurs should be able to reach.
p