Salomon Jadassohn

[Alan Howe]

Another fine composer is Jadassohn:

Salomon Jadassohn (13 August 1831 – 1 February 1902) was a German composer and a renowned teacher of piano and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory.

Jadassohn was born to a Jewish family living in Breslau, the capital of the Prussian province of Silesia. This was a generation after the emancipation of the Jews in Central European German-speaking lands and during a time of relative tolerance. First educated locally, Jadassohn enrolled at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1848, just a few years after it had been founded by Felix Mendelssohn. There he studied composition with Moritz Hauptmann, Ernst Richter and Julius Rietz, as well as piano with Ignaz Moscheles. At the same time, he studied privately with Franz Liszt in Weimar.

Jadassohn in the 1860s

Because he was Jewish, Jadassohn could not qualify for the many church jobs as music directors or organists which were usually available to Christian graduates of a conservatory such as Leipzig, as they required deep knowledge of Christian liturgy and practice. Instead he worked for a Leipzig synagogue and a few local choral societies as well as teaching privately. Eventually, he was able to qualify for a position at the Leipzig Conservatory, teaching piano and composition.
Over the years, he became a renowned teacher, and Edvard Grieg, Ferruccio Busoni, Frederick Delius, Paul Homeyer, Richard Franck, Sigfrid Karg-Elert, Ruben Liljefors, Emil Reznicek and Felix Weingartner were among his many students. Americans also studied with him, including the song composer Jean Paul Kürsteiner and George Strong, a composer of the late 19th and early 20th century.
[edit]Work

Jadassohn composed more than 140 works in virtually every genre, including four symphonies, two piano concertos, lieder, sonatas, opera and a considerable amount of chamber music, including a string quartet, four piano trios, three piano quartets, three piano quintets and a serenade for flute and string quintet. These chamber works rank among his finest compositions. Considered a master of counterpoint and harmony, he was also a gifted melodist, following in the tradition of Mendelssohn. His works also show the influence of Wagner and Liszt, whose music deeply impressed him. In addition, he wrote several important books on composition and music theory.

Reputation

The general consensus is that Jadassohn and his music were not better known for two reasons: the first is the pre-eminence of his contemporary Carl Reinecke. Reinecke was a world-famous piano virtuoso and composer, but also an important professor at the Leipzig Conservatory, where Jadassohn taught. Reinecke later served as its director and, at the same time, held the post of conductor of the renowned Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
Secondly was the influence of the rising tide of antisemitism in late 19th century Wilhelmine Germany. In the wake of Wagner, many music critics attacked Jadassohn's works, labeling it academic and dry, epithets which have stuck with it since. Since his death, his music has been seldom performed, but in the 21st century, a reevaluation of it has begun with new performances and recordings. His Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 Op. 89 in C minor was performed to acclaim at a public premiere (since his death) by soloist Valentina Seferinova and the Karelia State Philharmonic Orchestra (Musical Director: Marius Stravinsky; Conductor: Denis Vlasenko) in Petrozavodsk, Russia on 20 December 2008. A CD recording of this live performance was issued by Cameo Classics in January 2009. Hyperion Records released a recording of Jadassohn's two piano concertos. The record label cpo has announced they will be recording and releasing all four of Jadassohn's symphonies with Israel Yinon and the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie. Some of these recordings have already been made and broadcast on local radio stations.

Symphonies:

Symphony 1 in C major, Op.24 (1861)
Symphony 2 in A major, Op.28 (1865)
Symphony 3 in D minor, Op.50 (1876)
Symphony 4 in C minor, Op.101 (1889)

Concertante works with orchestra:

Piano Concerto 1 in C minor, Op.89 (1887)
Piano Concerto 2 in F minor, Op.90 (1888)

Chamber music:

Cavatina for Cello and Orchestra, Op.120
Sextet for piano 4 hands, 2 violins, viola, cello, Op.100 (1888)
Piano Quintet 1 in C minor, Op.70 (1883)
Piano Quintet 2 in F major, Op.76 (1884)
Piano Quintet 3 in G minor, Op.126 (1895)
Piano Quartet 1 in C minor, Op.77 (1884)
Piano Quartet 2 in G major, Op.86 (1887)
Piano Quartet 3 in A minor, Op. 109 (1890)
String Quartet 1 in C minor, Op.10 (1858)
Piano Trio 1 in F major, Op.16 (1858)
Piano Trio 2 in E major, Op.20 (1860)
Piano Trio 3 in C minor, Op.59 (1880)
Piano Trio 4 in C minor, Op.85 (1887)
Violin Sonata in G minor, Op.5 (1857)

[Gareth Vaughan]

Allow me to add some important works to Alan's list:

There are 4 Orchestral Serenades: No. 1 in the form of 4 Canons Op. 42 (sounds dry and academic but isn't); No. 2 in D Major, Op. 46; No. 3 in A major, Op. 47; No. 4 in F major, Op. 73 + a Serenade for Wind Instruments, Op. 104c, and, among concertante works, a delightful Serenade for Flute and Strings, Op. 80 (which has been recorded by Cameo and will be released shortly). In the concertante category there is also a Cavatina for Violin & orchestra, Op. 69. The music for all these works is extant.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Gareth - good news too!

[eschiss1]

Worse comes wurst, quite a few of the full scores are on IMSLP and parts could in principle be extracted therefrom (actually, for the serenade no.3 in A, the parts are already there too, courtesy of BSB Munich.)

[adriano]

I have the original first prints of Jadassohn's Symphonies Nr. 3 and 4. Since nobody wanted me to record these, I passed on the orchestral parts to a Zurich Library. This is one of those many projects Klaus Heymann of Marco Polo-Naxos refused to do in the 80-90's. I am sure one day he will do them with another conductor, now I am not working anymore for him. He does not forget my ideas, which at that time were quite a pioneer's ones...
Adriano, Zurich Switzerland
conductor

[eschiss1]

as to the symphonies, fortunately (well, I say fortunately, though I've only seen nos. 2 and 3 in - published - score and no.1 in reduction and don't know no.4 at all) they've been recorded and are being released (eventually) by cpo...
(would also like to hear more of the chamber music, starting with the string quartet op.10 and any that keep showing up in lists that must not have been published...)
for my own part I hope there's more to come though of course.

[Ilja]

I thought Jadassohn's Symphony No. 4 had been recorded by the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie with Israel Yinon for CPO. Haven't seen a release schedule, but I have the recording. A worthwile work, somehow reminds me of Draeseke in his 'lighter' moments, and Hamerik maybe.

[Alan Howe]

You are right, Ilja. And the other three symphonies have been recorded by the same team...

[Sydney Grew]

It is rather remarkable isn't it that Jadassohn wrote four symphonies - and so did Brahms. Jadassohn two piano concertos - likewise Brahms! But the equivalence does not extend to their chamber works.

Jadassohn's five most important theoretical books are:

- A Theory of Harmony,
- Manual of Counterpoint,
- A Theory of Canon and Fugue,
- Forms in Musical Art-Works, and
- A Textbook of Instrumentation.

All these may be downloaded from the Internet Archive, both in the original language and in English versions. The best scans are, I have found, those listed nearest the end of that page.

On the question of harmony, it was Jadassohn's view that "any progression may be sanctioned in which one or two tones common to the two chords are held in the same part or parts. But even without this natural bridge of a sustained tone, the progression may be good when the several parts are led in true vocal style from the tones of the first chord to those of the second."

[Balapoel]

So, does anyone know when we might expect CPO's recordings of Jadassohn's symphonies?

[Alan Howe]

Unfortunately not. They're obviously in a very long pipeline...

[eschiss1]

Someone on YouTube asked me to alert this person if the symphonies are rebroadcast on German radio meanwhile (before cpo releases them, so that they can hear them); I should look for that too anyway, I've been wanting to hear them, I also quite like his music... Unfortunately I'm not used to those stations' schedules/playlists, but good to learn. Again, it's glad news. I hope (of course) that even more of his music is on the way, too - some of his chamber music having meanwhile been broadcast on the radio, etc. and more than sustained the original promise.