Woldemar Bargiel

[Alan Howe]

Not a prolific composer, but definitely a cultured one...

Woldemar Bargiel (3 October 1828 – 23 February 1897) was a German composer of classical music.

Life

Bargiel was born in Berlin, and was the half brother of Clara Schumann. Bargiel's father Adolph was a well-known piano and voice teacher while his mother Mariane had been unhappily married to Clara's father, Friedrich Wieck. Clara was nine years older than Woldemar. Throughout their lives, they enjoyed a warm relationship. The initial opportunities which led to the success and recognition he enjoyed were due to Clara, who introduced him to both Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn. Bargiel received his first lessons at home and later with the well-known Berlin teacher of music theory Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn. Upon the suggestion of Schumann and the recommendation of Mendelssohn, Bargiel at age 16 went to study at the famous Leipzig Conservatory with some of the leading men of music: Ignaz Moscheles (piano) and Niels Gade (composition), and also with Julius Rietz.
After leaving Leipzig in 1850, he returned to Berlin where he tried to make ends meet by giving private lessons. Eventually, Clara and Robert were able to arrange for the publication of some of his early works, including his First Piano Trio.
Subsequently, Bargiel held positions at the conservatories in Cologne and Rotterdam (where he met Hermine Tours, his future wife, sister of the composer Berthold Tours) before accepting a position at the prestigious Hochschule fur Musik in Berlin where he taught for the rest of his life. Among his many students were Paul Juon, Waldemar von Baußnern, Alexander Ilyinsky and Leopold Godowsky. Besides teaching and composing, Bargiel served with Brahms as co-editor of the complete editions of Schumann's and Chopin's works. While Bargiel did not write a lot of music, most of what he composed was well thought out and shows solid musical craftsmanship. His chamber music—he wrote four string quartets, a string octet and three piano trios—represents an important part of his output.

Selected list of compositions

Op. 1 Character pieces for piano
Op. 2 Character pieces for piano
Op. 3 Three nocturnes for piano
Op. 4 Six bagatelles for piano
Op. 6 Piano trio No. 1 in F major
Op. 7 Suite for piano, four hands
Op. 8 Three character pieces for piano
Op. 9 Three fantasy-pieces for piano
Op. 10 Violin Sonata in F minor
Op. 13 Scherzo for piano
Op. 15a Octet for strings in C minor (I.Adagio - Allegro appassionato; II.Andante sostenuto - Allegro - Tempo 1 - Tempo 2; III. Allegro)
Op. 15b String Quartet No. 1 in A minor
Op. 16 Overture to Prometheus
Op. 17 Suite for violin and piano
Op. 18 Overture to a Funeral Play
Op. 19 Third Fantasy for solo piano
Op. 20 Piano Trio No. 2 in E-flat
Op. 21 Suite for piano (I. Praludium; II. Zwiegesang; III. Sarabande; IV. Marsch - Trio; V. Scherzo; VI.Finale)
Op. 22 Overture to Medea
Op. 23 Sonata for piano in G, four hands
Op. 25 Psalm 13 (for chorus and orchestra)
Op. 26 Psalm 23 (published 1863)
Op. 29 Gigue for piano four-hands
Op. 30 Symphony in C major
Op. 31 Suite in G minor for piano (I. Prelude; II. Elegy; III. Marcia fantastica; IV. Scherzo; V.Adagio; VI.Finale)
Op. 32 Eight fantasy pieces for piano
Op. 33 Psalm 96 for unaccompanied double chorus
Op. 34 Sonata for piano in C (I. Allegro moderato, con passione; II. Andante, un poco con moto; III. Adagio maestoso - Allegro molto - Prestissimo)
Op. 35 Three Spring Songs, for three-part women's chorus
Op. 37 Piano Trio No. 3 in B-flat
Op. 38 Adagio in G major for violin or cello and piano or orchestra
Op. 39 Spring Songs (for three-part chorus with piano)
Op. 41 Eight Piano Pieces [4]
Op. 43 Psalm 61 (for choir, baritone solo and orchestra. Published 1878)
Op. 44 Impromptus, for piano
Op. 45 Etude and Toccata for piano
Op. 47 String Quartet No. 4 in D minor
Op. 48 Intermezzo for orchestra (arrangement of the slow movement of the Op. 34 piano sonata) (also published as Op. 46)

[eschiss1]

Fairly complete 20-page list of works and much information about Bargiel's works and manuscripts at this PDF - http://www.v-r.de/data/files/389971719/Werkeverzeichnis%20Bargiel.pdf - prepared by Dean Cáceres who has also written a substantial book (in German) about the composer, Das Echte und Innerliche in der Kunst: Der Komponist, Dirigent und Padagoge Woldemar Bargiel(1828-1897): Ein Beitrag Zur Musikgeschichte des unbekannten 19. Jahrhunderts. (Google Books previewable in the USA.)
Note: the first quartet is listed, but among the works without opus number ("Autogr. September [18]48"). I wonder if quartet no.2 has gone missing or if I have just missed it?... opus 15 applies to three works- fantasy-piece for piano (1856), opus 15a octet (composed 1849/50, published 1877), opus 15b quartet (1851, published 1877 - Cáceres gives as quartet 3 and understandably).
Also, the intermezzo, while sometimes given opus 48, is actually opus 46. There really is no opus 48. Cáceres lists no opus 42.
Other missing items-
Opus 5: Fantasy for piano (1850- published 1855?)
Opus 11: Marsch und Festreigen, 2 pieces for piano (1855)
Opus 12: 2 Fantasies for piano (1855, published 1857)
Opus 24: 3 Dances for piano 4hands or orchestra (published 1864, 1868)
Opus 27: Fantasy-piece (published 1863)
Opus 28: 3 Piano pieces (appeared initially without opus, in 1863 from Häslinger.)'
Opus 36: Etude for the Stuttgart piano school (also, appeared initially without opus, in 1875 from Breitkopf.)
Opus 40: Albumblatt (Waltz in A, initially without opus, appeared in 1870.)
(Guessing anyway that opus numbers were assigned, at least often with composer's initiative or at least approval in many cases, on later appearances of the works; opus 40 for example was republished several times.)

[Alan Howe]

Thanks again, Eric.

[Balapoel]

Minor correction,
Op. 5, Fantasia No. 1 in b minor
Op. 12, Fantasia No. 2 in D major

[Rainolf]

Bargiel was surely a cultured composer. For me, his piano trios, especially No. 3, belong to the best piano chamber music pieces written by one of the many academic composers in the 19th century. Bargiel had a good melodic gift. His pieces show a fine sense for composing gently flowing musical developments, that reminds me more of Schubert than of Schumann or Brahms.

Does someone know if the string quartets are recorded (radio broadcasts)? Wilhelm Altmann gave good notes to them in his string quartet handbook.

[eschiss1]

There were going to be CD recordings of the two published Bargiel string quartets, I seem to recall- and if so - (a lot of ifs)- there may have been broadcasts by the group that was going to make these recordings...

[eschiss1]

Balapoel- thank you- I mistranslated Zweite Fantasie... whoops... (hrm. also, quartet 2 could conceivably be the string quartet arrangement by the composer of the octet opus 15a.)

[Rainolf]

Maybee the confusion with the numbers of the string quartets bases on Altmanns handbook. He writes there, that Bargiel didn't have the luck to find a publisher for his "two middle quartets" and refered to op. 15b as quartet No. 1. But the score at imslp clearly says "Quartett Nr. 3".