Rufinatscha Piano Quartets

[Martin Eastick]

Following on from the the recent posts concerning the enterprising CD's issued by the Tiroler Landesmuseum, and whilst also acknowledging the considerable interest and discussion concerning Rufinatscha's symphonic contributions, has anyone listened to his two piano quartets, which were issued on one of thier CD's in 2000, but which may not now be available. The earlier of the two, in C minor dates from 1836, and whilst enjoyable enough, is unsurprisingly derivative at times. However, the A flat major of 1870, is, IMHO, one the the most impressive chamber works for this combination, and surely deserves to be recognised as such. As with many of the Tiroler Landesmuseum's recordings, the piano is a Conrad Graf from 1838, but seems to me more than acceptable here - and certainly does not seem to have a detrimental effect on the performance, which in most cases is NOT usually the case!

Having re-visited these works today, I must now also renew my acquaintance with his string quartets - E flat major of 1850; and G major of 1870, which were released back in 2001!

[Alan Howe]

I concur, Martin.

The A flat Quartet may actually be later than 1870: the sleevenote suggests it may be as late as 1875 (Rufinatscha having used his Piano Trio as a 'model' [Vorbild] for its composition.)

The work itself is a marvel - a glorious 35-minute lyrical outpouring which surely belongs in the standard repertoire. The recording, with (thankfully) non-HIP string-playing, is very fine, set in a generous acoustic which mitigates the slightly tinny sound of the early piano used.

Sadly, the CD is no longer available, which is real shame. However, details can be found here, plus audio of the whole work (tracks 5-8 for the A flat Piano Quartet) - see if you don't fall in love with it straight away:
http://klangraumtirol.musikland-tirol.at/Kammermusik/seite32.html

This is as great a work as Rufinatscha ever wrote. I'd take it over any of Brahms' three any day. By the way, do consult this article on Rufinatscha's music:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2017/Apr/Rufinatscha_article.htm

[terry martyn]

What an insightful and rewarding article that is!  Thanks,Alan

[eschiss1]

Where did the date of 1870 come from? (At least with the 1870(?) -string- quartet a performance, "Novitat in G-dur", is mentioned in the 3 April 1872 Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, so there's an upper boundary on that work's date...)

[Alan Howe]

There is a dating problem with a number of Rufinatscha's works. As I said earlier, the date quoted for the later Piano Quartet comes from the CD sleevenote by Manfred Schneider. To be precise, what he says is 'um 1870', i.e around 1870, or maybe later, 'um 1875', i.e around 1875.

Until futher information emerges, this seems to be the best we can do for now. So to sum up, we have a range from around 1870 to around 1875.

[Martin Eastick]

I presume that the MS sources of these chamber works of Rufinatscha are with the Tiroler Landesmusem, but surely performing editions must have been prepared for the recordings? If so, I wonder if these could be made available to others, which may in turn encourage new recordings (preferably, of course, using a modern piano where applicable!).

The constant lack of availability, and relatively easy access to performing material is an ongoing problem when trying to promote much unsung repertoire, and here is a typical case in point - although I know there are at least a few tenacious purveyors of such music that we must be ever grateful to for tracking down performance material. Still, i would have thought that Rufinatscha's two piano quartets, two string quartets, and his piano trio would make a welcome addition to certain more specialist music publishers listing, assuming the Tiroler Landesmuseum's co-operation in such a project!

[Alan Howe]

Martin: I suggest you contact Dr Franz Gratl at f.gratl@tiroler-landesmuseen.at

[eschiss1]

BTW the A-flat major piano quartet was planned to be performed in NYC by the Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players back in 2020. Was that cancelled (COVID) (probably- I think it was scheduled for October 26 of the year) , did it happen, has it been rescheduled, ...? Anyone at all know?