Rufinatscha alert!

[Alan Howe]

NB This is NOT an April Fool posting!!

I have heard from an impeccable source that another C minor Symphony by Rufinatscha has been unearthed. It appears that what was assumed to be a strings-only piece is actually a symphony with all the other parts missing. Accordingly, a completion is being made by a leading Austrian composer and a first performance is planned for the autumn of 2012 in Mals, Austria, Rufinatscha's birthplace.

What I am currently trying to find out is (a) whether there is any connection between this piece (apparently 45 mins long) and the three-movement torso of Symphony No.4 in C minor which we only have in piano four-hands form, and (b) what period it dates from if this is a completely different piece.

More news as I get it...

[albion]

Fascinating news, Alan - Chandos might have to seriously consider a volume 4! 

Please keep us up to speed with any more information on the work and it's discovery.

[Mark Thomas]

What a fascinating development, Alan. Do make sure to keep us posted.

[Ignaz Brüll]

Mals is in Italy...

[Alan Howe]

Mals is indeed in Italy (just!) - although in the very north of the South Tyrol which up until WW1 was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today the majority of its population are still German-speakers. Apologies for the error!

[alberto]

Mals is in Italy since 1918 (the Italian name is Malles).
Rufinatscha was German speaking (that would be anyway today) and was citizen of the Austrian Empire.
Indeed things are not always so simple. For instance Antonio Salieri was by birth citizen of the Austrian Empire and lived at long in Wien (like Rufinatscha). Did Antonio Salieri know German language? I never raised the question, but I would reply: yes.
Did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart know Italian language? Yes, he did.
Where did Gustav Mahler compose Das Lied von der Erde and the ninth Symphony? In Toblach (Austria, Austrian Empire) around 1908-1910.
Toblach (or Dobbiaco) became Italian in 1918.

[Alan Howe]

The first piece of news from Austria is that the symphony currently being reconstructed is indeed Rufinatscha's 4th of 1846. This is, of course, tremendously exciting news as this would be the companion piece to Symphony No.5, dating from the same year (1846) and a work from the composer's mature period. More news as I get it...

[Alan Howe]

Now things become a little less clear. It appears that assumptions have been made about the identity of the string parts that have been found in Vienna (i.e. whether they relate to the same symphony - No.4 - of which we so far have only had three movements in a piano four-hands version). However, checks are going to be made over the next few days. I am also trying to ensure that the gentleman commissioned to do the reconstruction work knows about the piano score - if it's the same piece! He hasn't yet seen any of the music...

[JimL]

Hopefully the string parts will match up with the reduction, and will include the finale as well.  Do you think there's a chance the 3rd will turn up somewhere in the vicinity?

[Alan Howe]

The 3rd seems to have disappeared altogether. But who knows....?

Anyway, more news about the 4th (if the assumptions are correct) later in the week, hopefully by Thursday.

[Mark Thomas]

And whether it's the Fourth or not, what great timing for the Chandos series!

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Exactly! What I am very much hoping is that the remains of whatever is currently being discovered in Austria turns out to be especially significant, and that this in turn creates a whooping great houhaha in the musical press. And if Chandos go on unveiling their new series in that climate, then, great larks, we might get a Volume 4!!!

[eschiss1]

Did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart know Italian language? Yes, he did.

Since you ask in passing - of course Mozart knew Italian. He travelled to Italy to study with Martini, and generally learned Italian operatic music which had a huge influence on his music from that point forward; I believe he spent not a little while there.

At what time did he learn Italian, much earlier or just before his trip for example, however, is a question I should check the answer to - I admit I'm not sure offhand.
Your overall point I grant.

[Alan Howe]

BTW I'm also making sure that Chandos know about the latest developments through one of the producers who works for the BBC in Manchester.

[albion]

This is great news, Alan.

I sincerely hope that this new discovery does lead to the possibility of an orchestral 'reconstruction' of Rufinatscha's 4th Symphony. With a knowledgable 'middle-man' such as yourself ideally placed, it is of the utmost important than everyone concerned is kept up-to-date with any developments in this story.

Were the all-important string parts (fundamental in any nineteenth-century scoring, carrying the bulk of the orchestral argument) discovered in a library, a commercial enterprise or a private collection?