Dvorak Viola Concerto

[Alan Howe]

Details, please - dates of composer, dates/details of works. Thanks!

[eschiss1]

Kreuz- 1867-1932, viola concerto in C minor Op.20, published 1885 or before.
Hay- 1888-1945, viola concerto in A minor Op.16, published 1927/8 or before. Very little other information seems to be available; seems Romantic to me (reduction @ IMSLP), but...
von Bartels - 1883-1938 - viola concerto Op.20 - manuscript, ca. 1927, @ Nederlands Muziek Instituut.
Karl Marx (1897-1985) - viola concerto Op.10 - published by Bote&Bock, available from Boosey & Hawkes, published & premiered in 1930.

There's also Szeremi Gustave (1877-1952) whose viola concerto was published sometime around 1910ish, and Hugo von Steiner's (1862-1942) 2 concertos published in 1909.

[Simon]

According to RISM, there is a Konzert für Viola und Orchester by the Dresden composer Theodor Blumer (1881-1964). Unfortunately, it seems that the Sächsische Landesbibliothek only have the piano reduction... his style (in his wind chamber music) is usually post-romantic, with some touch of Strauss, but I have no idea if this concerto from 1947 is in the same idiom.

[Alan Howe]

...and then there's Emanuel Moór (1863-1931):

Concertstück in C sharp minor (1886?)
VaC No.2 in C sharp minor (1886?)

NB See correction below!

[Gareth Vaughan]

No one has mentioned Hans Sitt (1850-1922) who, as well as writing a number of violin concertos, wrote a concerto and two Concert Pieces for viola and orchestra, though the later of these is described as "for violin or viola". I have not seen the scores so cannot comment on their merit, however. Are they discussed by Toskey?

[Alan Howe]

Toskey does discuss Sitt's works in detail, yes. Of the VaC in A minor, Op.68 (Eulenberg, c.1900) he says:

'This is perhaps the finest of the very few examples of viola concertos in the Romantic vein.'

Now that's interesting, isn't it? The question now is: where are the score and parts, if anywhere?

[Alan Howe]

Answer - at IMSLP, of course!
http://imslp.org/wiki/Viola_Concerto%2C_Op.68_(Sitt%2C_Hans)

[eschiss1]

FLP also has, it seems, a Sitt viola concerto Op.46 in score, parts and arrangement (here.) Worth looking under their viola-concerto tags ("Concertos (Viola)" ; "Concertos (Viola), Arranged > Scores and parts.") for Romantic viola concertos and filtering for unrecorded works. (They may just have the arrangement; under MARC they -list- the full orchestration, whether or not they have the full score or parts.) (IMSLP gives Op.46 as a concertpiece.)

[eschiss1]

have we had a thread, as for Schumann, for Dvorak's least known worthy works (and there are a good number of those?), out of curiosity? In either of our subforums?

[Alan Howe]

Don't know - probably on some of his lesser-known works (of which there are many). No reason not to start a new one, of course...

[Alan Howe]

...but not in your little grey cells, evidently! Great to have your views here.

[JimL]

Moór's 2nd Cello Concerto is also in C-sharp minor. As there doesn't appear to be a 1st Viola Concerto, I'd be willing to bet that the "Viola Concerto No. 2" is an arrangement by the composer of the cello concerto.

[Alan Howe]

Hmm. I think I'll have to correct my earlier post. I have a works list compiled from other sources which includes a Concertstück for viola and orchestra in C sharp minor and a Viola Concerto in the same key. However, the list at the Henrik und Emanuel Moor Stiftung website http://www.emanuel-und-henrik-moor-stiftung.de/Emanuel/works.shtml makes no mention of a Viola Concerto at all - only the Concertstück. So I don't think the Viola Concerto exists. Sorry, Jim!

[Ilja]

To add a few:
- Jenö Hubay's Viola Concerto, Op. 20 (1884). Recorded by Peter Barsony with the Erkel Chamber Orchestra conducted by Gergely Vajda.
- Samuel de Lange's Viola Concerto (1900). Recorded (but not published I think) by Jürgen Kussmaul with the Netherlands Broadcasting Orchestra (Omroeporkest) conducted by Leo Driehuys.
- Alfred Hill's Viola Concerto (1940). Recorded by Robert Pikler with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra conducted by Henry Krips.


... and we should probably mention the Schmidt-Kowalski, too (2010).

[Gareth Vaughan]

However, the list at the Henrik und Emanuel Moor Stiftung website http://www.emanuel-und-henrik-moor-stiftung.de/Emanuel/works.shtml makes no mention of a Viola Concerto at all - only the Concertstück.

That was my impression too, Alan. However, there is, as you know, a considerable collection (at least equal in size to that at the Henrik und Emanuel Moor Stiftung) in the basement of the Westminster Music Library. The errant viola concerto may be there. However, bearing in mind that sources give the same key and date of composition (1886) for both the Concertstuck and the Concerto, I think they are probably one and the same.