Hellmesberger Quartet

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Fritz Luckhardt : Hellmesberger Quartet approx. 1872: Heinrich Röver, Joseph Hellmesberger the Elder, Sigismund Bachrich, Joseph Hellmesberger the Younger

The Hellmesberger Quartet was a string quartet founded by Josef Hellmesberger senior in Vienna in 1849 , which made a special contribution to establishing a tradition of chamber music concerts as well as promoting and interpreting romantic works . After the founder's departure from his son, Josef Hellmesberger junior , headed as Primarius , it existed until 1901 .

history

When Josef Hellmesberger sen. founded his string quartet, he had already gained some acquaintance with and experience in this ensemble art. Even his father had an excellent reputation as a quartet player - probably inspired by Joseph Böhm , whose student and assistant he was - and often gave private concerts in front of selected audiences with his partners Leopold Jansa , Matthias Durst and Egidius Borzaga. There is no evidence of public appearances or details of this oldest Hellmesberger quartet.

At the age of 12, Josef Hellmesberger sen. among others together with his two years younger brother Georg and Joseph Joachim in a so-called “boy wonder quartet”.

Forming his first own ensemble turned out to be quite easy for him: in 1849, at the age of 21, he was able to win over the three well-rehearsed partners of Leopold Jansa's only quartet in Vienna at the time. He completed only one concert cycle with a new formation and after the failed revolution, for political reasons , looked for the way to emigrate to England. Jansa himself and his quartet - after several unsuccessful attempts - were only able to resume the practice of public chamber music concerts initiated by Ignaz Schuppanzigh in 1804 and last continued in 1823–1829 .

The new Hellmesberger Association organized six to eight so-called “Quartet soirées ” per season and for long periods remained the only regular ensemble based in Vienna. Only from the end of the 1870s / beginning of the 1880s was the need for several permanent quartets broad enough. On the other hand, there was international competition before that, for example through the quartets of the Müller brothers and Henri Vieuxtemps , the Laub Quartet , the Florentine Quartet founded by Jean Becker and the Joachim Quartet , which have repeatedly made guest appearances in Vienna.

Following Schuppanzigh's example, the programs of the Sunday Hellmesberger concerts usually included a piano trio (or sonata with violin) between two string quartets (sometimes a quintet , sextet or the like). Among the participating pianists there are well-known names such as Johannes Brahms , Joseph Dachs, Julius Epstein , Alfred Grünfeld, Moriz Rosenthal , Anton Rubinstein , Wilhelm Schenner, Clara Schumann etc.

The repertoire also shows Schuppanzigh's influence in the total number of programs in the first four decades with a dominance (in ascending order) of Haydn , Mozart and - with an overwhelming distance - Beethoven , whom Eduard Hanslick once called the "father, son and spirit of our instrumental music" had designated. Even more so than in the older model, however, the Hellmesberger Quartet Schubert played a prominent role and also consistently turned to romantic and other contemporary composers, above all Robert Schumann , Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Johannes Brahms. Of these, they also premiered a considerable number of works (e.g. by Johannes Brahms, Anton Bruckner , Carl Czerny , Karl Goldmark , Anton Rubinstein , Camille Saint-Saëns , Robert Volkmann etc.).

In 1870 the older of the two sons, Josef Hellmesberger junior , joined the quartet as second violinist and in 1883 his brother Ferdinand Hellmesberger joined the quartet as cellist . This briefly resulted in the change of name to the Hellmesberger and Sons Quartet .

After a chronic handicap, Josef Hellmesberger sen. Forced to give up his career as an instrumentalist in 1887, his eldest son took over the position of primary violinist. However, this seemed to be “not up to the position”, as Max Kalbeck soon believed to establish and snappy sums up: “The spirit that once ruled and inspired the Hellmesberger Quartet has unfortunately disappeared with its famous Primarius, and has gone astray in its place a fidgety, inartistic being. "

While the ensemble was previously very “stationary”, the newly formed ventured into individual concert tours ( Constantinople , Orient ).

The quartet still had a regular audience and there were always positive reviews, but in direct comparison with the increasing competition, the fame visibly faded, so that “one day it (disappeared) from Viennese musical life”. This was specifically in connection with the appointment of Josef Hellmesberger jun. as Hofkapellmeister in 1901.

meaning

The older Hellmesberger Quartet made lasting contributions to the development of chamber music culture in Vienna by continuing the Schuppanzigh legacy of ensemble playing at the highest level, setting new standards in interpretation and adding new works to the repertoire.

After Schuppanzigh's death (1830), Leopold Jansa gave public quartet concert series with a permanent ensemble ( Jansa Quartet ) in Vienna, initially with little response, but ultimately from 1845 onwards , but these did not seem to be of sufficient quality to contemporary critics. Both the quality of the repertoire and that of the performance practice itself did not allow a comparison with the Schuppanzig ensembles. The important music critic Eduard Hanslick was therefore able to formulate in retrospect in his history of concerts in Vienna in 1869: "Chamber music lived miserable days in the period 1830–1848."

Only the Hellmesberger ensemble was considered the legitimate heir of the Schuppanzigh quartets in Vienna. In an international comparison, however, some others were at least equal or in some cases even higher in different phases. The latter applies (with Eduard Hanslick and Max Kalbeck ) to the Florentine Quartet founded in 1865, but especially to the (Berlin) Joachim Quartet, which began performing in 1869.

As a quality feature of the Hellmesberger ensemble "the conception of a tone poem from the inside and its representation as a whole" was emphasized, as well as the effort to "bring out the character of the piece of clay in particular".

As a specific peculiarity of the association, its subjective, emotional lecture (sometimes with a negative undertone) often received special attention. The character of the Hellmesberger Quartet was clearly shaped by the “fine, sensitive, sometimes flirtatious, but always elegant and delightful playing” of its primary violinist, as Hanslick noted. The ensemble's “delicate, elegiac lecture” seemed to him particularly suitable for interpreting romantic works, which it knew how to reproduce with “poetic enamel”. But the well-known critical Hanslick in the young ensemble (1853) disliked the fact that "its tone often borders on whispering, the expression in soft emotional bliss often blurs the pure contours of the musical thought with individual accents , rubatos and similar refinements".

What the person Josef Hellmesberger sen. Hanslick assessed "his artistic direction an excellent influence". More inclined to egalitarian ensemble playing, he viewed the sometimes resounding virtuoso dominance of the primary violin rather critically. How much the quality of the ensemble depended on its participation becomes clear from a criticism by Max Kalbeck, who after the first quartet evenings with Josef Hellmesberger jun. when Primarius was still hoping for the senior to return to the ensemble. On the occasion of an orchestral concert review he said: “The black band, which Mr. Hofkapellmeister Hellmesberger, the conductor of the excellent orchestra, wore wrapped around his left hand, means a mourning ribbon for the first violinist and his famous quartet. Without Mr. Hellmesberger jun. who, as deputy quartet father, took his place at the first desk with good decency, to want to offend, we must admit that the Hellmesberger quartet with its primary violinist threatens to lose its soul. (...) Let us hope that the days of the reign [of the junior] are numbered and that we can soon again pay homage to the quartet majesty by God's grace. "

Up until the change, however, there were always excellent reviews not only for the primary soloist, but also for the entire ensemble.

The repertoire of the Hellmesberger Quartet was significantly more diverse than that of the Schuppanzigh Ensembles, and compared to that of the Jansa Quartet, it was also more demanding and up-to-date. Hellmesberger's main focus in the classics was initially - despite Schuppanzigh's previous efforts - (even with Jansa), Beethoven's late works, which were still not sufficiently accepted. A factor that Hanslick also particularly appreciated: "The first systematic naturalization of the later Beethoven in the Vienna concert life happened in the field of chamber music and is entirely due to Hellmesberger."

He also paid special and loving attention to Franz Schubert's chamber music. With the exception of his “Rosamunde Quartet” (D 804), which was dedicated to Schuppanzigh, none of his quartets had ever been publicly performed or even published in print during his short life. The Hellmesberger Ensemble made up for some of this and premiered the compositions D 887, D 956, D 112, D 173 and D 703. "These works have all wandered from Vienna, namely from Hellmesberger's Quartet Salon into the wide world," Hanslick was full of praise. Most of the reviews for Schubert's interpretations by the ensemble were also conspicuously positive.

Beyond this repertoire focus, the merit of the Hellmesberger Quartet lies in the broad presentation of romantic composers, whereby in addition to the above-mentioned in particular Karl Goldmark, Anton Rubinstein and Robert Volkmann were represented with significantly more works.

Chronologically, the Hellmesberger Quartet initially focused primarily on unknown and not yet performed works by Schubert, Beethoven's late quartets, which had long been rejected, and Schumann's chamber music, and persistently helped them to gain recognition and recognition.

The success of the quartet performances with the Viennese professional and broad enthusiastic audience increased initially from season to season and was then exceptionally great for decades.

After the founder of the ensemble left, the Hellmesberger Quartet suffered a significant loss of level. Initially somewhat in opposition, the Rosé Quartet, which performed in parallel from 1883, increasingly took the stage as the legitimate successor to the older Hellmesberger successful association.

Members

  • Violin : Josef Hellmesberger sen. (1849–1887), Josef Hellmesberger jun. (1887–1901)
  • Violin: Matthias Durst (1849–1865), C. Hoffmann (1865–1866), Dragomir Krancsevics (1867–1868), Adolf Brodsky (1868–1869), Dragomir Krancsevics (1869–1870), Josef Hellmesberger jun. (1870–1875), Franz Radnitzky (1875–1876), Josef Hellmesberger jun. (1876–1887), Julius Egghard (1887–1901)
  • Viola : Carl Heissler (1849–1855), Franz Dobyhal (1855–1868), Sigismund Bachrich (1868–1880), Josef Maxintsak (1880–1901)
  • Cello : Karl Schlesinger (1849–1855), Agidius Borzaga (1855–1858), Bernhard Cossmann (1858), Heinrich Röver (1859–1868), David Popper (1868–1872), Heinrich Röver (1872–1875), Friedrich Hilpert (1875–1876), Reinhold Hummer (1876–1880), Joseph Sulzer (1880–1883), Ferdinand Hellmesberger (1883–1901)

literature

  • Robert Maria Prosl: The Hellmesberger. 100 years from the life of a Viennese family of musicians. Gerlach & Wiedling, Vienna 1947.
  • Quartet Hellmesberger. All programs from the 1st quartet on November 4, 1849 to the 300th quartet on December 19, 1889 collected and presented to the founder of the quartets Josef Hellmesberger sen. dedicated by one of the oldest quartet visitors. Wallishauser, Vienna undated (approx. 1890).
  • Eduard Hanslick: History of the concert being in Vienna. 2 vols. Braumüller, Vienna 1869/1870. (Online facsimile)
  • Andreas Moser: Joseph Joachim. A picture of life . Behr, Berlin 1898.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Biographical Lexicon of the Austrian Empire. Vol. 8, Vienna 1862, p. 285.
  2. ^ Eduard Hanslick: Musical . In: Die Presse, Vienna, February 4, 1860, p. 2.
  3. ↑ Max Kalbeck: Concerte . In: Article  in:  Die Presse , November 29, 1889, p. 3 (online at ANNO ). Template: ANNO / maintenance / apr (below)
  4. ^ Robert Maria Prosl: The Hellmesberger. 100 years from the life of a Viennese family of musicians. Gerlach & Wiedling, Vienna 1947, p. 104.
  5. ^ Eduard Hanslick: History of concerts in Vienna. Vol. 1. Braumüller, Vienna 1869, p. 305.
  6. ^ Eduard Hanslick: Musical newsreel . In: Wiener Zeitung, Vienna, November 24, 1849, supplement to the Morgenblatt, p. 3.
  7. ^ A b Eduard Hanslick: History of concerts in Vienna. Vol. 2. Braumüller, Vienna 1870, p. 50.
  8. ^ Eduard Hanslick: History of concerts in Vienna. Vol. 2. Braumüller, Vienna 1870, p. 51.
  9. ↑ Max Kalbeck: Concerte . In: Die Presse, Vienna, December 7, 1887, p. 2 (bottom).
  10. ^ A b Eduard Hanslick: History of concerts in Vienna. Vol. 1. Braumüller, Vienna 1869, p. 401.

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