Chamber music by Anton Bruckner

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Bruckner and chamber music

For Anton Bruckner 's musical thinking was based entirely on the principles of symphonic music, in contrast to its antipode Johannes Brahms , whose works dominated by the chamber music is. This also explains why Bruckner, after he recognized his own form of expression in the mid-1860s, almost exclusively composed symphonies and their influence can also be clearly felt in his non-symphonic works. He did not feel much drawn to compositions for small ensembles and consequently wrote only a few chamber music. They are:

  • Two Scherzi for string quartet in F major, Kitzler-Studienbuch, pp. 66–70, and G minor (“A dark, fast movement with a Schumann-like, sunny trio in G major”), Kitzler-Studienbuch, p. 70-74, WAB 209 ( 1862 )
  • Theme and variations for string quartet in E flat major, Kitzler-Studienbuch, pp. 92-104, WAB 210 (1862)
  • String Quartet in C minor WAB 111 (1862)
  • Rondo for string quartet in C minor, WAB 208 (1862)
  • Evening sounds for violin and piano WAB 110 ( 1866 )
  • Streichquintett F major WAB 112 ( 1878 /79)
  • Intermezzo for string quintet in D minor, WAB 113 ( 1879 )

Early chamber music

Bruckner's first chamber music works, while he was almost 38 years old, was taking free composition lessons from the Linz theater conductor Otto Kitzler , were four sketches for Scherzo for string quartet and two Scherzi for string quartet in F major and G minor, and a theme and variations for string quartet in E flat major.
The original version of the two scherzi in F major and G minor was performed for the first time by a Japanese ensemble on March 8, 2019.

After that, the string quartet in C minor , like the better-known F minor symphony a little later , was created as a study project and was completed on August 7, 1862. In terms of quality, the opus, which lasts around 20 minutes, cannot be compared to the composer's later symphonies. However, it shows a technically secure style. The strict instructions in counterpoint with Bruckner's previous teacher Simon Sechter can also be seen in him. The first movement ( Allegro moderato ), with its elegiac main theme and the extravagantly modulating development, already points somewhat to the later Bruckner. In the main theme of the second movement ( Andante ), Bruckner anticipates the melody of Miserere from his Mass No. 1 in D minor. The short Scherzo ( Presto ) is rustically colored, a Länders serves as a trio. At the end of the work there is a rondo ( Schnell ) with sonata-like features, which is based on the final movements of the Viennese classic . Bruckner's string quartet was lost for a long time and was only found in the 1950s . Since then, the piece has enjoyed occasional maintenance by the string quartet ensembles.

The Rondo in C minor, written in the same year as the quartet, for the same instrumentation, was obviously composed because Bruckner believed that he had not yet mastered the rondo form with the finale of the string quartet. This is how a second, somewhat longer Rondo was created “ in a larger form ” (Bruckner). It is completely identical in character, structure, tone and time signature to the first rondo movement, so it could easily be replaced with it as the final movement of the string quartet.

The little character piece Abendklänge for violin and piano was created in 1866 as an occasional work at the time when Bruckner was working on the first symphony .

String Quintet in F major (WAB 112)

Emergence

Anton Bruckner composed his string quintet (WAB 112) in 1878 and 1879. In a letter of December 9, 1878 to Wilhelm Tappert in Berlin, he mentions a new work on which he was currently working: “At the moment I am writing a string quintet in F major, because Hellmesberger has repeatedly urged me, who is known to be enthusiastic about my things. ”In the autograph, the origin of the individual movements is dated: At the beginning of the second movement is the date April 6, 1879, at the end of March 31, 1879 of the third movement July 12, 1879 and at the end of the fourth movement June 25, 1879. The first movement has the year 1879 at the end. Already in the cited letter to Tappert, Bruckner indicates the reason for the creation of the work. The Viennese violinist and conductor Josef Hellmesberger was obviously the decisive factor that Bruckner even tackled the composition of a larger chamber music work.

In a letter to the Florian priest and Regens Chori Ignaz Traumihler, Bruckner reports on the completion of his string quintet and at the same time hopes for the premier performance by Josef Hellmesberger soon: “My quintet is ready! Hofkapellm. Hellmesberger is completely out of joint with joy, u want to perform. It has been completely changed, u sets me apart. ”Hellmesberger actually hesitated with the premiere. The Bruckner biographer August Göllerich comments on this: "Just as every impression of genius is converted into gigantic proportions, Bruckner also seems to have taken some of Hellmesberger's binding words about the now completed quintet too seriously." And Göllerich continues: "Although Hellmesberger first could not push the master enough towards completion, when it was scheduled for the evenings of his quartet, he got 'regular finger pain'. Bachrich [the first violist] 'assured his' lord and master' [meaning Hellmesberger]: 'we are laughed at' and the work was' canceled '. ”- The Hellmesberger Quartet could not claim the premiere either . Instead, the enlarged Winkler Quartet (Julius Winkler, Carl Lillich, Hans Kreuzinger, Julius Desing, Theodor Lucca) played the work for the first time on November 17, 1881 in the Bösendorfer Hall of the Vienna Musikverein on the initiative of Bruckner's admirer Josef Schalk in an "internal evening" of the Academic Wagner Society. However, the final movement was left out at the time. After the end of the dress rehearsal, Bruckner hurried after the critic Eduard Hanslick: “Bruckner exhausted himself with thanksgiving 'for the high honor' and made an attempt, Hanslick, much to the anger of his friends, who did not miss out on a proper reprimande kiss the hand! This scene will also be unforgettable to me. Far from finding them comical, I had the impression of being touching and moving. ”Finally, it wasn't until January 8, 1884 that the first full performance with the Hellmesberger Quartet (Josef Hellmesberger senior, Josef Hellmesberger junior [both violin], Josef Maxintsak) took place [Viola], H. Kupka [viola], Ferdinand Hellmesberger [violoncello]).

Going to press

At first Bruckner could not find a publisher for his new work: "All efforts of the master and his admirers to find a publisher for it in Vienna were unsuccessful". The efforts of the conductor Hans Richter to find a publisher in England also failed. It was not until Bruckner's student Josef Schalk that the string quintet was published by the Viennese publisher Alfred Gutmann, with Schalk's own four-hand piano version and his piano arrangement of the slow movement being planned for print.

reception

While the Viennese critics Gustav Dömpcke, Max Kalbeck and Eduard Hanslick reacted dismissively to hostile with regard to the string quintet, the Bruckner admirers Theodor Helm and Ludwig Speidel praised the originality and sound beauty of the new work. Theodor Helm emphasized in 1884: “While the finale of Bruckner's quintet - at least the effect is so when heard for the first time - falls off precariously, the three remaining movements are extremely interesting, especially because of the happy and original invention of the Motifs. ... The pearl of the quintet, however, is the Adagio (in G flat major), one of the noblest, most transfigured, delicate and most beautiful sound that has ever been written in recent times [...]. What an exuberantly intimate, in a truly 'infinite' gush of flowing sensation! This Adagio seems as if it were a piece that has only now been found in Beethoven's estate, originating from the master's last days and inspired by his fullest inspiration. That is probably the highest praise that can be said about the composition of a living composer, and we are not afraid to say it. "

sentences

First sentence (moderate)

The first movement in ¾ time is characterized by the “really romantic main theme, which deviates into the D flat major, which is related to the third.” After a brief transition, the singing period follows in F sharp major. In the implementation, the main theme is further processed and modified in the "character of a free improvisation". After a general pause, a mock review begins in which the main theme is narrowed down until the first violin finally leads on to the actual recapitulation.

Second movement (Scherzo. Schnell)

The ¾-time Scherzo, which "most closely shows family resemblance [also key signature] with the Scherzo of the 'Fifth' ', differs from the otherwise usual orchestral Scherzi of Bruckner's symphonies. A country theme, performed in the second violin, forms the actual core idea of ​​the light-footed work, contrasted by a classically playful counterpart of the first violin. Bruckner calls for the middle section to be “almost Andante”. Another slowing down almost leads to a standstill, until the original main idea once again becomes of central importance. The numerous harmonic half-tone shifts from D minor to D flat major are striking.

Third movement (Andante [Adagio])

While the first movement and the finale are in F major, the Scherzo in D minor and the trio in E flat major, the third movement (4/4 time) begins in G major (lower majorz to F major) . The main theme, performed by the first violin, is set directly without preparation and flows widely. On the constant eighth pulse of second violin and second viola, a new thought is heard as a reversal of the main theme. In the development part, a downward pearling sixteenth-note figure is increased further and further until there is an increasing concentration of sound. After a fermata, another wave of ascension begins, leading to a climax in the triple fortissimo - followed by a gentle epilogue.

Fourth Movement (Finale. Lively Movement)

“This finale is certainly one of the strangest in the master's work. At first its key is completely veiled, but the master’s sense of tonality cannot be assumed to be anything other than that it strives back to the main key of the work. ”Explain the Bruckner biographers Max Auer and August Göllerich and recommend“ when the work is performed, the finale should immediately follow the adagio to let. ”The ¾ time of the first movement is compared to the 4/4 time of the final movement. The fourth-containing main motif in the second violin can be heard above a pulsing organ point D. First viola and first violin answer with a sweeping melodic phrase. What is striking is the frequent use of sixths in the landler-like eighth-note figure of the first viola, which can be traced back to the line of the second violin and the cello of the first part and which directly refers to the trio in the Scherzo. An airy opposing voice from the first violin playfully and unstoppably pushes upwards. The actual development theme becomes the starting point for a fugue, the theme of which is contrasted with a concise triplet figure. Finally the recapitulation in D flat major follows. The coda forms a jubilant conclusion.

Intermezzo in D minor

Josef Hellmesberger, on whose initiative the string quintet was created, rejected the scherzo originally planned by Bruckner and “requested a new movement to replace the scherzo. Bruckner then composed a new piece - the Intermezzo (WAB 113), completed on December 21, 1879. “Its main motif consists of a swaying figure from the second violins in ¾ time. The frequent occurrence of the key G major creates a direct reference to the slow movement. In the implementation, the motifs of the first part are transformed. The artistically crafted work, labeled Moderato, was only published in 1913 and is sometimes used as an additional movement when the string quintet is performed. The first performance took place on January 23, 1904 by the Rosé Quartet.

Stylistic position

The string quintet in F major is Bruckner's most extensive and most important chamber music work. The Austrian musicologist and Bruckner expert Leopold Nowak emphasizes: “It will still be able to be called Bruckner's only composition for chamber music, because the string quartet from 1862, published in the complete edition in 1956, is a study project for all its solidity in form and implementation Bruckner himself would certainly only accept it as such. "

The closeness of Bruckner's string quintet to Beethoven's late quartets is occasionally emphasized. When Bruckner composed his quintet, however, he did not yet know Beethoven's late quartets - at least according to the statement of the Bruckner researcher Max-Auer, who reports: “As Göllerich after this performance [meaning the first performance on November 17, 1881] Bruckner confessed That he thought the quintet was a direct continuation of Beethoven's last quartet was shocked by Bruckner's modesty at this comparison with the master he greatly admired and told him that unfortunately he did not know Beethoven's last quartets. Göllerich then gave him the scores of the same for the next Christmas. ”Ernst Kurth emphasizes:“ As independent as the voices live in their counterpoint, that feeling of breaking sound and boundaries is missing, they strive more for density, for union, and by no means merely to the harmonic abundance, rather precisely in the counterpoint to an overall tension that distinguishes them from the critical urge to diverge in Beethoven's last quartets. Despite many similarities, it is a different basic feeling, guided by a symphonic unity, which is also significantly different with Bruckner than with Beethoven. "

dedication

The work is “Sr. Royal Your Highness dedicated to Duke Max Emanuel in Bavaria with deepest reverence. ”In thanks, Bruckner received a pin from the Bavarian Duke. The choice of an appropriately high-ranking personality as a dedicatee shows the importance that Bruckner attaches to his string quintet. The Bruckner researcher and organist Erwin Horn shows that with his dedications Bruckner climbed “one step after the other in the hierarchy that is open to the top”. With this, Bruckner puts his string quintet on the level of the symphonies - in terms of meaning.

occupation

Bruckner's string quintet in F major is composed for two violins, two violas and a violoncello. With the addition of the second viola, the middle range of the string spectrum is particularly emphasized and reinforced.

Recordings (selection)

  • Amadeus Quartet - CD, Audite 21425, 1953
  • Koeckert Quartet - LP, Decca (USA) DL 9796, 1952
  • Leipzig String Quartet - CD, MDG 307 1297-2
  • Melos Quartet - CD, Intercord INT 820 744, 1969
  • Melos Quartet - CD, Harmonia Mundi HMC 901421, 1992

Facilities and processing

Although Bruckner's string quintet is primarily a chamber music work, the symphonic aspects of this work have inspired various authors to adapt them for various ensembles.

Hans Stadlmair set up the string quintet for a choral performance and also added double basses. Gottfired Kraus states: “Only the additional use of the double bass creates new possibilities of expression, the great sound of the strings allows us to recognize the models, not least the influence of Richard Wagner, more clearly in Bruckner's unmistakable language than is the case in the comparatively more brittle chamber music version . “The work was u. a. recorded by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra (conductor: Lothar Zagrosek). The CD was released in 1995 by Orfeo International Music GmbH, Munich (C348951A).

Peter Stangel arranged the work for chamber ensemble: "Stangel expanded the solo string quintet to include a double bass, woodwind and two horns into a veritable 'chamber symphony'" and has started his arrangement with the chamber ensemble "Die Taschenphilharmonie". The CD (live recording) was released in 2007 on the Solo Musica CD label.

Gerd Schaller has made an adaptation for a large orchestra (two woodwinds, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani and strings): “The orchestral version shows that the Bruckner style basically exists across genres thanks to its ingenious, highly individual art forms in the case of this quintet arrangement, it leads to the acquisition of a new symphonic dimension for the large concert hall. ”The CD recording with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (conductor: Gerd Schaller) was released in 2018 by the Profil Edition Günter Hänssler label (PH16036).

There are various arrangements of the slow movement for string orchestras by:

  • Fritz Oeser , rehearsed a. a. from the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (conductor: Vladimir Ashkenazy), CD label Ondine, 1998.
  • Stanislaw Skrowaczewski , recorded a. a. from the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra (conductor: Stanislaw Skrowaczewski), CD label Arte Nova Classics.
  • Michael Erxleben , recorded by the Konzerthaus Kammerorchester Berlin (conductor: Michael Erxleben), CD label CuGate Classics (CGC013), 2014.

Further arrangements of the slow movement were made for different ensembles:

  • Erwin Horn , version for organ, sheet music published by Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden (ED 8484), CD recording with Winfried Bönig (organ), label Ursina Motette (MOT 13254), LP recording with Erwin Horn, LP: Label Mitra 16170 .
  • August Humer , version for organ, CD recording with August Humer, Extempore Records (280131), 2000.
  • Hans-André Stamm , version for brass and organ, CD recording with the Ludwigsburg brass quintet and Winfried Bönig (organ), label ambitus, (number 97873), 1991.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Clitoris Study Book. facsimile
  2. ^ Benjamin-Gunnar Cohrs conducts more premieres from the Bruckner Studybook
  3. ^ Two Bruckner Premieres in Japan
  4. ↑ Performance of the Scherzo in F major
  5. ↑ Performance of the Scherzo in G minor
  6. ↑ Andrea Harrandt, Otto Schneider: Anton Bruckner - Briefe, Volume 1 (1852–1886), 2nd revised edition . Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag Wien, 2009, p. 187 .
  7. ↑ a b Autograph, Anton Bruckner, Austrian National Library Vienna, signature A-WnMus. Hs. 19482
  8. ↑ Andrea Harrandt, Otto Schneider: Anton Bruckner - Briefe, Volume 1 (1852–1886), 2nd revised edition . Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag Wien, 2009, p. 188 .
  9. ^ A b August Göllerich, Max Auer: Anton Bruckner, Ein Lebens- und Schaffensbild . Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg, 1936, p. 539 .
  10. ↑ August Göllerich, Max Auer: Anton Bruckner, Ein Lebens- und Schaffensbild . Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg, 1936, p. 678 .
  11. ^ Leopold Nowak (editor): Critical new edition by Gerold W. Gruber, study score, Anton Bruckner, string quintet in F major, Intermezzo in D minor . Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag Wien, 2007, p. 2 (preface).
  12. ↑ August Göllerich, Max Auer: Anton Bruckner, Ein Lebens- und Schaffensbild . Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg, 1936, p. 543 .
  13. ↑ August Göllerich, Max Auer: Anton Bruckner, Ein Lebens- und Schaffensbild . Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg, 1936, p. 548 .
  14. ↑ August Göllerich, Max Auer: Anton Bruckner, Ein Lebens- und Schaffensbild . Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg, 1936, p. 557 .
  15. ↑ Wolfgang Rathert: The Chamber Music, in: Bruckner Handbook . Metzler, Stuttgart, 2010, p. 315 (editor: Joachim Hinrichsen).
  16. ^ Leopold Nowak (editor): Critical new edition by Gerold W. Gruber, study score, Anton Bruckner, string quintet in F major, Intermezzo in D minor . Musikwissenschaftlicher Verlag Wien, 2007, p. 1 (preface).
  17. ↑ August Göllerich, Max Auer: Anton Bruckner, Ein Lebens- und Schaffensbild . Gustav Bosse Verlag, Regensburg, 1936, p. 679 .
  18. ^ Ernst Kurth: Bruckner (2 volumes), volume 2 . Max Hesses Verlag, Berlin, 1925, p. 1158 .
  19. ^ Erwin Horn: Anton Bruckner in the best company in: Society and Music. Paths to the sociology of music (editor: Wolfgang Lipp) . Duncker and Humblot, Berlin, 1992, p. 265 .
  20. ^ Anton Bruckner discography: String quintet in F major, WAB 112 (1879)
  21. ↑ Gottfried Kraus, booklet text for CD recording, Anton Bruckner, String Quintet, Bamberger Symphoniker, Lothar Zagrosek, Orfeo (C 348 951 A), 1995.
  22. ↑ mighty colossus, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Klaus Kalchschmid 19 November 2017 http://www.sueddeutsche.de/kultur/kurzkritik-gewaltiger-koloss-1.3755734
  23. ^ Rainer Boss, introductory text for the CD publication, Bruckner, Quintet in F Major, Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gerd Schaller, Profil Hänssler (CD PH16036), 2018.