Presents
Felix Weingartner
Octet in G Major, Op.73
For Piano, 2 Violins, Viola, Cello, Clarinet, Horn and Bassoon
Felix Weingartner (1863-1942) was born in Zara, Dalmatia, today's Zadar, Croatia, to Austrian parents. In 1883, he went to the Leipzig Conservatory where he studied composition with Carl Reinecke. He also studied privately with Franz Liszt in Weimar. Weingartner was one of the most famous and successful conductors of his time, holding positions in Hamburg, Mannheim, Danzig, Munich, Berlin and Vienna, where he succeeded Gustav Mahler as Director of the Imperial Opera. Despite his demanding career as a conductor, Weingartner, like Mahler, thought of himself equally as a composer and devoted considerable time to composition. He wrote several symphonies, numerous operas, some instrumental concertos, and a considerable amount of chamber music, including four string quartets, a piano sextet and a string quintet. Additionally he wrote a great number of vocal works and instrumental sonatas. Though many of his works originally achieved a fair amount acclaim, they quickly disappeared from the concert stage. It is only in the past few years that their excellence has been rediscovered.
This marvelous work was composed in 1924. It is a dark, brooding late romantic piece written on a big scale. The first theme to the opening movement, Allegro, begins quietly with the horn giving out the main theme over the hushed whispers of the strings. Slowly it unfolds to reveal a huge musical landscape, full of power and a sense of striving. The lovely second movement, Andante, is elegaic, approaching the funereal, but not without passionate outbursts. The Tempo di Menuetto which comes next features a big horn solo before the strings join in. The mood, while by no means jovial, is certainly more upbeat than the preceding Andante. There is a sense of spaciousness to the lilting music which could even be danced to. The trio section provides a strong contrast with the clarinet and piano bringing forth a much slower and haunting subject. The finale, Allegro moderato, begins with a huge rather triumphant flourish which almost immediately gives way to a rather lopsided, spooky, heavily accented dance during which Weingartner takes the listener on a wild journey through an entire world of moods in this extraordinary movement.
The Octet is truly an outstanding work, stunning and not to be missed.
Parts: $89.95
