Some time ago, I obtained a Musica Bavarica CD #75120 which contained two works by the Bavarian composer Wilhelm Maria Puchter (1848-1881). One of the works, in which I am particularly interested, is his Op.9 Notturno in f minor for Piano Quartet. I found it an excellent work.
I have tried to locate the sheet music, but have had no success. Perhaps the Bayerischstaatsbibliothek has a copy. I have not checked with them, but they have not digitalized it.
Does anyone know anything about this composer and this work?
Apparently it's Puchtler, with an l. 1848-1881 (http://bmlo.de/p0814). Born Holzkirchen, died Nizza.
One work of his does seem to have been digitized- a Romanze for piano Op.7. (see http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000EC3F00000000 (http://resolver.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de/SBB0000EC3F00000000). Also his Zigeunerweisen op29 -see http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn=urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00010047-8 (http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn=urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00010047-8).) Will need to keep looking for the notturno- maybe it's spelled nocturno, or something... hrm.
Thanks, Eric. I have duly corrected the thread title.
Anybody listened to Puchtler's take on the the same theme as Liszt's Sardanapalo as a Symphonic poem?
(https://media1.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0000008288376.jpg)
I find it kind of long and somewhat underdeveloped as a symphonic poem.
There is also a very interesting opera "Sardanapalus" by Christian Ludwig Boxberg (1670-1729), which has a German libretto - a rarity for that time.
He was a student of the Leipzig Thomasschule.
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/christian-ludwig-boxberg-sardanapalus/hnum/5654997
Puchtler's tone poem "Sardanapal" (26 minutes) is a quite original piece; it was written when the composer was 23 years old. He died 10 years later. The work has 6 episodes and is written in the Neudeutsche Schule style. Liszt examined it and found it "full of energy, élan, originality, phantasy, musical qualities and knowledge". Hans von Bülow did not dare to intervene against the Munich Brahms-oriented clique who was against a performance, which means that this recording is a world premiere.
But a real discovery, a piece of immense beauty on this CD is Purchtler's 16-minute's "Quartett-Notturno" for piano, violin, viola and cello" - a chamber work un peu à la Raff and already pre-Rachmaninov-like. I've fallen in love with it :-)
... And there are, of course, Berlioz's "La mort de Sardanapale" and Ravel's "Myrrha", both Prix de Rome cantatas - also based on Byron's tragedy. The Berlioz is for tenor, choir and orchestra (with a beautiful clarinet solo passage à la Weber) - and available on Harmonia Mundi. All of Berlioz's cantatas are reunited in there.
The three Ravel cantatas are available on a splendid EMI CD of 2000, conducted by Michel Plasson.
Both CDs are excellently performed!
I must say I rather enjoyed this piece. It's not very individual, but it has plenty of variety in its six sections - and it's quite imposing in places. Definitely 'neudeutsch' in its orchestration and sonorities too. Well worth investigating.
I can't seem to find any sort of bio on this composer. Anyone here familiar with his works - style, list, etc?
There is a bio in the CD booklet. The style is something in-between Mendelssohn, Raff and Liszt. I am in contact with some German sources to get more infos. But, as already said, the CD's highlight is the Quartett-Notturno!
On the CD inlay and booklet he is wrongly called "Puchter".
I'd say Liszt and Raff are good comparisons, particularly the former.
In the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek I have located a 20-page essay on Puchtler, They will send it to me today or tomorrow. So I may also find out the location of the scores. The mentioned Institute has only piano pieces.
In an 1877 letter to his publisher Simrock, Brahms wrote he had little to say about Puchtler: (sorry that the quote is in German only...):
"Über Puchtler weiß oder mag ich nichts Rechtes sagen. Vor allem scheint er mir (blos nach seinen Noten) ein sehr anspruchsvoller Mensch zu sein. Die Etüden sind horrend schwer und sehr unpraktisch, wie mir scheint. Ich möchte einmal seinen Fingersatz dazu sehen ... er sollte sie Liszt widmen ..."
The gist of Brahms' opinion of Puchtler is that the latter's (piano) music is horrendously difficult to play - and that he should dedicate his Etudes to Liszt! Says it all...
This is my link to a substantial, over 20-pages essay on Puchtler (in German, written by Robert Münster), with a work catalogue and a discography. It was published in 2014. In there you will also find a letter by Johannes Brahms's to Puchtler and a quotation from a later letter, in which Brahms finds Puchtler's other works "just dreadful".
http://www.mediafire.com/file/s506bbkvk01qilk/Wilhelm+Maria+Puchtler+%281848-1881%29.pdf
Thanks, Adriano. An invaluable source of information.
Much appreciated, Adriano. Thank you.
Relating to the cd in the first post of this thread - I also just obtained this cd, from one of the larger international distributors that we all know, and what I received was an unsealed cd. Upon inquiring, I was told that "To protect the environment, many manufacturers don't seal their products anymore......___________ is conservation-minded and delivers items also unsealed." Having bought cd's since their invention, and having a fairly sizable collection (92,000 tracks), if this practice was as common as is suggested above, I would have thought I would have had such an experience before now. Sorry to be off-topic and will happily start a new thread if there's that much response (I wouldn't think an entire thread would be justified), but just curious - do other members of this forum routinely receive "new" cd's that are not shrink-wrapped?
We were discussing about this composer in a more recent thread. Alan, will you perhaps able to merge them? In the meantime I could receive a scan of the MS of Puchtler's magnificent "Quartett-Notturno".
Your wish is my command!
Thanks very much, dear Friend :P
As some of you may recall, I started this thread some three years ago in hopes of finding the sheet music to the Notturno so that we could make the parts available to chamber music players. Our copy of the CD came directly from Musica Bavarica and it was sealed in plastic shrink wrapp. Robert Munster and Alois Kirchberger are listed as the owners.
Anyway, we are still very interested in obtaining a copy or good scan of the Notturno with a view to publishing i.e reprinting it assuming it was published. If it is only in manuscript, we could arrange to have it notated. To say the least, we would be extremely grateful if whomever has access to a copy or scan would be so kind as to email it to us at editionsilvertrust@gmail.com
The Notturno isn't published. For the record there's an entry for Puchtler's estate of materials, undigitized and unfortunately there doesn't seem any further list of contents online. With luck the Notturno is among these: http://kalliope-verbund.info/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-BF-10028 (http://kalliope-verbund.info/de/ead?ead.id=DE-611-BF-10028)
I was just answering, then a new posting came in - and my message disappeard. I wrote that I contacted the pianist of the recording, but she never answered. I actually intended doing an edition (with Sibelius music software), but I still don't know if somebody had done this already for the CD's musicians - which I suppose, since it's not easy just playing from the MS. At he Bayerische Staatsbibliothek they do not have such an edition, they only have the MS - and the people from Musica Bavarica did not help either.
The MS number of the Notturno is:
Mbs Mus.ms 5277 (Score, 28 pages)
Mbs Mus.ms 9639 (Parts)
The MS is in very good condition; you can order scans against payment. The scans I have received are excellent (I only have bought the score)
In the meantime I've edited a new score with notation software of Puchtler's "Notturno", based on the MS from the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich. Parts will also be available. I am in touch with a publisher.
Somebody has reproduced Puchtler's original MS in IMSLP.
The musicians involved in that older "Musica Bavarica" CD were either departed or are now very old. They may have written out their own parts manually for their 1986 performance and recording. However, "original" violin and cello parts could also be found.
Munich musicologist Robert Münster, a Puchtler expert, died (aged 93) just a few weeks before I could send him my score.
I mentioned his interesting study on Puchtler and his complete work catalogue earlier in this thread. From this study one can learn that this "Notturno" had never been published.
Mr. Münster was also one of the initiators of the "Musica Bavarica" label.
Edition Silvertrust has published the parts and score to the Notturno which will be made available at the end of August 2021 on their website.
The parts and new score are based on the manuscript found in the Nachlass of Puchtler's in the Musikabteilung der Bayrischen Staatsbibliothek. Peter Klossbruhe, one of our editors who lives outside of Munich was able to contact cellist Friedrich Kleinknecht before he died and pianist Sylvia Hewig-Troscher who kindly examined preliminary drafts of the work. The final edition of the parts was edited by R.H.R. Silvertrust.
In other words, my work was done for the cat... Since I've already contacted an editor myself, who now is no more interested.
it would not surprise me if the person, who has done - or recommended - this new editing, has got the idea from me; I talk about this project since some time in here. It's not the first time this happens. My mistake is that I often speak too enthusiastically about my projects; so once more I've learnt a lesson.
Incidentally, my own work is also based on the manuscript of Puchtler's Nachlass. By the way, this MS was uploaded some time ago to IMSLP (not by me, I honestly ordered and paid Library scans and would have never dared to upload them without permission).
Anyone, who may be interested in seeing my (still unlectored) "study score" version of Puchtler's "Notturno", can contact me and ask for a free download. In case of a confirmed public performance, one can hire the parts free or charge. But I correspond only with real people. Enough of having to deal with avatars. In my opinion, everyone writing in here should stand up for its opinion and not hide himself fearing to compromise because of his ideas. This is neither a mystery thriller nor a hide-and-seek show, but a professional "network" of (hopefully honest) music lovers and specialists, so what's so "delicate" about revealing his name?