Unsung Composers

The fellow wearing the natty bowler and a distinctly worried look is the German composer, teacher and writer Richard Wüerst (1824-1881). He was a pupil of Mendelssohn and Ferdinand David amongst others and became Royal Music Director in Berlin at the early age of 32. He was a professor at the Kullak (later Stern) Conservatory, where his pupils included Heinrich Hoffman (of Frithjof Symphony fame) and Philip Scharwenka. As a composer he was quite productive with 93 works that I can trace, of which 87 bore opus numbers. Almost all of them were published, so presumably he was successful and popular in his day. I haven't been able to establish whether there are any extant unpublished manuscripts.

He was a prolific composer for the voice, with seven operas, a couple of works for chorus and orchestra, 11 other choral works and no less than 138 songs in 40 sets. There are only a few minor works solely for piano, but his chamber music does included three string quartets and an early Piano Trio. Of his 12 orchestral works, pride of place goes to three symphonies, of which the first (in C minor) bears the motto "Return, my Child, and Pick the Golden Fruit" (Geh' hin, mein Kind und brich die gold'ne Frucht). It won first prize in an 1849 competition organised by the Cologne Music Society and was published in 1852. His orchestral music also includes a Violin Concerto, three works for string orchestra, a couple of sets of variations (one on an old Stephen Foster song) and his final opus - the intriguingly titled Dance of the Midges, Flies and Beetles Op.87. I've added a work list below.

All of this is by way of preamble to the question: has anybody heard any of his music? Nothing seems to have been commercially recorded and not even one of his many songs is available on YouTube. I imagine, given his training and academic bent, that he would prove to be a conservative in the Mendelssohn tradition, but it would be good to be able to judge for oneself.

Richard Wüerst Worklist (all dates are of publication, not composition):

Vocal Works with Orchestra:
WoO. Opera in 3 Acts: The Red Coat (Der Rotmantel) (1848)
Op.30 The Water Sprite (Der Wasserneck): Lyric Cantata for solist, choir and orchestra (1857)
Op.40 Romantic Opera in 3 Acts: Vineta, or On the Seashore (Am Meerestrand) (1863)
Op.45 Grand Opera in 4 Acts: The Star of Turan (Der Stern von Turan (1865)
WoO. Dramatic Musical Joke in 1 Act: The Tour (Die Gastspielreise - also called Eine Künstlerreise) (1868)
Op.61 Comic opera in 3 Acts: Faublas (1873)
Op.65 Comic Opera in 3 Acts: A-ing-fo-hi (1875)
WoO. Opera in 4 Acts: The Officers of the Empress (Die Offiziere der Kaiserin) (1878)
WoO. A Winter's Evening (Ein Winterabend) - Cantata for Mixed choir & orchestra

Works for Orchestra:
Op.21 Symphony in F major (Preis-Sinfonie 1852)
Op.37 Violin Concerto in A major (1861)
Op.38 Symphony No.3 in C minor (1862)
Op.44 A Fairy Tale (Ein Mährchen) Fantasy Piece (1865)
Op.50 Variations on an Original Theme (1869)
Op.53 Intermezzo in D major for string instruments (1870)
Op.54 Symphony No.2 in D minor (1869)
Op.55 Serenade in E flat (1870)
Op.56 Variations sur une Chanson nègre de Kentucky (1872)
Op.78 Under the Balcony (Unter'm Balcon)- Serenade for string orchestra with cello obbligato (1880)
Op.81 Russian Suite for string orchestra with violin obbligato (1881)
Op.87 Dance of the Midges, Flies and Beetles. Scherzo (1882)

Chamber Music:
Op.4 Two Romances (E flat major & A minor) for violin & piano (1844, 1877)
Op.5 Piano Trio in G major
Op.12 Two Romances for violin & piano (1847)
Op.13 Two Romances for violin & piano (1850)
Op.14 Three Character Pieces for violin or cello and piano (1851/1862)
Op.19 Duo for cello & piano (1850)
Op.25 Two Romances for violin & piano (1852)
Op.33 Three String Quartets: No.1 in A minor, No.2 in D major & No.3 in G major (1860)

Choral Works:
Op.24 The 28th Psalm for three-voice women's choir, solost and piano (1853)
Op.26 Three songs for four-part men's choir (1856)
Op.27 Spiritual Song (Geistliches Lied) for four-part women's choir, soloist & piano
Op.31 Five Songs for mixed choir (1861)
Op.34 Song: Lonely Stands a Birch (Einsam steht eine Birke) for mixed choir
Op.35 Travelling Song (Reiselied) for six-voice mixed choir
Op.41 Song: Jubilate for mixed choir. (1864)
Op.48 Three Easy Motets for mixed choir
Op.49 Wandering Song (Wanderlied) for mixed choir (1868)
Op.60 Song: To the Fatherland (Dem Vaterland) for men's choir (1872)
Op.85 Four Four-Part Songs in Folk Style (1882)

Songs with piano:
Op.2 Seven Duets for two voices
Op.7 Three Lieder for two sopranos & alto (1845)
Op.8 Six Lieder (1844)
Op.9 Six German Lieder (1845)
Op.10 Four Lieder with obbligato violin (1847)
Op.11 Six Lieder (1847)
Op.15 Four Duets for soprana and alto (1851)
Op.16 Song: To Your Heart (An deinem Herzen) (1850)
Op.17 Four Lieder for soprano, alto, tenor & bass
Op.18 Six Lieder (1862)
Op.20 Twenty Lieder & Songs (1860)
Op.22 Song: Ruheshal for two sopranos & tenor (1851)
Op.23 Four Lieder for two voices (1852)
Op.28 Aria di Concerto (Misera, dove sono) for mezzo-soprano or contralto  (1854).
Op.29 Three Lieder for low voice (1880)
Op.32 Two Songs for soprano and alto 1860)
Op.39 Three Songs for middle voice (1862)
Op.42 Three Lieder for middle voice (1863)
Op.43 Ballade: The Sick Child (Das kranke Kind) for middle voice (1864)
Op.46 Five Songs for soprano and alto (1866)
Op.51 Three Songs for a voice with piano and cello (1869)
Op.52 Four Lieder for middle voice (1870)
Op.57 Three Lieder on Paul Heyse's Jungbrunnen for middle voice (1873)
Op.58 Four Lieder for soprano and alto (1872)
Op.62 Terzett: From Spring (Vom Frühling) for three female voices (1874)
Op.63 Four Lieder for mezz-soprano or baritone (1874)
Op.66 Two Lieder (1875)
Op.67 Two Lieder (1875)
Op.69 Two Lieder (1876)
Op.71 Three Lieder for soprano (1876)
Op.72 Three Songs for middle voice (1877)
Op.74 Three Songs for two sopranos and an alto
Op.75 Two Lieder for soprano (1879)
Op.77 Two Lieder (1879)
Op.79 Two Lieder (1885)
Op.82 Two Lieder for middle voice (1884)
Op.83 Lied: Betrayed Secret (Verrathnes Geheimniss)
Op.84 Song: He Went to Seek his Love (Es ging, sein Lieb zu suchen) for alto (1882)
Op.86 Lied: Deep Within Me I am Sick (Das ich tief innen kranke)
WoO. Song: German Emperor's Hymn (Deutsche Kaiserhymne)

Piano works:
Op.47 Three Pieces for piano four hands (1868)
Op.64 Intermezzo, Menuetto & Gavotte for piano (1875)
Op.68 Three Character Pieces (Nocturne, Zigeunermarsch, Rondo) for piano (1876)
Op.70 Two Piano Pieces: No.1 Allegretto grazioso, No.2 Rondo (1876)
Op.73 Valses allemandes for piano (1879)
Op.76 Menuetto in C major for piano (1879)
WoO. Galop Nonchalent for piano

Unidentified Opus Numbers: Opp.1, 3, 6, 36, 59 & 80 and any beyond Op.87.

I see an opportunity emerging. The solo violin part in the Russian Suite mostly looks well beyond me, but I reckon I could manage to fake the cello in Under the Balcony recognizably enough. Unfortunately the string quartets aren't on imslp yet.

Well, Fleisher has scores and parts of a number of Wuerst's orchestral works, including the VC and 2nd Symphony.

I was going to say something about sausages, but his catalogue's far too impressive for such silliness. I too wonder whether anyone knows his music...

It would be great to hear at least one piece by Wüerst, Steve, although quite what is meant by "Under the Balcony" I can't imagine. Judging by the titles of some of his pieces, and the pair of comic operas, I suspect that he may have had a sense of humour, and he'd be none the wüerst for that!

Gareth, thanks for the pointer to Fleisher. IMSLP has a couple of scores in common with it, but also one of the operas and a cantata, as well as chamber pieces. The largest collection of scores, in fact almost the complete set, is in Berlin as you'd expect.

RISM gives the movements of the Symphony No.1 as being:
I. Allegro con moto
II. Adagio non troppo lento
III. Scherzo: Allegro moderato ma non troppo lento
IV. Finale: Allegro animato ma non troppo vivace.
There are incipits.

Fleisher lists those of the Symphony No.2 as: 
I. Introduzione: Largo - Allegro con impeto
II. Andante quasi allegretto
III. Scherzo: Allegro con moto - Trio
IV. Finale: Allegro con fuoco

And the Violin Concerto:
I. Allegro animato
II. Adagio
III. Allegro con moto
Toskey says of the concerto: "This music is essentially of dramatic nature with lyrical interludes, but there are rhythmic tendencies in parts of the final movement. The mood is somewhat plaintive or melancholy in portions of the first movement, but the music becomes more cheerful in the final movement. The music is mostly very lively, dynamic and forceful. The tonalities are Romantic, making use of pleasing chromatic note combinations, and the music is very melodious. The violin solo part consists of scales, patternwork and singing. Long chromatic scale runs and other rapid configurations remind one of the concertos of Spohr. Other techniques employed include doubles, chords, double harmony, arpeggio, scale runs, trills and artificial tremolos. The solo is brilliant and easy to play." The references to it being of a "dramatic nature with lyrical interludes", and that " the music is very melodious" are most encouraging, I must say.

Quote from: Mark Thomas on Tuesday 22 March 2016, 23:08
Toskey says of the concerto: "This music is essentially of dramatic nature with lyrical interludes, but there are rhythmic tendencies in parts of the final movement. The mood is somewhat plaintive or melancholy in portions of the first movement, but the music becomes more cheerful in the final movement. The music is mostly very lively, dynamic and forceful. the tonalities are Romantic, making use of pleasing chromatic note combinations, and the music is very melodious. The violin solo part consists of scales, patternwork and singing. Long chromatic scale runs and other rapid configurations remind one of the concertos of Spohr. Other techniques employed include doubles, chords, double harmony, arpeggio, scale runs, trills and artificial tremolos. The solo is brilliant and easy to play." The references to it being of a "dramatic nature with lyrical interludes", and that " the music is very melodious" are most encouraging, I must say.

I have to say I wish people would write more precisely when describing music.  I can't form an idea about the character of this concerto from this description.  Indeed I wonder if this is a translation into English by someone not familiar with the technical terms.  What are "rhythmic tendencies" for example?  And why is "dramatic nature" etc.? contrasted to them with the word "but"?  I am guessing the violinistic tricks on the list towards the end are, in sequence:  double stops, chords, double hamonics (Flageolettdoppelgriffe in German) followed by three correct terms and topped off by the unintelligible "artificial tremolos" (I don't remember a single tremolo in any violin solo part, artificial or otherwise).  And the climax occurs when--for the second time in a few weeks on this forum--we are assured that the solo part is easy to play.

BTW just looking at the instrumental works on the list it looks quite Mendelssohnian with a bent to "lighter" genres.  There are quite a few small pieces like "Romances" etc., also Serenades, Intermezzos, Variations (as independent works).  One would like to know the poets of his lieder to see if they are also "light" or more like say Schubert or Wolf who by and large chose quality poetry for their settings.  What you don't find are symphonic poems or any other indicators of programs so we would certainly not expect Wüerst to be part of the Liszt/Wagner school.

It's not a translation. This is Toskey's language throughout his (huge) encyclopedia. And he's an expert, I can assure you.

Quite so Double-A, I too assume a composer of the Mendelssohn school, but there's nothing wrong with that per se. Judging by the fact that almost all his works were published, he was evidently a successful one in his day, and that always piques my interest.

As to the description of the Violin Concerto, Burnett Toskey's guide to Violin and Viola Concertos is a massive self-published tome, long out of print (I got my copy direct from him). As Alan says, his descriptions of works are definitely not translations, but Toskey's own (he is an American amateur musician, now in his 80s and living in the Pacific North West IIRC), drawn from his readings of the scores - in this case the copy in the Fleisher Collection in Philadelphia. I do agree that they can be imprecise, sometimes confusing and distinctly un-musicological but, imperfect as they are, they are also the only descriptions we have of a huge number of otherwise completely anonymous unsung works, and without them such compositions would be known to us only from much briefer catalogue listings, if even that.

..and the descriptions are ones amateur enthusiasts such as myself can actually understand. They are also clearly designed to be thumbnail sketches.

I have huge admiration for Toskey's exhaustive and magisterial work but I confess to having no idea what is meant by an "artificial tremolo". Is this a technical term used by fiddle players? I also find "rhythmic tendencies" odd - surely all music has rhythmic tendencies. Unless what is meant is that dance rhythms are suggested in the last movt. - in which case, why not say that?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Mendelssohn school, for me personally rather the opposite as I appreciate chamber music most of all and the Wagnerians--almost without exception--didn't bother writing much of it.  I do agree that a list of 76 opus numbers is impressive, especially as they include half a dozen or so 3 or 4 act operas.

What you tell me about Toskey's work fills me with respect.  But I do think that the quoted paragraph needs some work.  I take it as a cautionary example of the danger of self publishing--i.e. without a competent editor who would have helped fix the problems.  At the same time--given the breadth of his work and therefore of his knowledge--we can take him seriously when he mentions the affinity to Spohr.  Another hint about the character of Wüert's music.

BTW, IMSLP has some diverse scores of his:  One opera ("Vineta") and one cantata ("Der Wasserneck", about 45 min according to IMSLP), both with a libretto by the composer (he mentions a source in both cases).  So something in common with Wagner after all.  A comic opera ("A-ing-fo-hi"--don't ask!), this time with a libretto by Wichert (I don't know anything about him).  Also a few of the smaller pieces, but unfortunately no "grown up" instrumental music like symphonies or string quartets or even the violin concerto except for a cello/piano sonata called "duo".

I have the score of the Piano Trio in G minor Op5 as published by Breitkopf, and can easily confirm a strong Mendelssohnian presence as might be expected. The work is in 4 movements, with the most interesting music being in the first two (an opening allegro followed by the slow 2nd). The third is a rather lightweight Minuetto and Trio which is pleasant enough, but the inspiration in the allegro finale is somewhat diluted, and is certainly the weakest. I also have a set of 3 Character Pieces for piano Op68, which again are pleasant enough, but not especially memorable. I hope that this is of help!

QuoteI take it as a cautionary example of the danger of self publishing--i.e. without a competent editor who would have helped fix the problems

As a copy editor and proofreader myself I could not agree more.

Thank you Martin, we are slowly building up a picture....

I've always imagined him to be one of the many skilled, conservative composers who were simply overshadowed by their greater contemporaries. In other words, just the sort of composer I'd like to investigate. After all, consider who's emerged from this 'camp' over the past few years: Gernsheim, Radecke, Volkmann, Dietrich, Abert, Reinthaler, E. Franck, Rietz, Reinecke, Hiller, Jadassohn, Goetz, Graedener C. & H. - and sundry others.

Well that's impressive company. As I've written several times already in this thread, Wüerst was clearly a successful composer in his day with almost all his output being published in his lifetime, his First Symphony winning a competition, and all of his seven operas being staged. Whilst success is no indication of quality, of course, it does at least show that his music had something which kept the public coming back for more for 30-odd years.

Quote from: Mark Thomas on Tuesday 22 March 2016, 23:08
...quite what is meant by "Under the Balcony" I can't imagine.

"Under the balcony" is titled a serenade and is one quite literally:  The solo cello "sings" "under the balcony" (with presumably the adored lady on it) accompanied by plucked strings like the scene from Don Giovanni (at least it starts that way).  Not hard to play even for the solo cellist.  A short one movement (salon?) piece.  Could be an encore piece for an amateur string orchestra with a reasonably competent first cellist.

Ahh, I never thought of that. Romeo/Juliet etc. Thanks.

Also, very incidentally, mentioned in the 1905 edition of Tchaikovsky's letters as a somewhat- snipey? - critic - of a performance of the latter's music in Germany. To be clear, I'm very interested in hearing Wuerst's music anyway...

A first burst of Wüerst?

http://imslp.org/wiki/Unterm_Balcon_Serenade,_Op.78_(W%C3%BCerst,_Richard)#IMSLP416570 (http://imslp.org/wiki/Unterm_Balcon_Serenade,_Op.78_(W%C3%BCerst,_Richard)#IMSLP416570)

Played not quite as the composer specified, but a very attractive piece I think

Oh that's great, Steve. Finally some Wüerst to listen to. Thanks a lot.

.. and what a charming and delicately crafted little number it is. A salon piece, but none the worse for that. On this showing Wüerst was clearly no mean tunesmith, and one can begin to see why his music was evidently popular in his day. Thanks again. Steve.

Well done, Matesic!  Well done, Wüerst!

After hearing the piece I'll qualify my statement about it being "not hard to play".  The transparency of the music throughout the piece poses its own problems.  That said:  It IS material suited for amateurs as I said, it just needs respect and enough rehearsal time (especially the pizzicato section in the beginning.  For some reason there doesn't seem to be a violin teacher on earth who properly teaches pizzicato).  A good opportunity to work on more subtle aspects of playing.

Another burst of Wüerst  :D

An orchestral piece entitled  Ein Märchen (1866)

(13 mins)

Solid Germanic stuff!

LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c00m3Co2H0U

Solid stuff - not very adventurous, I suppose. But who cares? It reminded me of Mendelssohn. I'd certainly like to hear more.

Thanks, as ever!

 I don't hear much Mendelssohn here. Too solid and hefty.

Thanks, as ever, Martin. Nothing wrong with "solid Germanic stuff", let's hear the Wüerst he can do!

I was reminded of a certain Wedding March. My fault, I know.

I don't hear that at all, but neither is there anything individual about the piece - it's what one would expect to hear from a competent German composer in the mid-19th century, and none the Wüerst (sorry) for that as long as one isn't looking for too much originality.

Dear Martin, thank you for the realisation of the Märchen!

Nice to hear how good midi orchestras are by now, there are certainly passages where it would be difficult to tell that it's not an actual orchestra – especially the strings are nowhere as bad as they used to be in the old days (while there are of course other passages that sound like a harmonium, mostly when brass is involved ;-) – simply the limits of this techinque, nothing to do with your work of course).

I assume you created a modern computer score at least as a side product of this realisation – would you be willing to upload it e.g. on imslp, as well as the parts? Especially the latter would of course make an actual performance far more likely, should any orchestra happen to be looking into Wüerst!

Best wishes! ewk

Tangentially one problem with string texture may have been improvable a little even then by choosing solo rather than orchestral string samples...

I don't know how it is with Sibelius, but in Dorico the general sound of the string parts can be manually altered by command codes that add or reduce the amount of virtual "players" in each string section at any time. The program automatically splits the virtual players in divisi passages for a supposedly more realistic sound, too.

ewk - thank you for your comments.

I actually asked cypressdome to help me with uploading to IMSLP as I found it a bit tricky etc....  In no time at all all of my "renditions" were uploaded perfectly. Thanks again to cypressdome!

As regards the sound quality of Noteperformer using Sibelius I actually find the string sound the best. The AI actually creates the sound desk by desk - tpaloj I haven't time for those tiny adjustments.  ;D 

The brass, and here I differ,  is  fantastic and far removed from a harmonium as I can imagine.  ;D

If you need to hear the power of Noteperformer pushed to its limit  listen to this. It's stunning!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-m76cWER3C8&t=66s

One marvels at the technology, but is it music?  I get no sense of mystery or personal involvement which is such a vital element of any performance of the Rite. It's like Shakespeare immaculately performed by robots. I dread the day that this starts to be regarded as a substitute for the real thing, but fortunately I think the "human" element will for ever elude the robotmasters.

Quite so. But in the absence of (human) performances of unsung repertoire it'll do nicely, thank you!

matesic - sorry I agree obviously. God forbid this technology replaces live performances in the distant future. It won't of course because as musicians we love playing and physically feeling the music through our whole body. It's what contributes to making us human isn't it.

But as Alan has said it's a useful tool to open doors that might never be opened. And it might inspire performers to play new repetoire?

Thank you to Reverie for resuscitating this thread, which I initially missed, and for the opportunity to hear some of the music. I think it gives a pretty good impression of what it would sound like under the baton!

I hope someone will find his large orchestral works- 3 symphonies?- and digitize them, by the way. I've been and am curious.

Yes, I too warmly applaud those who take such pains for the sake of neglected repertoire - the hours it must take to notate and realize even a 12-minute piece like Ein Märchen. It was the example of The Rite of Spring that brought home to me that, whereas some music makes its impression pretty well given an accurate rendition of the notes on the page, there's a great deal more that can only be revealed by personal interpretation and communication.

As an aside, I see from the excellent notes to Toccata's third helping of orchestral works by Moszkowski that Wüesrt taught him composition at Julius Stern's Conservatoire in 1869. Did a good job, too, if the delightful Suite No 1 is anything to go by (the disc also includes a very competent student work, the Overture from 1871-2).