Unsung Composers

Bernhard Stavenhagen  Born 25.12.1862 Greiz, Germany -  Died 25.12.1914  Geneva, Switzerland

He studied the piano from the age of six.  From 1874 his parents resided in Berlin where he studied under Theodor Kullak and later privately with Friedrich Kiel and Ernst Rudorff in Berlin and later on with Franz Lizst in Rome.  In 1890 he became court pianist in Weimar and from 1895 was also music director there.  He later had a similar post in Munich.  He separated from his wife Agnes Caroline Stavenhagen nee Denninghof in 1908.  He married his second wife, Victoria Bogel¹ in 1909. From 1907 he lived in Geneva until his death in 1914.
He is buried in Weimar

Orchestral

Piano Concerto No.1 in C major  Wo.  1879/80  Lost
Piano Concerto No.2 in B minor  Op.4  1894  pub. by Ries & Erler
Piano Concerto No.3 in A major  Wo.  1912  Orchestral parts lost. ( Has been re orchestrated in a style not sympathetic to that of Stavenhagen.)
'Ingeborg und Suleika' Two dramatic scenes for voice and orchestra - declared lost (see post declan-murphy 9.9.21)

Piano

Piano Sonata in F major - lost
Three piano pieces:  Presto, Pastoral, Caprice. Op.2 1882  pub. by Ries & Erler
Three piano pieces;  Capriccio, Intermezzo, Menuetto Scherzando.  Op.5  1894  Pub. by Ries & Erler
Three piano pieces    Notturno, Mazurka, Gavotte-Caprice.  Op.10  1906  pub. by Ries & Erler
Cadenzas to Beethoven's piano concertos nos. 2,3,4.  Op.7
Variation on an original theme for piano - lost
Spanish Suite for piano - lost
Three pieces for two pianos; Pastorale, Caprice, Menuetto-Scherzando.  1894  pub. by Ries & Erler
Drei Klavierstucke : Nocturne, Wiegenlied, Capriccio. Op.13  pub. by Ries & Erler  1911
There is a version for two pianos of the A major piano concerto.

Songs

Three orchestral songs - Fairy Tale, Serenading the Heavy Evening and ?
Six lieder Op.1- Lied an Meieli 1/1. Lied an Meieli 1/2. Storm' leise 1/3. Lied an Hafisa 1/4. Erste Begegnung 1/5. Die verschwiegene Nachtigal 1/6
Six lieder Op.9
Five lieder Wo. Der Sennerin, Sonatagslied, Ingridslied, Standchen, Madchenlied
Two quartets for women's voices

Drama

Der Tor und der Tod  Op.6  libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Krippenspiel,  Incidental music for a childrens play  Wo.


I would be interested to know what opus numbers 3, 8 and 11 refer to and also any mention of his first piano concerto now lost.  Was it ever performed?

1. Victoria Bogel - concert pianist .
Son, Hans Bernhard William  17.8.1909

It is an enormous disappointment that Stavenhagen's 3rd PC was re-orchestrated in a quite hideous manner: sickly harmonies and colours, and prodigal use of the vibraphone (an instrument not invented when Stavenhagen was alive) - a monumental waste of effort and a reflection on the clumsy egocentricity of its perpetrator.

Hi All,
According to my CD (which is this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stavenhagen-Piano-Concerto-No-2-Lehmann/dp/B000026BZR/ref=sr_1_4?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1343151856&sr=1-4), the second concerto is in A major and is the one which has been reorchestrated...

There is also a recording of several piano works by Stavenhagen, these are from Op.5, Op.2 and Op.10; the same disc contains several Lieder from Op.1 and some op.posth ones as well.  It rounds off with some of Stavenhagen's own recordings of works by Liszt and transcriptions by Liszt, as well as his own Menuetto Scherzando played by Ernest Hutchinson.  The pianist is Elgin Strub and the other artists are Moniker Dehler (Mezzo), Ernest Hutchinson and, of course, Stavenhagen himself. 

It was on the Symposium label but was deleted however, if anyone wants a copy, the CD can be purchased via the Liszt society by going here: http://www.lisztsoc.org.uk/ and clicking on the "News" section and scrolling down to the bottom.

Hope this helps.

There is no evidence that Stavenhagen wrote a piano concerto after the A major one. I think Gareth's posting says it all, about the recording and even the research about the A major.  It is a travesty of what should have been a very fine concerto.  I hope that one day someone will do a more authentic orchestration.  Along with the Elgar it should be consigned to the bin.

Is there any information about opus numbers 3, 6, 8 and 11 ?  I have been unable to trace what works they refer to.

Stavenhagen was Ansermet's predecessor at the Geneva Orchestra, later re-named Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. His post as a Conservatory piano teacher was then taken over by Vianna Da Motta.
His wife, the soprano Agnes Caroline Stavenhagen (née Denninghof - they separated in 1908), sang the solo part in the world premiere of Mahler's Second Symphony. She was a well-known Kammersängerin and had also worked with Richard Strauss. Brahms had financed her early singing lessons, then a niece of Richard Wagner completed her formation. Her recitals were frequently accompanied by Hermann Zilcher.

Did they have any children ?

No children with Bernhard.

Op.6 is "Der Tor und der Tod : Drama von Hugo von Hofmannsthal". See http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AL00472224 (http://data.onb.ac.at/rec/AL00472224). (There's a couple of other entries for the work @ ÖNB.)

Thanks for this: will add it to work list.

Hi

Is there any way to purchase a score of the A major Piano Concerto? The piano reduction one obviously as I understand the orchestral parts remain lost. I always hear about the CD but never about the actual score of Stavenhagen's concerto. I'd like to have a go at re-orchestrating the concerto from scratch since I play a lot of Stavenhagen's music

I also purchased a copy of the score of "Der Tor und der Tod". A nice violin and harp duet of two pieces.

Also if you're still adding to this list, opus 13 is once again "Drei Klavierstucke" I. Nocturne, II. Wiegenlied, III. Capriccio. He also wrote music for a children's play entitled "Krippenspiel" (no opus number)

Op.13 was published in 2017 so copyright will be on that for a while. It can only be ordered by another library. My college library has ordered it so I will update you further if I can get it

In your debut post you mention two quartets for women's voices and the 5 lieder Wo. Would you know where to find these?

Thanks for reading this if you ever come back here

Op.13 was (first?) published by Ries & Erler in 2011, yes, so afaik probably in copyright everywhere for some while.

I've spent some time today trying to track down the 2 piano score of the A major piano concerto to no avail.  It is not mentioned in any of the Hofmeister publications up through 1918 suggesting it wasn't published in any German-speaking areas of Europe up to that date.  A publication of the work between then and the 1992 recording seems unlikely.  The liner notes to the 1992 recording are most unhelpful.  No mention is made if the score was an engraved, published score or a manuscript.  No mention is made of the source of that score. It's not even mentioned if Joachim-Dietrich Link's version has been or is to be published.  So, assuming it is a manuscript then where is it?  RISM is no help. The first performance was in Geneva in 1912 while Stavenhagen was teaching at the Conservatory.  A search of their online catalog turned up nothing (but that shouldn't be considered definitive).  Stavenhagen was buried in Weimar.  Searches of the online catalogs of the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar, the Goethe- und Schiller-Archiv Weimar, SLUB Dresden, ThULB Jena all turn up nothing.  Perhaps the manuscript is held by Ries & Erler. That firm seems to have published most of Stavenhagen's output. Perhaps you could send them an inquiry.

Or approach the record company.

Thanks for the replies and the time you spent doing the searching for me. I agree, it probably is best to approach that company. They published most of Stavenhagens music when he was alive and dead so that's our most likely lead. They might know some things about the quartets for women's voices too.
Also yes approaching the record company is an idea too
Thanks

Good luck with tracking it down. And even more with orchestrating it if and when you do. You will be doing Stavenhagen a great service.

UPDATE: So I've managed to track the A major piano concerto down on the net eventually. It's literally the only place on the Internet too - it's the British Library. If you keyword Bernhard Stavenhagen, multiple results come up that you couldn't find anywhere. The five songs come up. Drei Clavierstucke op. 13 comes up. And of course the A major piano concerto comes up and i was really happy about it. However it is simply not orderable. Maybe my college library might be able to order it as inter library ordering is somewhat plausible given copyright restrictions and all that. But anyway, I've achieved the first step which is finding it

So... What now?

The digitization service at British Library has opened again recently, perhaps you can try putting in an order for the score. I ordered copies of music scores from them a few months back and got beautiful, color photograps in excellent quality.

Are you sure this is not the CD of Herr Link's horrible arrangement? That is the only listing for the A major concerto I found at BL.
I am sure your best bet would be to contact either Herr Dietrich Link or the record company.

Good luck and thank you

Gareth I actually contacted ries and erler and they could only offer me what was in the public domain. And on the BL website in results on page 4 there was both Dietrich Links arrangement CD and the work for the piano concerto. Which I see here now is actually Link's arrangement. I've tried to approach the record company but they've changed their name since 1992 so who knows if that works. I've also tried to get into contact with volkmar Lehmann since he is the pianist who performed in the recording but I can't get any contact info on the Web (does anyone know it?)
It's a sort of semi victory for me I suppose since I've also found the 5 songs here (don't know what opus number)

Fleisher Library has this score: https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/1004813 (https://catalog.freelibrary.org/Record/1004813)

Is this the work you're looking for...?

No indeed. That is the not the A major concerto. Besides, it comes with a full set of parts so why would anyone want to reorchestrate it?

Dear Declan,
I am sorry to disappointed you but having checked the BL record again I can assure you it refers to the sound recording only, which is why it is not orderable.

I see that a lady called Elgin Strub (a pianist) has written articles on Stavenhagen for the Liszt Society under the name Elgin Strub-Ronayne. It is possible that the Liszt Society may be able to put you in touch with her. Since Stavenhagen was a pupil and close friend of Liszt it is also possible she, or someone else at the Society, may know the whereabouts of the MS of the A major concerto. It would be worth asking.

No tpaloj that's the B minor concerto and that's in the public domain. We're looking for a piano concerto in a major.

Thanks so much Gareth, for the reference. I'll take any leads I can.

Volkmar Lehmann was born in 1935, so he might be dead by now. He was a Professor at the University of Weimar, Hochschule fur Musik Franz Liszt (hfm.weimar). Here's  a possible lead: the pianist Iris Drengk studied with him in Weimar and is now herself on the teaching staff of the Hochschule. It is possible she has kept in touch with her old teacher and may be able to help you. Why not drop her a line?

Yeah I was researching him but there aren't any indications that he's dead. I contacted one of his older students but I haven't heard back from him. I'll try her too though, thank you

Well done. Keep up the good work.

Hi all, earlier on in the thread, I did mention Elgin's recording which was available via the Liszt Society. I've not spoken to her in a long time but she is still a member of the society.

Hope this helps.

Apologies for not realising Elgin was a lady. Oh dear! Thanks for the correction.

Not to worry Gareth!

There's a lot of Liszt societies around the world haha. Is the one you're all referring to the one based in England. Because I find that site very difficult to navigate. There's no search bar for finding that person, don't suppose any of you have Elgins email? I just can't find it.
Thanks

Try an email to: enquiries@lisztsoc.org.uk
Ms Strub has also written about Stavenhagen for the European Piano Teachers' Association Journal (EPTA) - see: Elgin Strub-Ronayne, "Bernhard Stavenhagen; Pianist, conductor,
composer and Liszt's last pupil." EPTA Piano Journal, No 40, Vol. 14. You could try them too: https://epta-europe.org/ (https://epta-europe.org/)

Okay Guys HUGE Update:

I feel like we're getting closer and closer to this because each lead I find narrows it down to the source of this concerto.... and possibly other works...

So Gareth your lead was fantastic. Elgin Strub Ronaynes article on stavenhagen was so much more comprehensive and informative than any of the other websites on the pianist. And rightfully so - because its turns out she's the grand niece of Stavenhagen herself! And she's still alive! I sent her an email about a week ago and I hadn't expected to get a reply but I just got one this evening, delighted to hear about the fact we were rooting for Stavenhagen. She explained her relation to Stavenhagen and knows that the 2 hands piano concerto is owned by Hans Rudolph Jung, Professor, Doctor. She has sent an email to him enquiring about the concerto. I will update you soon when I get a reply.

As per the article she sent to me that she wrote all that time ago, I found out that Stavenhagen actually DID have children. None with his first wife, Agnes, but with his second wife Victoria. Also the 2 dramatic scenes for voice and orchestra have actually been declared lost.

I'm the middle of all this, I also sent an email to the Vogtland Philharmonie, enquiring about the concerto in their archives. We're getting closer and closer!

Exciting, Declan!

Terrific work. Well done, sir!

Hello folks.

It's been a while since I've posted here, excuse the time lapse, college work has swamped me. I've been unsuccessful in tracking down the A major piano Concerto. Elgin Ronayne used to know the owner of the Concerto but he died about 8 months ago. The wife has died too so no one actually knows where it is. However what she does know is that the owner had a son named Hans-Rainer Jung who was a violinist in the Leipzig Philharmonic (he's retired now). We cannot get contact details off them because they do not have the privelege to dispense such information. Therefore I ask if anyone has any leads on this person I would greatly appreciate it as this is one of the few leads I have.

In the meantime, I have also acquired "Drei Clavierstucke op. 13". It's the only set of pieces he composed in Geneva, and funnily enough it's not mentioned in Elgins article on stavenhagen. About a week ago too I participated in a competition in which I played the Stavenhagen Concerto in B minor. I didn't win but I did get a commendation, so that's something.
So if anyone is able to help me with this I'd greatly appreciate this and thank you for everything you've all done so far.

Nothing helpful but of interest that, only a few days ago, I discovered that I own a letter written by Stavenhagen from Weimar in May 1890. It belonged to my (pianist) grandmother previously, although she was not born until 1889, and I do not know how she came by it.  It may be addressed to Augustus Manns, but it's hard going to read the two sides of old German script written with a careless hand!

QuoteWe cannot get contact details off them because they do not have the privelege to dispense such information. Therefore I ask if anyone has any leads on this person I would greatly appreciate it as this is one of the few leads I have.

You could try writing to Herr Jung c/o the Leipzig Philharmonic and marking the envelope "Please Forward". They may still have an address for him and be willing to forward his mail.

Recently, I bought the CD with Stavenhagen's A Major Piano Concerto – years after this discussion. In fact, as Gareth suggested contacting Joachim-Dietrich Link at some point, I should add that this is no longer possible – Link (b. 1925) already died in 2001. He was a composer himself, in his earlier years he seems to have written two operas and a symphony, for instance, but also quite a bunch of film music.

His orchestration of the concerto is certainly not very idiomatic and probably does not even really try to be. However, as I was expecting a vibraphone as suggested by Gareth, I should add that Link actually does not employ this instrument. Sure there is a lot of glockenspiel (most probably much more than in Stavenhagen's original score if at all), often also combined with a harp, but no vibraphone.

Some further information: Stavenhagen married his second wife Victoria Bogel in early 1909.  He met her at the Geneva Conservatoire where she studied piano. They had a son Hans Bernhard William born 17.8.1909.  Victoria was a concert pianist and is recorded as having been in Chicago with her son in in 1921.  She later returned to Europe taking up residence in Zurich. 
Bernhard Stavenhagen had a sister and I suspect that it is from her that the grand niece is descended.

I cannot trace a child by his first marriage but there is a record of a grandson named Lutz who died aged 52.

I have to thank a cousin for this information.