Robert Volkmann - Concerto for Cello & Orchestra in A major, Op.33

 

 

 

Robert Volkmann (1815-1883)

Friedrich Robert Volkmann

Complete Orchestral Works

1994, Cpo Records

Disc 1

1. Overture to Shakespeare's Tragedy "Richard III", Op.68

Symphony No.1 in D minor, Op.44

2. I. Allegro patetico

3. II. Andante

4. III. Scherzo. Allegro non troppo

5. IV. Finale. Allegro molto

Disc 2

Symphony No.2 in B flat major, Op.53

01. I. Allegro vivace

2. II. Allegretto

3. III. Andantino

4. IV. Allegro vivace

5. Concerto for Cello & Orchestra in A major, Op.33

Allegro moderato - Tranquillo e ben in tempo - Piu allegro - Allegro vivace - Tempo I

6. Overture in C major, Op.Posth.

Johannes Wohlmacher cello

Werner Andreas Albert maestro

Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie

 

 

 

 

Robert Volkmann (1815-1883) was a German composer.

He was born in Lommatzsch, Saxony, Germany. His father was a music director for a church, so he trained his son in music to prepare him as a successor. Thus Volkmann learned to play the organ and the piano with his father, as well as violin and cello, and by age 12 he was playing the cello part in String Quartets by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. In 1832 Robert Volkmann entered the Freiberg Gymnasium for the purpose of becoming a teacher. There he studied music with Anacker, who encouraged him to devote himself to music more fully. From there he went on to Leipzig in 1836 to study with Carl Friedrich Becker. In Leipzig he met Robert Schumann, who encouraged him in his studies. They met again several times after that.

When he finished his studies, he began working as voice teacher at a music school in Prague. He did not stay there long, and in 1841 he moved to Budapest, where he was employed as a piano teacher and a reporter for the Allgemeine Wiener Musik-Zeitung. He composed in virtual obscurity until 1852, when his Piano Trio in B-flat minor caught the ears of Franz Liszt and Hans von Bülow, who proceeded to play it several times all over Europe. In 1854 Volkmann moved to Vienna, only to return to Budapest in 1858.

Birth: Apr 6, 1815 in Lommatzsch

Death: Oct 29, 1883 in Budapest, Hungary

Years Active: 1842-1868

Country: Germany

Genres: Orchestral, Chamber Music, Keyboard

List of Works

♪Orchestral Works
Symphony No.1 in D minor, Opus 49 (1862/63)
Symphony No.2 in B-flat major, Opus 53 (1864/65)
Serenade No.1 in C major, for strings, Opus 62 (1869)
Serenade No.2 in F major, for strings, Opus 63 (1869)
Serenade No.3 in D minor, for cello and strings, Opus 69 (1870)

♪Overtures
Cello Concerto in A minor, Opus 33 (1853-55)
Konzertstück in C major, for piano and orchestra, Opus 42 (1861)

♪Chamber Music
Piano Trio No.1 in F major, Opus 3 (1842/43)
Piano Trio No.2 in B minor, Opus 5 (1850)
String Quartet No.1 in A minor, Opus 9 (1847/48)
String Quartet No.2 in G minor, Opus 14 (1846)
String Quartet No.3 in G major, Opus 34 (1856/57)
String Quartet No.4 in E minor, Opus 35 (1857)
String Quartet No.5 in F minor, Opus 37 (1858)
String Quartet No.6 in E-flat major, Opus 43 (1861)

♪Vocal Music

♪Lieder

♪Piano Music
Sonata in C minor, Opus 12
Variations on a Theme of Händel, Opus 26
Lieder der Großmutter, Opus 27
Hungarian Sketches, Opus 24 (4hdg., 1861)
3 Marches, Opus 40 (4hdg., 1859)
Sonatina in G major, Opus 57 (4hdg., 1868)
Little Pieces for 2 bzw. 4 Händel

Works
Most of Volkmann's compositions are either for solo piano or ensembles including piano. It was his Piano Trio in B flat minor that first brought him renown. During his 4-year stay in Wien, Volkmann composed his Variations on a Theme of Handel, String Quartets No. 3 and No. 4 in E minor, and the Cello Concerto in A minor.

Almost all of Volkmann's orchestral works date to the time of his association with Heckenast. They are few enough to fit on two CDs. These include an Overture for Shakespeare's play "Richard III", an Overture in C major, the Symphony No. 1 in D minor (which was a major success when premiered in Moscow) and the Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, dedicated to the Russian Musical Society.

Volkmann believed that a composer should be satisfied with creating in the listeners' minds the desired mood and impression by purely musical means; if the contours of the action and the plot are recognized by the listener, this should be considered a happy coincidence.

When Volkmann's Symphony No. 1 was played on a CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Radio Two request show, in early 1998, announcer Shelagh Rogers remarked that "It sounds almost like a forgotten work by Brahms... almost."

Unlike the serious No. 1, the Symphony No. 2 is rather cheerful. Robert Volkmann's grandson, Hans Volkmann, remarks: "After Haydn, naïve cheerfulness was only extremely rarely chosen as the basic mood of an entire Symphony."

Recordings
All of Volkmann's orchestral works have been recorded on a 2-CD set on the Cpo (classic produktion osnabrück), with Werner Andreas Albert conducting the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie (Northwest German Philharmonia). and Johannes Wohlmacher as the soloist in the Cello Concerto. That Concerto has also been recorded on the Koch Schwann label with cellist J. Baumann and the Berliner Radio Symphonischer Orchester conducted by Caridis. Members of the Bavarische Radio Symphonischer Orchester have recorded Volkmann's three string Serenades on the Christophorus label. The Mannheimer Streichquartett (Mannheim String Quartet) has recorded the String Quartets No.s 1 and 4 for Cpo. Cpo also has a CD of the Ravensburg Piano Trio playing Volkmann's Piano Trios Opus 3 and Opus 5.

Year	Work	Work Type	Genre
	Au tombeau du Comte Széchenyi - Fantaisie (At the Count Széchenyi's Grave - Fantasy), Op.41	Keyboard	Keyboard
	Capriccio for cello & piano, Op.74	Capriccio	Chamber
	Cavatine, for piano, Op. 19/1	Keyboard	Keyboard
	Chant du Troubadour, for violin & piano, Op.10	Chamber Music	Chamber
	Fantasy for piano in C major, Op.25a	Fantasy	Keyboard
	Hungarian Sketches, Op.24	Miscellaneous (Classical)	Miscellaneous
	Konzerstück for piano & orchestra, Op.42	Concerto	Concerto
	Overture "Richard III, " Op.68	Orchestral	Orchestral
	Piano Trio in B flat minor, Op.5	Chamber Music	Chamber
	Romance for violin & piano in E major, Op.7	Romance	Chamber
	Serenade for strings No.1 in C major, Op.62	Divertimento	Orchestral
	Serenade for cello & strings No.3 in D minor, Op.69	Divertimento	Orchestral
	Serenade for strings No.2 in F major, Op.63	Divertimento	Orchestral
	Sonata for piano in C minor, Op.12	Sonata	Keyboard
	Souvenir de Maróth - Impromptu pour le piano Op.6	Keyboard	Keyboard
	String Quartet No.1 in A minor, Op.9	Quartet	Chamber
	String Quartet No.3 in G major	Quartet	Chamber
	String Quartet No.4 in E minor, Op.35	Quartet	Chamber
	String Quartet No.6 in E flat major, Op.43	Quartet	Chamber

	Ungarische Lieder (Hungarian Songs), Op.20	Keyboard	Keyboard
	Visegrad. 12 musikalische Dichtungen (12 Musical Poems), Op.21	Keyboard	Keyboard
1836	Andante with Variations, for 3 cellos	Variations	Chamber
1842	Piano Trio in F major, Op.3	Chamber Music	Chamber
1843
1846	String Quartet No.2 in G minor, Op.14	Quartet	Chamber
1847
1852	Musikalisches Bilderbuch for 2 pianos, Op.11	Keyboard	Keyboard
1853	Concerto for cello & orchestra in A major, Op.33	Keyboard	Concerto
1853	Overture in C major, Op.Posth	Orchestral	Orchestral
1858	String Quartet No.5 in F minor, Op.37	Quartet	Chamber
1859	Marches (3) for 2 pianos, Op.40	March	Keyboard
1862	Symphony No.1 in D minor, Op.44	Symphony	Symphony
1865	Symphony No.2 in B flat major, Op.53	Symphony	Symphony
1867	Rondino and March Caprice for 2 pianos, Op.55	March	Keyboard
1868	Sonatina for 2 pianos, Op.57	Sonatina	Keyboard

Werner Andreas Albert (1935~) German conductor.

German conductor Werner Andreas Albert began his studies in musicology and history, only later studying conducting with Herbert von Karajan and Hans Rosbaud. After his 1961 debut with the Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra, he became chief conductor of the North West German Philharmonic Orchestra. He later served as chief conductor of the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and the Nuremberg Symphony in Germany. He is also the permanent guest conductor of the Radio Symphony Orchestras in Cologne, Frankfurt, and Berlin, and of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Since 1981, Albert has regularly conducted in Australia, particularly with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, of which he was named principal conductor in 1995. He has toured and recorded extensively, devoting himself to some previously unexplored music. He has recorded the complete orchestral repertoire of Hindemith, Korngold, Pfitzner, and Benjamin Frankel. He has also recorded symphonic and operatic works by Siegfried Wagner. He has been chief conductor of the Bavarian State Youth Orchestra for more than 20 years and is also senior lecturer of the Meistersinger Conservatorium in Nuremberg. He was appointed adjunct professor of the University of Queensland. ~ Rovi Robert Adelson

Robert Volkmann - Complete Orchestral Works (1994, Cpo Records) double cd