Richard Wetz

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Richard Wetz
photo 1911
Background information
Birth name	Richard Wetz
Born	February 26, 1875
Origin	Gleiwitz (Silesia)
Died	January 16, 1935 in Erfurt, Germany
Occupation(s)	Composer, Kapellmeister

Richard Wetz (February 26, 1875 — 16 January 1935) was a German late Romantic composer best known for his three symphonies. In these works, he "seems to have aimed to be an immediate continuation of Bruckner, as a result of which he actually ended up on the margin of music history".^[1]

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 1875-1906: Youth and wandering years 1.2 1906-1935: A master in the province 2 Reception 3 Style 3.1 The unknown composer 3.2 Development of the composer 4 Further reading 5 Works 5.1 Opera 5.2 Choir works 5.3 Orchestral works 5.4 Chamber music 5.5 Organ music 5.6 Piano music 5.7 Songs 5.8 Writings 6 References 6.1 English 6.2 German 7 External links 7.1 English 7.2 German 8 See also 9 Notes

[edit] Biography

[edit] 1875-1906: Youth and wandering years

Richard Wetz was born to a merchant family in Gleiwitz, Upper Silesia (now Poland). Although his family owned a piano, no family member was particularly interested in music. The young Richard, who felt drawn to music early on, did not receive regular piano lessons until the age of eight years, but quickly taught himself by composing smaller piano and song pieces. He later stated that he resolved to dedicate his life to music by the age of 13.

After passing his final exams he went in 1897 to Leipzig to study at the conservatoire under such tutors as Carl Reinecke and Salomon Jadassohn. After only 6 weeks, however, he discontinued his studies after suffering from disillusionment regarding what he considered overly academic lessons. He instead took private lessons from Richard Hofmann, then leader of the Leipzig music academy, for half a year. At the same time, he took up studies at Leipzig university, including philosophy, psychology and literature. Most importantly for his later composing, he studied poets such as Friedrich Hölderlin, Heinrich von Kleist and particularly Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, from whom he developed a particular influence on his sharpening world of thought. Likewise, he became a follower of the philosophical ideas of Arthur Schopenhauer. In the Autumn of 1899, Richard Wetz left Leipzig and moved to Munich. There he began to study music, with Ludwig Thuille as his teacher. It was with him that he trained his ability to compose counterpoints. Again in 1900, Wetz was pulled from study to Stralsund where Felix Weingartner found Wetz employment as a theatrical bandmaster. After some months he was in the same position in Barmen (now Wuppertal), but only a short time later he was again unemployed in Leipzig. Here he educated himself further in music history, also studying scores of classical and modern composers. Anton Bruckner and Franz Liszt became his most important role models.

[edit] 1906-1935: A master in the province

In 1906 Richard Wetz was appointed as a manager of the Erfurt music association. He found himself in love with the town and remained there until the end of his days. Up until this point Wetz's published compositional works had almost exclusively been piano songs, however he had also twice tried to write an opera. Both works, Judith (op. 13) and The Eternal Fire (op. 19), had libretto written by the composer. The one act play, The Eternal Fire, was performed in 1907 in Hamburg and Düsseldorf, both times with little success. This, however, brought Wetz a year later a greater reception with his Kleist-Ouvertüre (op. 16) which Arthur Nikisch conducted in Berlin in 1909. (Musical Times link)

During the following years Wetz, besides his composing devoted himself to the music profession and lessons in the Erfurt city conservatoire (in 1911-1921, composition and history of music), honing in his skills in conducting various choirs (the Erfurt song academy in 1914/15, the "Riedelscher Gesangverein" in Leipzig, and after 1918 also the "Engelbrechtscher Madrigalchor"), as well as the composition of choral music, a capella and orchestral accompaniment. Some of the most notable works of the period were the song of life (op. 29), Hyperion (op. 32) (after Friedrich Hölderlin) and a setting of the third psalm (op. 37). These show only the preliminary stage to his later main works. In 1917 Wetz, who had become a lecturer (an assistant professor) for, and professor from 1920 for history of music and composition to the large-scale ducal (since 1919 state) college for music in Weimar, completed his first symphony in C minor (op. 40) that year; The symphonies No. 2 in A major (op. 47) and No. 3 in B flat minor (described as B flat major, op. 48) followed in 1919 and 1922.

In parallel the composer worked on his two string quartets in F minor (op. 43) and E minor (op. 49). Afterwards he devoted himself again to working on choral pieces. Thus originated the requiem in b minor (op. 50) and the Christmas oratorio on Old-German poems (op. 53), possibly his most significant compositions. Wetz was also active as a music author and wrote monographs about his honored models Anton Bruckner (1922) and Franz Liszt (1925) as well as the equally highly-respected Ludwig van Beethoven (1927). The first of these books is known for the notes that Schoenberg left on its margins.^[2]

In the middle of the 1920s the composer organized and led in Erfurt numerous music parties in which he also brought own works to the performance. Indeed, he laid down the formal management of the Erfurt music association in 1925, but remained the central figure of the musical life of the city. In 1928 Wetz and Igor Stravinsky were appointed the foreign members of the Prussian Academy of the Arts. Short time later the call took him to the Berlin College of Music where he rose to be one of the most successful composition teachers. Wetz left, however, in favor of his posts in Erfurt and Weimar. Although during the last years of his life the work at the Weimar college of music increasingly took up his time, he nevertheless managed to wring from himself further compositions. As his last great work he completed in 1933 his violin concerto in B minor (op. 57). In 1934 the town appointed him the music representative of the city of Erfurt.

In October of that year, Wetz was diagnosed with lung cancer. Already strongly impaired by his suffering which was brought about by excessive smoking, the composer continued with unbroken creative urge, working on the outlines of a fragment of the remaining oratorio Love, Life, Eternity after texts of Goethe with which he wanted to place a monument to his favorite poet. A fourth symphony which he likewise still thought to write remained uncomposed, a third string quartet piece was found incomplete. Richard Wetz died on the 16th of January, 1935 in Erfurt, not yet 60 years old. According to his will the fragments of the Goethe oratorio were to be completed by the composer Werner Trenkner, who Wetz considered his greatest pupil at that time. Trenkner failed in this due to civil disputes. The outlines themselves are counted as forgotten.

[edit] Reception

“

My music is strange: where it rings out, it seizes upon the deepest; but it is rarely given the opportunity again.

”

~ Richard Wetz, 1932^[3]

The compositions of Wetz continued to draw few fans despite the eagerness of his enthusiasts and his reputation as a great music pedagogue, and during the lifetime of the composer his works strayed little from these relatively narrow borders to the point that he became nearly unknown after his death. Also, politically Wetz had maneuvered slowly in the twilight: After the end of the First World War he became a confessed nationalist who saw the position of his vanquished Germany as a humiliation and longed for a riddance of that position, which seemed possible to him in 1933 with the seizure of power by the National Socialists (the Nazis). In May of that same year he enrolled into the NSDAP and took over the leadership of the music department of the Erfurt branch of the Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur, where he hoped he could thereby gain the goodwill and the support of the Nazi rulers. This, however, had little influence on his ability to spread his work, consequently leaving him composing primarily propaganda pieces. Still his most significant interpreter was the conductor Peter Raabe, who performed for the first time all of the Wetz symphonies, and was appointed shortly after the death of the composer in 1935 to be the chairman of the imperial music hall. It was Raabe also who founded a Richard Wetz society in 1943 in Gleiwitz whose work remained greatly restricted, however, by the Second World War. In the post-war period the reputation of the composer suffered not only from the fact that the rapid developments of contemporary music at that time had passed over the tradition-conscious late romantic, but also his membership in the National Socialist ideology.

The fact that the composer had preferred the life in provincial Erfurt to that of great music metropolises, and moreover, that he was never moved to create requested compositions which could have possibly increased his reputation, did little to carry away Wetz and his works to the interest of the broader general public. Indeed, some concert leaders mention the unquestionably high quality of his compositions till the 1990s (made during the arrangements in his honour in Erfurt in 1955, until the 80th birthday and 20th anniversary of his death). These accomplishments did not prevent Richard Wetz from sinking to a footnote in the history of music. Only recently has one began to rediscover his creations. For example, the requiem of the composer was performed for the first time in sixty years in September 2003. This happened within the scope of the Erfurt church's music festival, under the direction of George Alexander Albrecht.

[edit] Style

[edit] The unknown composer

If one considers the life of Richard Wetz, it is not surprising that in the 1929 Riemann Music Encyclopedia he was stated to have "arranged to be a loner "^[4]. He stood in relatively short stature compared to other composers of the time and the new achievements of his contemporaries such as Arnold Schoenberg, Maurice Ravel or Franz Schreker who were also mentioned, and who either left him behind or, increasingly drove from the accepted cultural pessimism to violently railing against it. Wetz was more related in attitude with such keepers of 19th Century tradition such as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Hans Pfitzner and Franz Schmidt than these contemporaries.

In addition, according to his own statements, he depended on familiar surroundings for his composition: "I can compose only with myself at home. Neither in a summer holiday nor during longer visits I have ever created something"^[5]. Statements like this explain not only why Wetz began to devote himself increasingly to the composition of symphonies and larger choral works only when he settled in Erfurt, but also why he later refused all offers for more lucrative positions and commissions.

[edit] Development of the composer

The seclusion bordering in isolation of the main stream of the German music life of the past allowed Wetz to concentrate completely upon the development of his own personal style:

As already mentioned, the composer only wrote sung works in his early days, and to this type of work he remained faithful until his dying days, which explains why this is the largest part of his composing. Therefore Wetz counts as one of the most important song composers of his generation. The authorities in this field that Wetz looked to were Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt, Peter Cornelius and Hugo Wolf. Liszt, especially, strongly influenced the harmonious tonal patterns of the early Wetz, although even then Wetz was already forging his own path. This creative period culminates in two opera works of the composer, and in the orchestral field he had succeeded with the Kleist-Ouvertüre, inspired by the tragic destiny of the poet.

From the beginning of Wetz's Erfurt years, his composed choral works withdraw from Liszts influence bit by bit. It is, especially, Anton Bruckner who begins to influence the composer. His striving to imitate Bruckner's tonal language shows in the fact that no stylistic break arises between these compositions and former works. Wetz learns even more from Bruckner: his clear form structures and the sense of an organic waxing of the music without it being overwhelming. Nevertheless, a large measure due to Bruckner, he typically composes powerful and ceremonious effects without reaching style peculiarities.

Concerning Wetz' introverted mode of expression, three of his works are based on this premise and result in his symphonies. In fact, each work seems to correspond with the late romantic symphonic music being cultivated at the time, yet his works show their own distinct personalities separating them from the tradition. For Wetz, seclusion of the remaining music shows his approval of the work: The first symphony's end, for instance, begins in the key of C minor (as Bruckner did also) and almost dissolves in a bright major key before, after a recall of earlier music, an austere and minor-mode conclusion not heard in any Bruckner finale (closer to that of some Bruckner opening movements, but only close) comes around. This was certainly influenced by the spirit of the times in which he lived, which were certainly not typical. At the same time, this resulted in his quartets which used the same technique in form and gesture as his symphonies, but were invested in substantially more intent than these.

In the later works Richard Wetz increasingly refined his style. He began to use chromatic harmonies in even stronger measure in his tonal language. All together a larger change already used in the string quartets to the Polyphonic becomes apparent in other works, most notably in the organ piece Passacaglia and Fugue (op. 55 of 1930). After that point, the influence of Bruckner drops. In his masterpieces, the requiem and the Christmas oratorio, Wetz discovers an excellent synthesis from symphonic and vowel music in which he summaries his accumulated musical experiences. The violin concerto shows what is probably the most daring form arrangement in the whole work of the composer and is comparable in it absolutely to the similar violin concerto by Pfitzner which is written in the same key (B minor). Illness and death took Richard Wetz prematurely, he remains nevertheless "One of the great and unmistakeable talents of German late romanticism".^[6]

[edit] Further reading

• Peter, Erich, ed. Richard Wetz (1875 - 1935) als Mensch und Künstler in seiner Zeit : eine Dokumentation mit zeitgenössischen Darstellungen und Selbstzeugnissen zum 100. Geburtstag des Meisters. Dortmund : Auslieferung, Forschungsstelle Ostmitteleuropa, 1975. ([1])

[edit] Works

The list of works of Richard Wetz contains 58 Opuses, in addition there are a small number of compositions which were published without numbering. Op. 1-4 and Op. 6 are not considered discoverable any longer, and the composer declared some other early works provided with opus figures as invalid.

[edit] Opera

• Judith op. 13 (3 Acts; Libretto: Richard Wetz)
• Das ewige Feuer (The Eternal Fire) op. 19 (1 Act; Libretto: Richard Wetz. Published 1910)

[edit] Choir works

• Traumsommernacht (Summer's-Night Dream) op. 14 for women's choir and orchestra (pub. Kistner, 1912)

(Recording: Augsburg college of music chamber choir, Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Werner Andreas Albert, 2004)

• Gesang des Lebens (Song of Life) op. 29 for boy's choir and orchestra (pub. Kistner, 1910)

(Recording: Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic and State Youth Choir, Werner Andreas Albert, 2001)

• Chorlied aus Oedipus auf Colonos "Nicht geboren ist das Beste" (Choir song from Oedipus on Colonos: "Born is not the best") op. 31 for mixed choir and orchestra (after Sophocles) (pub. Kistner, 1912)
• Hyperion op. 32 for baritone, mixed choir and orchestra (after Hölderlin), vocal score published by Kistner, 1912

(Recording: Markus Köhler, Augsburg college of music chamber choir, Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Werner Andreas Albert, 2004)

• Der dritte Psalm (The third Psalm) op. 37 for baritone, mixed choir and orchestra
• Four secular songs (Kyrie, Et incarnatus est, Crucifixus, Agnus Dei) for choir, A cappella op. 44
• Kreuzfahrerlied (Cross driver song) op. 46 for mixed choir (after Hartmann von Aue) (published 1910)
• Requiem in B minor op. 50 for soprano, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra (pub. 1925)

(Recording: Marietta Zumbült, Mario Hoff, Erfurt Cathedral Choir, Weimar Philharmonic Choir, Thuringian Weimar State Orchesta, George Alexander Albrecht,CPO 2003.)

• Ein Weihnachts-Oratorium auf alt-deutsche Gedichte (A Christmas Oratorio on old-German poems) op. 53 for Soprano, baritone, mixed choir and orchestra
• Drei Weihnachtsmotetten für unbegleiteten gem. Chor op. 58
• Liebe, Leben, Ewigkeit, (Love, life, eternity) Oratory fragment (after Goethe, missing)

[edit] Orchestral works

• Kleist-Ouvertüre in D Minor op. 16 (Kistner, 1908)

(Recording: Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Werner Andreas Albert, CPO 1999)

• Symphony #1 in C Minor op. 40 (pub. Simrock, 1924)

(Recording: Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra, Roland Bader,CPO 1994)

• Symphony #2 in A Major op. 47 (pub. 1925)

(Recording: Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Werner Andreas Albert, CPO 1999)

• Symphony #3 in B flat Major (actually B flat Minor) op. 48

(Recording: Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Werner Andreas Albert,CPO 2001)

(Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Erich Peter, 1981, Sterling)

• Violin concerto in B Minor op. 57 (pub. 1933)

(Recording: Ulf Wallin (Violin), Rheinland-Pfalz State Philharmonic, Werner Andreas Albert, CPO 2003)

[edit] Chamber music

• Sonata for Solo Violin in G Major op. 33 (Kistner, 1913)
• String Quartet #1 in F Minor op. 43 (Kistner, 1918)
• String Quartet #2 in E Minor op. 49 (Simrock, 1924)

[edit] Organ music

• Passacaglia and Fugue in D Minor op. 55 (pub. 1930)

(Recording: "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", Silvius von Kessel, 2000, Motette)

(Recording: "Orgelland Niederlausitz Vol.1", Lothar Knappe, 2003, H'ART)

• Kleine Toccata in E Minor

[edit] Piano music

• Romantische Variationen über ein Originalthema (Romantic variations on an original theme) op. 42 (published 1917)

[edit] Songs

Also known as lieder

• over 100 songs for voice and piano, including:
  • Op. 5, 6 Lieder für eine mittlere Singstimme mit Begleitung des Klaviers., a set published in 1901, including Wiegenlied (Cradle song) Op. 5 Nr. 3
  • Die Muschel (The shell) Op. 9 Nr. 2 (poem by Richard Schaukal. Published 1904)
  • Op. 10. Five songs for soprano with forte piano accompaniment
  • Op. 15. Six songs for mezzo-soprano with piano accompaniment
  • Op. 20. Five songs for baritone or mezzo-soprano with piano accompaniment
  • Op. 21. Five songs for mezzo-soprano with piano accompaniment.
  • Op. 22. Five songs for soprano or mezzo-soprano with piano accompaniment.

[edit] Writings

• Anton Bruckner. Sein Leben und Schaffen (Anton Bruckner. His life and work), 1922
• Franz Liszt, pub. Leipzig: Reclam, 1925
• Beethoven. Die geistigen Grundlagen seines Schaffens (Beethoven. The mental foundation of his work), 1927

[edit] References

[edit] English

• John Williamson, The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner, p.260, ISBN 0521008786
• Derek Watson, Bruckner (Master Musicians), p.71-, ISBN 0198166176
• Arthur Elson, The Book Of Musical Knowledge, p.232, ISBN 1417928492
• Charles J. Hull, Chronology of European Classical: Vol 2 , p.651- (Multivolume), ISBN 0415942179

[edit] German

• G. Armin: Die Lieder von Richard Wetz (The songs of Richard Wetz), Leipzig 1911.
• E. L. Schellenberg: Richard Wetz, Leipzig 1911.
• H. Polack: Richard Wetz, Leipzig 1935.
• E. Peter und A. Perlick (editors): Richard Wetz als Mensch und Künstler seiner Zeit (Richard Wetz as a human and an artist of his time, publication of the East Central Europe research center; A 28), Dortmund 1975 -- Extensive volume with first hand reports and self certifications.
• W. Huschke: Zukunft Musik. Eine Geschichte der Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar (Future music. A history of Music for universities: Franz Liszt Weimar), Weimar 2006, ISBN 3412309052 -- Wetz' activity as a composition teacher receives detailed mention.

[edit] External links

[edit] English

• Musicweb: Biography of Richard Wetz, February 2, 2002
• Musicweb: Music of Richard Wetz, May 1, 2001
• Classical Music Review, Tony Gualtieri
• Classicstoday review of Symphony No. 3; Gesang des Lebens

[edit] German

• Literature on Richard Wetz in the German National Library
• klassika.info – Short profile of composer, includes picture and list of works
• erfurt.de – Short profile of Richard Wetz
• romana-hamburg.de - Short profile of Richard Wetz, includes picture
• JPC Music - Richard Wetz (Commercial site)

[edit] See also

• Requiem
• List of string quartet composers
• List of compositions for violin and orchestra

[edit] Notes

Persondata
NAME	Wetz, Richard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	German composer
DATE OF BIRTH	February 26, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH	Gleiwitz,Schlesien,Poland
DATE OF DEATH	January 16, 1935
PLACE OF DEATH	Erfurt, Germany