Presents
Richard Heuberger
Nonet Version |
Quintet Version |
Nachtmusik, Op.7
For Quintet (2 Violins, Viola, Cello & Bass) or Nonet (4 Violins, 2 Violas, 2 Cellos & Bass)
Richard Heuberger's Nachtmusik was composed in 1877 and published in two versions. One for two violins, viola, cello and bass and the other for four violins, two violas, two cellos and bass. It was in this later version that the work became better known, although the quintet version has a certain intimacy that the larger one does not. In four movements, the work begins with a charming Allegretto with lovely and naïve melodies. The Allegro vivace which comes next is true classical Viennese minuet. The trio section sports a slower and warm, romantic melody. The third movement movement, an Andante, has the quality of a lullaby. The finale, Presto, is a rollicking, exuberant tune akin to a sailor’s song.
Richard Heuberger (1850-1914) was born in the
Austrian city of Graz. He studied composition at the Graz Conservatory and later
in Vienna with Robert Fuchs. He pursued a dual career as a composer of operas
and operettas and as at teacher at the Vienna Conservatory. During his lifetime,
his operas and operettas enjoyed great popularity, but today, he is virtually
unknown outside of Vienna where he is remembered for the music to his opera The
Opera Ball.