Presents
Heinrich Molbe
String Quintet (2 Cellos) in B flat Major, Op.44
"Heinrich Molbe's String Quintet in B flat Major, Op.44 for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos appeared in 1896. To its credit, it is not at all difficult to perform. The melodic material of the quintet unmistakably identifies the composer as an Austrian and recalls the elegance and grace of Schubert. In structure, the quintet follows the classical example. In the first movement, Allegro ma non tanto, has for its main subject a rich melody. In the Adagio molto espressivo, which follows the main theme has a sense of deep feeling which cannot be denied. Next comes a Scherzo, Allegro molto resoluto, characterized by its rhythm and complete with a Ländler like trio section. The finale begins with a Largo e molto espressivo introduction which leads to the main section, Allegro vivace. The main theme makes a good impression and the piquant second subject is even more appealing."---Wilhelm Altmann writing in his Chamber Music Handbook.
Heinrich Molbe (1835-1915) was the pseudonym of Heinrich von Bach, a prominent Viennese lawyer whose three brothers—–Alexander, Eduard and Otto—–were nonetheless all better known than him. He was born in the village of Unterwaltersdorf in lower Austria outside of Vienna. His father, an important jurist, sent him, as he had the other brothers, to the University of Vienna to study law. Alexander, the eldest (b. 1813) and most famous of the four, served as Imperial Chancellor to the Emperor Franz Joseph from 1848-1850. Eduard entered the imperial civil service and was a governor of several Habsburg provinces while Otto became a composer and eventually director of the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Heinrich, while at the University of Vienna, studied composition privately, as did his brother Otto, with Simon Sechter, the famous professor of composition and theory at the Vienna Conservatory. Heinrich also entered the imperial civil service and briefly served as the Governor of the Fiume and Trieste Province, then in Austrian possession. Though he could claim to be a professionally trained musician, he apparently felt that being known as a composer would be detrimental to his legal and imperial civil service careers and hence composed under a pseudonym. He was a fairly prolific composer, writing nearly 400 works, including some 200 art songs and 140 chamber works.
Unavailable for almost a century, we are pleased to make this quintet available once again.
Parts: $29.95
Parts & Score: $37.95
