Presents
Carl Reinecke
String Quartet No.2 in F Major, Op.30
“Carl Reinecke’s String Quartet No.2 in F Major, Op.30 was completed in 1851 and published the following year. This is a very interesting work showing a true artist’s hand, witty thematic material and admirably put together. Especially noteworthy is the rich and densely woven Adagio.”—–the famous 19th century chamber music scholar Albert Tottmann writing in his Guide to the Violin Literature. The exciting outer movements and the fleet Scherzo show the influence of Mendelssohn and especially Schumann. Not surprising in view of the fact that at the time Schumann was so impressed with Reinecke that he entrusted him with all of the arrangements of his works. He was fond of saying that “Reinecke knows what I will compose before I have put pen to paper.”
Nowadays, Reinecke has been all but forgotten, an unjust fate for a man who excelled in virtually every musical field with which he was involved. As a performer, Reinecke was, during the mid-19th century, reckoned for three decades as one of the finest concert pianists before the public. As a composer, he produced widely respected and often performed works in every genre running the gamut from opera, to orchestral to chamber music. As a conductor, he helped turn the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra into a group with few if any peers. As its director, he helped the Leipzig Conservatory become what was widely regarded as the finest in the world. As a teacher of composition and of piano, he was considered to have few if any equals. Among his many students were Grieg, Bruch, Janacek, Albeniz, Sinding, Svendsen, Reznicek, Delius, Arthur Sullivan, George Chadwick, Ethel Smyth, Felix Weingartner, Karl Muck and Hugo Riemann. In his time, Reinecke and his music were unquestionably regarded as first rate.
This Quartet has been out of print for over a century. We have reprinted the original 1852 Breitkopf edition but have added rehearsal numbers which were missing from the original. We feel that this quartet will be enjoyed by professionals and amateurs alike.
Parts: $24.95
