Woldemar Bargiel - Symphony, Op. 30 (1864)

Woldemar Bargiel (3 October 1828 – 23 February 1897) was a German composer and educator. He was the younger maternal half-brother of Clara Schumann.

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Symphony in C major, Op. 30 (1864)
Dedication: Joseph Joachim

1. Allegro energico (0:00)
2. Andante con moto (11:35)
3. Menuett (22:03)
4. Allegro molto (26:57)

Nürnberger Symphoniker conducted by Robert Seyler
radio recording
Despite the poor sound quality of especially the 3rd and 4th movement (hissing) the performance is better and does the work more justice than the two others I listened to.

On 28 October 1853 Robert Schumann, after a ten-year absence, returned to the pages of his Neue Zeitschrift für Musik to publicize his meeting two weeks previously with a «youngblood at whose cradle the Graces and Heroes held watch»: Johannes Brahms. Brahms, he claimed, was the culmination of a very recent series of «young artists of lofty aspirations» who had imparted new strength to music. For the benefit of his readers Schumann listed some of the names in this illustrious series: Joseph Joachim, Niels Gade, Theodor Kirchner, Stephen Heller and ... Woldemar Bargiel.

Why Bargiel? If the other names in the series are at least familiar to students of romanticism or learners of the piano, Bargiel is likely to be known only as the (matrilinear) half-brother of Clara Schumann, and hence as the brother-in-law of Robert. Yet in his early career he was definitely a force to be reckoned with: Brahms knew him well and praised his compositions in his letters; Joachim recommended him to a teaching position at the Royal Conservatory in Berlin (1874), where two years later he became a full professor of composition and in 1889 the head of the theory and composition department. Before then Bargiel had been instrumental in organizing the musical life of the city of Rotterdam (1865-74) and had conducted the Dutch première of the St. Matthew Passion (1869). By the end of his life he had become a distinguished senator in the Berlin Academy of Arts, where he led a master class from 1882, and an honorary member of musical societies as far afield as Italy and the Netherlands. Throughout his life he remained closely allied with Clara Schumann and her circle, and thus with Brahms, with whom he co-edited the complete edition of Chopin’s works for Breitkopf & Härtel in 1878-80. He produced piano-duet arrangements of Schumann’s Genoveva (1852) and Scenes from Faust (1858-60) and revised some of that master’s works for the complete edition published under Clara’s auspices in 1881.

Bargiel devoted a large part of his life to teaching, with a special emphasis on theory and score reading; his edition of Bach chorale harmonizations in old clefs (1891-3) remained in use for decades. His teaching methods and personality are lovingly described by his student Ernst Rudorff (Aus den Tagen der Romantik, 1937), who later joined him on the editorial board of the Chopin edition. «I am fully aware,» Rudorff confided late in life, «just how much I owe to my dealings and lessons with Bargiel. ... If a focus on the genuine and intrinsic in art, and an aversion to shallowness and empty phrases, were able to take permanent hold in me, a large part of it came from his example. If I were to single out one item of his piano teaching as a special virtue, it would be his incessant and urgent emphasis on having the student play ‘with tone.’ Vapid and anemic doodling on the keys were banished forever under his tutelage. He had a special genius for creating a vibrant touch.»
As a composer Bargiel, following in the footsteps of his famous brother-in-law, concentrated mainly on music for solo piano. Today, however, he is remembered equally well for his chamber music and especially for two orchestral works in C major: the early Suite, op. 7 (1853-4), and the present Symphony, op. 30 (1866). The latter was published in full score by Breitkopf & Härtel of Leipzig in 1866 at a time when Bargiel had just taken charge of the Rotterdam Music Society. In the same year Breitkopf also issued the composer’s own arrangement for piano four-hands. The work immediately assumed an important position in the post-Mendelssohn symphonic tradition, as indicated by the fact that it was reissued by Breitkopf in a «new revised edition» in 1880. Yet by 1887 Hermann Kretzschmar, writing in volume 1 of his famous concert guide, could already single out Bargiel’s sole symphony as deserving of revival. Our study score will, it is hoped, help contribute to its rediscovery.

Bradford Robinson, 2006