The crossed paths of Hanns Eisler and
Karl Weigl in the post-Great War Wiener
Konservatorium Vienna tell us something
about both composers. Weigl was the
professor and Eisler the pupil. Both
had Socialist beliefs. However Weigl’s
roots were struck deep into a lyrico-romantic
heimat. Eisler was having none
of it. Frustrated by his teacher’s conservative
teaching methods he jumped ship and
joined the classes of a much more congenial
teacher: Arnold Schoenberg.
Weigl’s six symphonies
are gradually emerging from oblivion.
This is the second to appear. The first
(No. 5) was also from Bis [review]
For Viennese-born Karl
Weigl and his second wife Vally, the
Anschlüss of 1938 was taken as
the cue to leave their homeland and
flee to America. He was 57 at the time
and found the transition hard. Eventually
he found a series of prestigious academic
posts and these sustained him and his
family. In parallel he continued to
compose. The final two symphonies date
from this time along with the last three
string quartets.
The waltz and old Vienna
certainly cast a spell over composers.
The most famous being Ravel’s La
Valse but in addition there is Florent
Schmitt’s Rhapsodie Viennoise,
Korngold’s Straussiana and Richard
Strauss’s Schlagobers. The waltz’s
enchantment cast over one and half centuries
can be compared today with the magnetic
draw of the Tango.
Old Vienna might
perhaps be expected to have some of
the lightness and diaphanous fabric
of the South and there is some of that.
Overall though this is a heavily lush
waltz fantasy in the Teuton manner.
Draughts of fresh night air are allowed
in for hints of Tchaikovsky
the ballet composer and of Dvořák
in dancingly Bohemian mode. Interestingly
the writing lightens and becomes much
more accentedly delicate towards the
close; that is until Weigl dons the
steel-clad boots once more for a thunderously
roaring peroration and some heroically
lofted horn climaxes.
There are some appositely
atmospheric photographs of Weigl in
the Alps, complete with alpenstock,
rucksack and visionary expression, on
the front and back of the insert booklet.
This image seems specially suited to
the four movement Sixth Symphony. This
has a ruggedly Brucknerian accent mixed
with the dark anterior world of Brahms’
First Symphony and the neurotic lyricism
of Franz Schmidt’s Second Symphony.
The second movement has a hardness of
heart and a Gothic singing quality recalling
both Suk’s Asrael Symphony and
the weightiness of Elgar’s Second Symphony.
As with the Fifth Symphony, the Adagio
carries the emotional burden with
music of burning eloquence. There is
a triumphant finale - far less equivocal
in its glories than those of its predecessor.
There are other recordings
worth seeking out:-
Piano Trio on Albany: [review]
Lieder and chamber music (including
String Quartet 4) on KWF: [review]
String Quartets 1 and 5 Nimbus: [review]
As yet unreviewed (soon
to be remedied) is the Orfeo CD of the
Third Quartet.
Going back to the LP
era there were albums including the
Third Quartet played by the Chester
Quartet on Stolat SZM 0121. The Seventh
Quartet was on Serenus SRS 12093 played
by the Brno Quartet. We now have the
Arttis Quartet on Nimbus with string
quartets 1 and 5 but long before that
appeared the Iowa Quartet recorded Weigl’s
Fifth on CRI; as far as I know that
tape never made its way on to CRI CD.
There’s a full discography at: http://claudet.club.fr/ExilVienne/Weigl/WeiglDiscographie.html
Off-air recordings
also reveal the entertaining Piped
Piper Suite (Dennis Russell Davies
conducts the CBC Vancouver Symphony
Orchestra ) and the Comedy Overture
(Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Peter Paul Fuchs). The
real prize is the Weigl Violin Concerto
broadcast in 1966 by Sidney Harth with
the Musica Aeterna Orchestra conducted
by Frederic Waldman.
Weigl is a fascinating
composer and there is much more to be
discovered. I hope that Bis will now
turn to the pre-American four symphonies
and that the Arttis and Nimbus might
be tempted to finish a cycle of all
eight quartets.
Rob Barnett
Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin/Thomas Sanderling
(symphony); Alun Francis (Old Vienna) 
