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Schwarz-Reiflingen, Erwin: Sextet
for 2 Violins, 2 Violas and 2 Violoncellos
score
None other than Paul Hindemith had agreed with Schulhoff to hold the premiere of the work in Donaueschingen. This took place on 19 July 1924 and was performed by the Zika Quartet, Hindemith's brother Rudolf and Hindemith himself. After the success of the premiere, Schulhoff sent the manuscript to Universal-Edition, Vienna in order to have it printed, but asked for it to be returned for revision on 17 April 1926. This revision never materialized, and seemingly no further performances ensued during his lifetime.
In 1978, the first printed score of the sextet was published by Supraphon, Prague, but without the individual parts. Since the mid-1980s, the work has finally found its way back into the concert hall: c redit must be given to Gidon Kremer, who was the first to campaign for its revival. In the meantime, several first-rate ensembles have taken up the string sextet into their repertoire. This is reflected not only in concert life but also in the sales of records.
Schulhoff dedicated the sextet to Francis Poulenc. I am not aware of any personal contact between the two, but it is safe to assume that Schulhoff was familiar with the French composer's oeuvre, after all, in 1924 he presented Poulenc in a short article in the magazine "Auftakt" together with Hindemith, Stravinsky, Casella and others.
The publication of Erwin Schulhoff's string sextet was more than overdue, due to its youthful esprit and along with this the courageous expressivity, the work can indisputably take its place alongside the sextets of Brahms and Schönberg.
(Foreword by Michael Rische, 24 October 1997)
In the autumn of 1923, a young man produced the first music editions of his newly founded publishing house in his parents’ living room. He named his company Bärenreiter. In the spring of 1924 when Karl Vötterle came of age, he was able to register it with the German Publishers and Booksellers Association. At first, he mainly put out folk song collections, church as well as organ music including early music by Leonhard Lechner and Heinrich Schütz, at the time primarily known in specialist circles.
During the last months of the Second World War, the publishing house in Kassel was destroyed and once more a fresh beginning had to be made. With the start of the extensive German music encyclopaedia MGG – "Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart" – as well as numerous series of scholarly-critical complete editions such as the “New Mozart Edition” and the “New Bach Edition”, the visionary founder of the publisher created the basis for the further development of Bärenreiter. The musicological editions increasingly aroused interest abroad, and Bärenreiter found itself on an expansion course.
When Karl Votterle died in 1975, his daughter Barbara took over the helm, supported by her husband Leonhard Scheuch. Under their leadership, the catalogue grew significantly and the brand BÄRENREITER URTEXT was established. Finally, in 2003, their son Clemens Scheuch joined the publisher which today he is managing together with his parents. Thus Bärenreiter has remained a family business to this day and has become a company of international standing in the world of classical music.
