Presents
Anton Titz
String Quartet No.9 in a minor
There is some confusion over the last name of Anton Titz (1742-1810). The family name was originally Dietsch and both of his father’s siblings, an uncle and aunt with whom he was raised, had the name Dietsch. In various parts of Germany D and T were often interchangeable when appearing at the beginning of a word. He appears to have gone by Tietz until he emmigrated to St. Petersburg in 1771. Most of his published works which appeared after this time bear the name Titz and he became known by both Tietz and Titz. Trained as a violinist in Nuremberg, he moved to Vienna where thanks to his friend Gluck, one of Vienna’s leading opera composers, Titz gained the patronage of the music lover Prince Lobkowitz. As a result of his appearances as a performer at Lobkowitz’s soirees, Titz was invited to St Petersburg where he remained for the rest of his life. There, he played an important role in Russia’s musical life as a leading violin soloist. He was said to be a virtuoso by those who heard him play during his prime. He also worked as a composer and concert manager and was responsible for introducing the latest works of Mozart and Haydn, both of whom he knew personally, to Russian high society. Additionally, his own compositions were frequently performed not only in Petersburg but throughout Europe where he achieved a considerable reputation.
He is thought to have composed 12 string quartets. Six appeared in 1781 and were dedicated to Prince Dmitri Golitsyn. They are generally considered to be the first string quartets composed in Russia, albeit by a German. Then three more appeared in 1802 and were dedicated to Tsar Alexander I, and finally in 1808 a final three appeared and were dedicated to Alexei Teplov. It was about this time that the famous violin virtuoso and composer Ludwig Spohr concertized in St Petersburg. He wrote that while Tietz was no great violinist (perhaps not surprising since Titz was over 60 at the time), he was certainly a composer of genius as his many works attested.
String Quartet No.9 in C Major is the last of the set of 3 which appeared in 1802. The writing is quite interesting as it combines concertante style with the more updated polyphonic approach of Haydn and Mozart. The music is clearly in the Vienna Classical Style, resembling that of Franz Krommer, the Wranitzky brothers and Haydn rather than that of Mozart. The opening movement has a substantial and lengthy introduction Siciliano, affectuoso. This in turn leads to a lively Allegro di molto agitato. The Siciliano appears again later on and it can be said that this is actually two movements in one. The middle movement Romanze, is a kind of slow serenade with a nicely contrasting section in the minor. The work concludes with a raucous Polonaise.
We have reprinted the first edition and though it is nothing like a modern edition it is quite readable. We are often asked why we do not just make a modern edition of deserving works, and certainly, this is one. The answer in a word is cost. It is very expensive to do this and where the older edition is readable, we feel it serves both the revival of the music as well as the pocketbooks of musicians to make the older edition available. Of course, the price reflects the fact it is not a modern edition. This is a good work to play and hear.
Parts: $19.95
