Hans Pfitzner: Sextet in G minor, Op. 55 (1945)

Performers: Ensemble Ulf Hoelscher
00:00 I. Movement: Allegro con passione
05:54 II. Movement: Quasi Minuetto
10:28 III. Movement: Rondoletto
14:11 IV. Movement: Semplice, misterioso
21:55 V. Movement: Comodo
The sextet is smaller in its scale and conception when compared to the quintet, to the point that Pfitzner often referred to it as a suite rather than sextet per se. Written at the end of his life, when the composer’s health was already failing, during his stay at the Hilfskrankenhaus in Partenkirchen in 1945, the mood of the piece is considerably lighter, simpler, than that of his previous compositions. Were it not for the occasional unexpected harmonic deviation or quirky passage, so characteristic of Pfitzner’s style in general, it would be easy to mistake this piece as belonging to the early romantic tradition of Schubert, or Weber.
Bruno Walter, close friend of Pfitzner’s, wrote to his widow a few years after the premier of the work: “… among these late works I have gotten on the closest terms with the sextet. You must understand that I … initially regarded these works from the last epoch with a feeling of strangeness. […] There is a stillness in them… that was new to me and something to which I first had to become accustomed. […] In brief, I admire this style new to me and feel that I am gradually getting on closer terms with it, yes, that it speaks to my heart in its own very way.”
The work opens passionately, according to Pfitzner’s own indication, with a fiery g minor theme full of motion and a pulsating bass on the cello. The fire soon subdues as thr figurations turn into a sostenuto theme. “Tranquillo” marks Pfitzner, and suddenly, like a ray of dancing light, a delicious melody appears high in the clarinet, with a dance-like accompaniment . Then comes a mysterious interlude in the low registers, that takes the role of the development of this highly condensed sonata. The texture thickens, and the instruments engage in rich counterpoint. The pace quickens, there is a crescendo. The cello introduces a beautiful melody in what is possibly the most inspired passage of the whole suite. This beautiful line starts lyrical and broad in Db major, under a rich piano accompaniment. It toils and turns as it is transformed into the main theme, and suddenly, we find ourselves at the recapitulation. The coda is dark and mysterious, with an almost exotic solo of the clarinet over a g minor pedal. The movement ends in suspense.
Pfitzner very aptly calls the second movement a “quasi Minuetto”, for it really is a sort of potpourri of several dance styles. We hear a waltz at some point, something that kind of resembles a mazurka, etc. The main theme is elegant, full of grace. The sole thing that seems to keep this movement together is a four-bar stately motive in sostenuto character that links the passages together, almost like a refrain. The first waltz theme is vigorous, yet dies out quickly leading to a charismatic minor waltz for the clarinet and violin. The Minuetto returns with some elaborations, and then so does the waltz, now in major with an accompaniment that is taken from the Minuetto.
The ensuing Rondoletto is a playful thing,: yet another lovely melody on the violin accompanied by lively semiquavers on the viola. After the other instruments have joined the party, the piano interrupts with a powerful, almost rude, iteration of the theme introducing a new section that allows some rich contrapuntal interplay between the instruments. This section quickly ushers in another rhapsodic passage for the violin and cello, very free in rhythm, almost recitative-like. The main theme resurges in the clarinet one again. The whole thing gains some momentum and slowly dies off, in the traditional pfitznerian way.
Pfitzner indicates that movements four and five make up a unit, in as much as all the other movements clearly depend very much on each other on account of their lightness. Semplice is the heading that he employs, and, for all its deep sonorities and solemn tranquility, it really ought to be taken very simply, avoiding all overdramatization. The melodies here are, as ever, very personal, but the counterpoint is simple, transparent, caressing. An especially captivating aura is created by the combination double bass - clarinet at the beginning and end. Of all the movements, this is perhaps the most brahmsian of all.
The final movement is almost a coda. There is basically one idea that just gets used over and over again in varying moods by all the instruments. There is no apotheosis, no release of pressure, since Pfitzner didn’t store up any throughout the cicle. Instead, it all finishes in a playful stretto, almost like a Rossini overture. But wait, right at the very end, the theme of the very first movement returns one final cheeky time!
Get the music:www.amazon.es/Pfitzner-H-Pian...
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[@neweraofthechambermusic3699]

Pfitzner is a real genius, Brahms and Beethoven level. A huge discovery for me! Thanks for the video.

[@bigcedock]

Who’s playing??

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The Ulf Hoelscher Ensemble