If ever there were a Nobel Prize for Music, it could deservedly be awarded to Raimund Lissy. Never heard of him? Perhaps. But then take a look at the famous New Year's Concert of the Wiener Philharmoniker.
You will see him as leader of the 2nd violins. And the other members of the Lissy Quartett Wien, which he founded in 2008, also reach great heights in the Viennese music landscape. Violist Robert Bauerstatter rose in 2004 from leader of the viola section at the Wiener Staatsoper to member of the Wiener Philharmoniker. Cellist Maria Grün has been part of the cello section of the Wiener Philharmoniker since 2014. Violinist Regina Brandstätter chose a pedagogical career, chamber music and solo performances.
For their concert in Sint-Pieter-en-Paulkerk as part of the Amazing Haydn cycle, the quartet was strengthened by pianist Srebra Gelleva, active in Vienna and beyond as a teacher, chamber musician and soloist.
Five true musicians, in service of Haydn, Mozart, Balduin Sulzer who died this year, and... Joseph Mayseder. That this name raises nothing but question marks is a true shame, for which our music education, radio, media and concert organizations should share the blame.
For there is a great deal to be said about Mayseder. Raimund Lissy, who rediscovered him, wrote a hefty book about him, which will soon be available via Amazon. Mayseder, who lived from 1789 to 1863, actively crossed paths with everyone who was anyone in Vienna, Paris and Italy at the time: Wranitzky, Haydn, Salieri, Kozeluch,
Schuppanzigh, Schubert, Czerny, Spohr, Beethoven, Hummel, Giuliani, Moscheles, Baillot, Viotti, Kreutzer, Cherubini, Vieuxtemps, the Schumanns, Liszt, Carl Loewe, Meyerbeer, Chopin... Not chance encounters, but musical collaboration with a violin virtuoso who was highly esteemed by Paganini, who in 1827, together with Schubert, Czerny and Grillparzer, was a torchbearer at Beethoven's funeral, and who received an honor grave and a Maysedergasse in Vienna.
On the other hand, Mayseder himself had much to say, in notes that is. From his rich oeuvre, Gramola released a CD with his three Violin Concertos and three CDs with chamber music.
From that chamber music, Raimund Lissy selected three delightful works.
In the first String Quartet, a promising work from a sixteen-year-old, the influence of Beethoven was unmistakable. Although it still sounded somewhat schoolish, Mayseder's youthful spirit of experimentation nevertheless demanded extreme virtuosity from the violin, and in the Adagio he already spoke his own romantic language. The closing rondo was downright charming.
From 1806 to 1820. Then Mayseder wrote his charming first Piano Trio, full of heart-winning melodies, playful piano parts, surprising effects such as pizzicati and col legno, and the opportunity to admire the warm sonority of violist Bauerstatter.
The same delight concluded the concert: the Konzertante Variationen from twenty years later.
Here originality was the trump card and a virtuosic exuberance, in which pianist Srebra Gelleva clearly shared.
The encore too was resounding proof that the Austrians have more flair than we do for all the beauty that the classical repertoire has to offer. They proudly presented an unprecedented gem by Richard Strauss: Liebesliedchen.
- WHAT: Concert Amazing Haydn with works by Haydn, Mozart, Mayseder, Sulzer
- WHO: Lissy Quartett Wien
- WHERE & WHEN: Sint-Pieter en Paulkerk Mechelen, 12 October 2019
- PHOTOS: © Carine Peeraer