Joseph Joachim Raff (1822 – 1882) was a German-Swiss
composer, teacher and pianist born in Lachen in
Switzerland. His father, a teacher, had fled there from
Württemberg in 1810 to escape forced recruitment into
the military of that southwestern German state that had
to fight for Napoleon in Russia. Joachim was largely
self-taught in music, studying the subject while
working as a schoolmaster in Schmerikon, Schwyz and
Rapperswil. He sent some of his piano compositions to
Felix Mendelssohn who ...(+)
Joseph Joachim Raff (1822 – 1882) was a German-Swiss
composer, teacher and pianist born in Lachen in
Switzerland. His father, a teacher, had fled there from
Württemberg in 1810 to escape forced recruitment into
the military of that southwestern German state that had
to fight for Napoleon in Russia. Joachim was largely
self-taught in music, studying the subject while
working as a schoolmaster in Schmerikon, Schwyz and
Rapperswil. He sent some of his piano compositions to
Felix Mendelssohn who recommended them to Breitkopf &
Härtel for publication. They were published in 1844
and received a favourable review in Robert Schumann's
journal, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, which
prompted Raff to go to Zürich and take up composition
full-time.
Raff was very prolific, and by the end of his life was
one of the best known German composers, though his work
is largely forgotten today. (Only one piece, a cavatina
for violin and piano, is performed with any regularity
today, sometimes as an encore.) He drew influence from
a variety of sources - his eleven symphonies, for
example, combine the Classical symphonic form, with the
Romantic penchant for program music and contrapuntal
orchestral writing which harks back to the Baroque.
Most of these symphonies carry descriptive titles
including In the Forest (No. 3), Lenore (No. 5) and To
the Fatherland (No. 1), a very large-scale work lasting
around seventy minutes. His last four symphonies make
up a quartet of works based on the four seasons. Arturo
Toscanini conducted some performances of the Symphony
No. 3 In the Forest in 1931.
The Douze Romances en form d'Études (Twelve Romances
in the form of Etudes) op.8 are amongst the earliest of
Raff's compositions. They owe their existence, as
arguably does Raff's very career as a composer, to his
friends the Curti brothers, Anton and Franz Alexander.
When the 18 year old arrived in the Swiss lakeside town
of Rapperswil in 1840 to take up his post as a
schoolmaster, he was soon befriended by the pair, who
came from a family established in the town. Anton was
an opera singer who went on to become a noted
Wagnerian, whilst his brother was a doctor. Between
them they encouraged Raff's nascent musical
ambitions.
By the autumn of 1843, when Raff wrote this set, he had
become deeply dissatisfied with his teaching post and
spent all his spare time absorbing the composer's craft
and writing music. The Curtis had introduced him to
Zürich's young kapellmeister Franz Abt and he too was
enthusiastic about his new friend's talent. Between the
three of them they managed to persuade Raff to write to
his then idol Mendelssohn, including with his letter
some of his compositions.
Mendelssohn's reply probably exceeded the young man's
wildest hopes. He felt that Raff's talent was so
promising that he should become a full-time musician.
Mendelssohn not only praised the compositions, but
reported that he had sent them on to his own publishers
Breitkopf & Härtel with a recommendation that they be
published by them. These "Twelve Romances in the form
of Etudes" were amongst them.
Although originally designated as his op.10 by Raff,
they were published by Breitkopf & Härtel in two
volumes as op.8 in April 1845. Understandably, they
were "respectfully dedicated" to Mendelssohn. Perhaps
to appear the product of a more sophisticated author,
the complete set boasted a French title and each Etude
was given an Italian name. In May 1874, when Raff was
at the peak of his popularity, Breitkopf & Härtel
brought out a new edition which itself was republished
after the composer's death in 1886.
They are naive and generally straightforward works
which require little commentary, but there is a melodic
freshness and straightforward charm to them which is
very appealing. It's clear to see why Mendelssohn was
so impressed by these products of a 21 year old who had
never had (and was never to have) any formal musical
training.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Raff).
Although originally composed for Solo Piano, I created
this Interpretation of the "Preghiera" (Prayer) from
"Twelve Romances in the form of Etudes" (Op. 8 No. 8)
for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
