Josef Netzer (1808-1864)

String Quartet E Major, Graz 1854
Symphony in E Flat Major
Composer’s Version for Piano Duet, Leipzig 1848
This CD presents two of the best works by a composer who comes from the Upper Inn valley in the Tyrol. Josef Netzer is one of those Tyrolean composers who attained recognition beyond regional borders. Although his works are virtually unknown today, he did leave traces behind in the history of music. In the late thirties of the 19th century Netzer was a recognized, even celebrated, symphonist in Vienna. His opera “Mara,” premiered in no less a theater than the former Viennese court opera with the renowned court opera house orchestra, was an international success. Netzer was a conductor in many famous cultural centers, such as Leipzig, where he was a colleague of Albert Lorzing, and frequently conducted in major Viennese halls. His final place of activity, which he appreciated enormously, was the city of Graz, where he was the musical director. This inner fulfillment of a truly remarkable creative life finds expression particularly in his string quartet composed in Graz. It is full of feeling and thoroughly Romantic. The symphonist in Netzer, who is not to be underrated, shows to advantage in his very expressive fourth symphony. This work emphasizes all his strong points: Netzer was one of Franz Schubert’s last close friends and he absorbed many a feature of that composer’s particular style, at least in atmosphere, especially as far as the dominance of the melodic design is concerned. On the other hand, the well-trained master, expert in all theoretical matters, is always in evidence. Josef Netzer had completed the full five-year course in composition in Vienna under Simon Sechter, the most famous music theorist of the period. This of course had a decisive impact impossible to overhear in his works. Many a special stylistic feature and innovative compositional idea coming from this school found its ideal culmination in Anton Bruckner but is already germinating, at least, in Netzer’s work. Certainly Netzer is a composer of distinction and worthy of note, whose creative works can still be impressive today.

Track 7, 5:44
Scherzo.Presto
Symphonie nr. 4, Es-Major