# Hartmann's Concerto funebre



## science (Oct 14, 2010)

Hartmann's _Concerto funebre_ (_Funereal Concerto_) is currently on the 61st tier of the Talk Classical community's favorite and most highly recommended works.

Some popular recordings of this work feature Isabella Faust on ECM, Alina Ibragimova on Hyperion, Benjamin Schmid on Wergo, and Gordan Nikolic on PentaTone.

Wikipedia has a brief article about it. Listeners who like moving autobiographical contexts will appreciate the Hyperion blurb: "It is an extraordinary work, inspired initially by Hartmann's feelings about the Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia, containing conflicting messages of hope, desperation and foreboding at the times ahead. The solo violin line is at once a mournful commentary and a prophetic cry."

Of this work, a Gramophone reviewer wrote:



> The Chamber Concerto had to wait 34 years for its premiere (in 1969) though I cannot imagine why it hasn't become a repertory mainstay. The language is Magyar-inspired (even aside from the Galanta references) and the scoring lively and luminous. The _Concerto funebre_ opens with a quotation (fully acknowledged this time) of the Hussite chorale 'Ye Who are God's Warriors', best known to us Brits for its use in Smetana's Ma vlast. The reference commemorates the Nazi betrayal of Czechoslavakia, though Hartmann's anger finds controlled expression in the Allegro di molto third movement.
> 
> The Fourth Symphony is scored for strings and frames a lively Allegro di molto with two profound Adagios that, again, draw you in by virtue of their intense arguments.


Personally, I also find this work compelling and cathartic, and I hope it becomes more widely known and loved.

The main questions of this thread are: *Do you like this work? Do you love it? Why? What do you like about it? Do you have any reservations about it?*

And of course, what are your favorite recordings?


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I thought I had this piece in my Hartmann collection. I'll have to remedy this situation after listening to the performance by Thomas Zehetmair. I like it very much!


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

Pretty forgettable to me, except for the last movement.


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

I like it, but I have no copy of my own. I rate his string quartets (especially no.2) and some of the symphonies above that concerto. I think there may be other reasons for it not being a concert mainstay, it takes almost five minutes to get going and the material presented in that time is not easily assimilated. If I am in the wrong mood the 'sighing' violin starts to grate on my nerves after a while.

However, the string orchestra scoring is lush and Hartmann is appealing in the same way Berg (and maybe Hindemith) is appealing; both teeter on the edge between tonality and the 'new music'.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I like it, but I'm something of a sucker for elegiac works anyway. Hartmann's _Sinfonia tragica_ from 1940 is just as close to the bone as it was contemporary with the Nazi steamrolling of the Low Countries and France, even if it wasn't composed specifically with that in mind. Perhaps even more potent is the _marcia funebre_ movement of Hartmann's piano sonata _27 April 1945_ which represents his witnessing of the death march from Dachau towards the Austrian border as the Allies closed in.


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## janxharris (May 24, 2010)




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## Guest (May 14, 2019)

i believe hartmann is one of the top german composers of the 20 th century; his symphonies are great but there is a very special place in my heart for the concerto funebre which has been interpreted by isabelle faust who is one of the greatest violinists alive; i have all the other extant versions in my collection and find all of them to be of a very high level; i guess the music is so great that the interpreters rise to the challenge; it is clearly a work that is very much influenced by history, by geopolitics; to me it raises the content of the piece and makes it simply one of the greatest violin concertos of the 20th century; thank you jan, arabella is one of my favourite interpreters as well


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## CnC Bartok (Jun 5, 2017)

I find this piece at times beautiful, at times incredibly poignant, but in the final analysis, I find it unremittingly bleak. Respect, not necessary love, although I think I should give it another listen, since it's been a while.

I have recordings by Isabelle Faust on ECM, and a much older one with Andre Gertler on Supraphon. The Czech associations with this pieces are quite important...


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## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

marc bollansee said:


> i believe hartmann is one of the top german composers of the 20 th century; his symphonies are great but there is a very special place in my heart for the concerto funebre which has been interpreted by isabelle faust who is one of the greatest violinists alive; i have all the other extant versions in my collection and find all of them to be of a very high level;


Hartmann is germany's 2nd greatest composer of the 20TH C.

This is a great work, which I may have overlooked, or I have it on the WERGO sym set, can not recall.

Arabella Steinbacher is showing exceptional talents , intonations in this piece I would probably prefer Steinbacher over a Hahn performance, Hahn is at times focused on perfection , exactness, , a clinical approach. Steinbacher is playing with soul here and is a definitive recording.


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## Guest (May 14, 2019)

hi paul 
thks for yr reply. i agree with your previous statements about henze and hartmann, who are two composers for the ages. but hahn will never play hartmann. She does not fit in.
i am together with you a petterssonnian. You made a comment that i should not put him together with other Swedish composers.
Plse understand that the the other Swedish composers are younger, potential and promising like Tarrodi. My purpose is not to compare composers but to open up interest for younger composers. 
Pettersson is very special to me, especially the 6th Symphony which i rate the highest. I know most people prefer the 7th, but i believe they are wrong. There is a lot to savour in the 6th; opera in the first part, symphonic work in the subsequent parts and drama and a great ending in the last part. i also love the 9th.
Yesterday i listened to Trojahn's and Lindberg's versions of the 6th. There is not much difference. Trojahn's is a bit more emotional.
Take care.Marc


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## paulbest (Apr 18, 2019)

Hi Marc. Great post you have there, Well stated, excellent insights, Yes Hahn may play a few modern works, but her heart and soul is with Bach, Sibelius, Mendelssohn, etc, This Hartmann, Pettersson, Henze, Schnittke will never never be performed on her violin. 


Glad you know of Henze, he has only a few fans. I am trying desperately to get word out, His music is a bit ofa mystery, not easy to grasp, ,,but does music have to be understood by~~~ the mind? ~~~~Or felt with~~~ the soul?
As geramny's greatest 20th C composer, and one of my top 8 20TH C ~~world wide~~~ , greatest composers, it is odd, he is just becoming know.
Lets see, Schoenberg, Berg, Webern, Szymanowski, RVW, Ravel,, Debussy, Schnittke, Carter, Pettersson, ,,,,Henze makes NINE,,with Hartmann, honorable mention. ,,Oh how did I forget Varese, as honorable mention. 
I can not rank these composers in any # system, as they are all equal..Same as Pettersson's syms, 5-15, equal, I can not single out this sym over that sym,,,,,And yes, I already stated on Pettersson's page, if I could placea moratorium, banning the 7th from performance for some decade or 2, I would, Its wayyy overrrr emphasized in that symphonic cycle. 

Yet it is the only sym of Pettersson ~~~~ most likely~~~ to gather a group around. 

People don't really like Pettersson's others symphonies,,~~~too dreary/depressing/dark/moody etc etc.
The 7th offers the incredible resolution episodes which folks can at least make some connections with. 
Pettersson has stated his music is not for the general crowds, It is for those who have a soul such as his.


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