Wendling & Wittenberg Quartetts: The Complete Recordings
8/18/2023, 28 Tracks, 2:18:30
Featuring
Oscar Shumsky
Karl Wendling
Hermann Hubl
Ludwig Natterer
Alfred Saal
Philipp Dreisbach
Walter Reichardt
Hans Michaelis
Philip Neeter
Alfred Wittenberg
Hermann Behr
Josef Melzer
Pál Hermann
The Wendling Quartet
Wittenberg Quartett
Johann Sebastian Bach
Roman Hoffstetter
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Franz Schubert
Max Reger
Joseph Haydn
Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
Ludwig van Beethoven
Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Did you know?
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Composition History
Max Reger dedicated his A-major Clarinet Quintet, Op.146, to the Wendling Quartet, but he died before its premiere performance.
Performer Biography
The Wendling Quartet's members were also principal players in the Stuttgart Orchestra's string section, and its leader Carl Wendling performed Brahms's Double Concerto with cellist Alfred Saal.
Performer Biography
Alfred Wittenberg, leader of the Wittenberg Quartet, was a child prodigy who performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto and a Chopin piano concerto at age eight.
Performer Biography
Carl Wendling owned a 1757 J.B. Guadagnini violin, which he acquired in 1897 from Emanuel Wirth, the violist of the Joachim Quartet.
Performer Biography
Carl Wendling, the first violinist and leader of the Wendling Quartet, studied with the renowned violinist Joseph Joachim and his pupil Heinrich Schuster.
Historical Context
Alfred Wittenberg, a Jewish musician, escaped to Shanghai in 1939 to avoid Nazi persecution and was later restricted to an 'isolation zone' for Jews during the Japanese Occupation.
Interpretation
The Wendling Quartet's recordings show they played with a fair amount of portamento and a sparing use of vibrato, which was common for the era.
