The Violin Music of East Germany Part VII: Günter Raphael

Günter Raphael (1903-1906) is a musical treasure I only recently discovered. He was born into a musical family; his father was Georg Raphael (1865-1904), and mother Maria Becker (1878-1952) were both musicians. The Raphael family was Jewish but assimilated to the protestant faith, which was in keeping with the spirit of the time. Georg Raphael, a lover of J.S.Bach’s music, began studying medicine and then music and was employed as a church musician at the Luther Kirche and later became the music director at St. Matthäuskirche in Berlin. Günter’s mother was a violinist and the daughter of Albert Becker, an important composer in Berlin in the 19th century. 

According to the Günter Raphael website, Raphael was a promising young composer with great potential and received many accolades for his early work. Wilhelm Furtwängler conducted the premiere of his first symphony in 1926 in Leipzig. From 1926 to 1934, he taught in Leipzig but the Nazis declared Raphael a "half-Jew,” forbidding all professional endeavors and the performance of his music.

After losing his teaching position at the Leipzig Conservatory, he married his Danish student, pianist Pauline Jessen. They move to Meiningen (Thuringia), where Jessen already held a teaching position. They have two daughters Dagmar and Christine, born eight years apart. Christine Raphael (1943 - 2008) became a solo violinist and performer, and champion of her father's violin compositions. There is also a foundation in her name that promotes performances of her father’s music. 

Throughout 1934, Raphael contracted tuberculosis forcing him to undergo numerous operations and spend extended periods in sanatoriums. Nevertheless, according to his website, he continued to compose and was often protected from the Nazis by his doctors.

Although after WWII, he wasn’t able to reclaim the musical prominence he once had, in 1948, he was awarded the Franz-Liszt-Award for composition, and radio stations played his music again. He also toured as a piano duo with his wife.

From 1949-1953, He taught at the Duisburg Conservatory of Music (this is about as far away from East Germany as you can get without leaving Germany. Duisburg is very near the Germany/Netherlands border). 

In 1956, he was offered the position of Thomaskantor in Leipzig, but he declined, not wishing to lose his artistic freedom by relocating back to Leipzig, in East Germany. He became a lecturer at the Peter Cornelius Conservatory of Music in Mainz.

In 1957 He was appointed Professor at the Cologne University of Music.

Sadly, in 1960, he died in an ambulance en route to Herford due to his long-standing illness. 

In 1968, Günter Raphael was posthumously awarded the title "Senator of Honour” at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy University of Music in Leipzig.

Throughout his career, Günter Raphael also worked as an editor of classical and baroque scores for Breitkopf and Härtel.

I’m surprised it took me as long as it did to come across his name. He straddles several complex and iconic eras and political issues and comes from a prominent musical family. I found his Dialogue Duette for Zwei Violinen book one on Abebooks.com and bought it impulsively. After getting to know some of his music and then reading about him (usually, I do this in the opposite order), I thought he deserved much more attention.

I found several more of his pieces for violin listed on publisher websites, and they are currently en route from Germany, but several are back-ordered due to lack of available parts.

Music I’m Looking for:

Konzert C-Dur für Violine und Orchester op.21 (1928)

Symphonische Fantasie für konzertierende Violine und Streichorchester op.59 (1940)

Konzert für Violine und Orchester op.87 (1960)

Sonate a-moll op.46 Nr. 1 für Solovioline (1940) ACQUIRED but back-ordered by publisher

Sonate E-Dur op.46 Nr. 2 für Solovioline (1940) ACQUIRED but back-ordered by publisher

Sonate E-Dur op.12 Nr. 1 für Violine und Klavier (1925) ACQUIRED en route

Sonate G-Dur op.12 Nr. 2 für Violine und Klavier (1925)

Sonate C-Dur op.43 für Violine und Klavier (1936)

Sonatine in h-moll op.52 für Violine und Klavier (1944) ACQUIRED

"Jabonah" op.66a bearbeitet für Violine und Klavier (1951)

Duo g-moll für 2 Geigen op.47 Nr. 1 (1940) ACQUIRED but back-ordered by publisher 

Duo c-moll für Geige und Bratsche op.47 Nr. 2 (1940)

Duo e-moll für Geige und Violoncello op.47 Nr. 3 (1940)

Dialoge Duette für 2 Violinen Heft 1 25 Duette (1951) ACQUIRED

Dialoge Duette für 2 Violinen Heft 2 20 Duette (1957)

I recorded several of his violin duets to get a feel for his musical language and style. Here is one, but there are several more available on my YouTube channel. 

 Below, is his second violin concerto, published in 1959/60 and performed by his daughter Christine. It is a fascinating and beautiful piece, made even more touching by the family ties between composer and performer.

Sources:

https://www.guenter-raphael.de/seiten_engl/biographie_fs.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Günter_Raphael

https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Raphael-Gunter.htm

The Violin Music of East Germany, Part I

If you read my New Years Resolution post, you know that one of my goals for the year is to dive into the seemingly forgotten musical world of the former GDR. Already, I have gone way beyond my professional comfort zone with this project. I have reached out to so many sources, some of whom I have never met, some who have been dear friends for years, and one who will be my musical boss, probably for the rest of my life (oh hey Andreas!)

In case you need a geography refresher

I became absolutely fixated on this project last April when I was back in Leipzig for the first time in 10 years to perform with my old band A Whisper in the Noise. I used to tour in Europe frequently, but I never had the time to explore very much because we moved from show to show arriving a few hours before the performance, and leaving early the next day. This time was different. Jeff and I made the decision to explore Leipzig, Potsdam, and of course, Berlin. I knew about East Germany. I knew WHERE it was, I knew about the wall, and I knew the basic outsiders cheat sheet about the region. Through touring and playing music, I know some incredibly talented musical friends from the area. But actually, when I thought about it, I really didn't know anything about that corner of Europe after World War II. What really happened? What was life really like? I started staring at maps and thinking about the wealth of music that poured out of that place. Bach, Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, Clara and Robert Schumann, Mahler, and Wagner, to name just a few, all spent time there. I realized that when the war ended, and the wall went up, I knew virtually nothing about the cultural and musical landscape of the GDR. Nothing. It was like radio silence to the US, at least as far as I can tell.

The flag

When I came home from our travels, I started casually googling things with the hopes of turning up a bunch of scores, recordings, names, performers, etc. I assumed that I would receive an at-home history class full of youtube videos, current yet unknown to me recordings, and easily accessible scores. What quickly became apparent was that composers and performers existed (and some still exist), but their music has fallen through some weird cracks in the musical universe. I found names, even a Wikipedia page dedicated to the topic. Still, when I looked for scores, I could find very few available for rent, purchase, or free download. This seems weird and wrong, right? Where did these people and their music go? Either I am the worst millennial in the world who can't do an internet search to save her life (which is possible), or somehow they have been forgotten. Welcome to the beginning of my obsession. If I could do another Doctorate, this would make for an incredible project. But alas, I guess I'll just devote all of my free time to it instead.

A guitar case sticker from the EOM20 festival last April in Leipzig.

In the late Autumn of 2019, I attended the Medea Insurrection exhibit at the Wende Museum in Los Angeles, I asked the Chief Curator what he thought about my idea. He gave me his card and told me to contact him immediately. We sat down for a meeting the following week, and he gave me several resources to contact, avenues to pursue, and ideas to follow up on. Since then, I have been chipping away at this project. I have contacted libraries in Germany, reached out to curators in Los Angeles, emailed cultural and research institutions on both sides of the Atlantic. I have slowly compiled a list of people AND found scores, although not necessarily the same. I am just a few steps into a deep rabbit hole of not new music.

My musical project is to uncover, perform, and record as much violin repertoire and string chamber music written by composers from the GDR as I can. So far, my research has brought up musicians from all over the musical and political spectrum. Over the next few months (or weeks, or maybe even days depending on the coronavirus situation), I will be sharing some of my findings here, so stay tuned.

Regarding this project, I am always looking for help with the following:

• composers that fit the above criteria,

• libraries with resources that you can help me access,

• friends who own weird old music collections that could maybe help, and you could put me in touch with

• google wizards and wizardry

• financial assistance (know of any grants, residencies, scholarships, etc.?)

• Musicologists who are experts on the topic

• Musicians interested in collaborating/helping

• German friends (or friends of friends) who could help with a little translating, on the ground leg work, resource finding, etc.

• anything else that comes to mind

I would greatly appreciate any and all help. This is truly a musical "community building" endeavor. Just the sort of thing that I absolutely adore but is so much more rewarding when everyone gets involved.