Johann Rufinatscha

Johann Rufinatscha (1 October 1812 – 25 May 1893 [Robert Hughes. "Music Lovers' Cyclopedia", p. 636. Doubleday, Page for U. S. School of Music, 1912. 949p.] ) was an Austrian composer, theorist and music teacher. [Waldo Selden Pratt, Arthur Mendel. "The History of Music: A Handbook and Guide for Students", p. 589. G. Schirmer, Inc., 1935]

Life

Rufinatscha was born in 1812 in Mals, in the Austrian (now Italian) province of Südtirol. At the age of 14 he came to Innsbruck, where he studied the piano, violin, and musical study at the conservatory. After that he settled in Vienna, where he would remain for the rest of his life.

During his lifetime he was most prominent as a teacher of piano and harmony in Vienna. Rufinatscha seems to have spent most of his life teaching rather than composing actively, which would explain why he composed fairly few pieces. He knew Johannes Brahms and composed a number of works (including several symphonies) during the period in which Brahms refused to publish any symphonic works because of his fear not to live up to Beethoven's legacy. While predicted by contemporaries to become a major composer of his day, this did not turn out to be the case, and as such he is still relatively obscure. However, as a music teacher he was influential; among his pupils were composers such as Ignaz Brüll and Julius Epstein. He died in 1893 in Vienna.

Rufinatscha is recognised as one of Tirol's most important composers of the 19th century. His works can be said to form a connection between those of Franz Schubert and Anton Bruckner. Shortly before his death Rufinatscha decided to donate the manuscripts of his compositions to the Tyrolean provincial museum, where they remain to this day. In the past few years some of his works have been recorded on CD, and are for sale from the Museum's shop.

Compositions

Rufinatscha appears to have composed 6 symphonies, of which the third has been lost entirely. The following is a list of his known compositions. [The list is compiled from the posts on the [http://www.raff.org/forums/?board=unsung;action=display;num=1183746750;start=0|Raff.org forum] ]

Orchestral works

* Symphony No. 1 in D major (1834)
* Symphony No. 2 in E-flat major (1840)
* Symphony No. 3 (lost)
* Symphony No. 4 in C minor (1846): only the piano four-hands adaptation in 3 extant movements survives
* Symphony No. 5 in B minor (1846): versions exist for both piano four-hands and orchestra
* Symphony No. 6 in D major (c.1865): versions exist for both piano four-hands and orchestra
* Piano Concerto (1850): scored for both orchestra and piano four-hands

Chamber Music

* String Quartet in E-flat major (1850)
* String Quartet in G major (1870)
* Piano Trio in A-flat major (1868): third movement seems to be a reworking of the 2nd movement of the Piano Concerto.
* Piano Quartet in C minor (1836)
* Piano Quartet in A-flat major (1870): the first and the last movements possibly are reworkings of earlier compositions.

Instrumental works

* Sonata for Piano 4-hands in D minor (1850)
* Piano Sonata No. 2 in C major, Op.7 (1855)
* Piano Sonata in D minor, Op.18 (1880)

Recordings

The [http://www.tiroler-landesmuseum.at/ Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum] has released multiple CDs with works by Rufinatscha. Among them are the extant symphonies (nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6), the Piano Trio, the String Quartets in E flat major and G major, and the four-hand reduction of the piano concerto.

Notes

References

* [http://classicalmusicguide.com/viewtopic.php?t=19117&sid=b21ff4009f16426ccaea4e8b65ccd0dc|Classical Music Guide (Forum)]
* [http://www.raff.org/forums/?board=unsung;action=display;num=1183746750;start=0|Raff Raff Forums]
* [http://www.tiroler-landesmuseum.at/shop/index.html Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeum, Innsbruck shop]

Persondata
NAME=Rufinatscha, Johann
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Austrian composer
DATE OF BIRTH=1812
PLACE OF BIRTH=Mals
DATE OF DEATH=1893
PLACE OF DEATH=Vienna