July 20, 2018.Pre-Mahlerite: the tragic story of Hans Rott.Hans Rott’s name is practically unknown these days.Usually when a composer, especially one born in modern times, is rarely performed, there’s a reason for it: it’s probably because his (and it’s almost invariably “his,” not “her”) music is not very interesting (the numerous minor Italian late-Baroque composers come to mind).We think Rott is an exception, even if we don’t expect his music to join the classical cannon any time soon.Rott’s life was both short and tragic.He was born on August 1st of 1858 in a suburb of Vienna.His father’s original name was Roth, which means that Hans was most likely Jewish, although we don’t know whether he, like Mahler some time later, had later converted to Catholicism.Rott attended the Vienna Conservatory, where his organ teacher was Anton Bruckner.His composition teacher was Franz Krenn, who also taught Mahler.Mahler, two years younger, and Rott even shared a room for a while.But it was Bruckner, and also Wagner, who influenced Rott the most.In 1878 (he was 20) Rott decided to participate in a composers’ competition, submitting the first movement of his Symphony in E Major.Everybody on the jury, except for Bruckner, was highly negative.Two years later, Rott presented the complete symphony to Brahms.He should’ve known better!Brahms intensely disliked both composers whose influence he could discern in Rott’s music: Wagner and Bruckner.Brahms’s criticism was vicious: he told Rott that he had no talent and should look for a different vocation while he was still young.We can assume that at that time Rott was already mentally ill, because just several months later while traveling to Mülhausen by train (he had reluctantly applied for and received a position of the director of the Alsatian choir association) he pointed a revolver at a fellow passenger who was trying to light a cigar.The previous encounter with Brahms was probably on his mind, as in his madness he claimed that Brahms had planted dynamite on the train and he, Rott, was just trying to save his fellow travelers from being blown up.Rott was brought back to Vienna and institutionalized.He spent the rest of his short life in a lunatic asylum.Rott died of tuberculosis on June 25th of 1884, at age 25.
Here’s what Mahler said in a conversation with a friend, the violist Natalie Bauer-Lechner: “What music has lost in him is immeasurable. His first symphony, written when he was a young man of twenty, already soars to such heights of genius that it makes him – with exaggeration – the Founder of the New Symphony as I understand it. It is true that he has not yet fully realized his aims here. It is like someone taking a run for the longest possible throw and not quite hitting the mark. But I know what he is driving at. His innermost nature is so akin to mine that he and I are like two fruits from the same tree, produced by the same soil, nourished by the same air. We would have had an infinite amount in common. Perhaps we two might have gone some way together towards exhausting the possibilities of this new age that was then dawning in music.”This acknowledgement from Mahler, who started composing his own First Symphony five years after Rott completed his, is very important.Rott’s music is very Mahlerian in its sound, style, even in somewhat chaotic development.Rott stopped composing at the age of 22, consumed by insanity.In addition to his symphony, he wrote several songs, smaller orchestral pieces, a string quartet and a string quintet. We can only guess how his talents would’ve developed, but as one listens to his Symphony in E, it becomes clear that his potential was immense.Here ’s the first movement, Alla Breve; here – the second, Adagio - Sehr Langsam; here – the third, Frisch und lebhaft; and, finally, here – the fourth, Sehr langsam – Belebt.It’s performed by the Mainz State Theater Philharmonic Orchestra, Catherine Rückwardt conducting.
Hans Rott, 2018
July 20, 2018. Pre-Mahlerite: the tragic story of Hans Rott. Hans Rott’s name is practically unknown these days. Usually when a composer, especially one born in modern times, is rarely performed, there’s a reason for it: it’s probably because his (and it’s almost invariably “his,” not
“her”) music is not very interesting (the numerous minor Italian late-Baroque composers come to mind). We think Rott is an exception, even if we don’t expect his music to join the classical cannon any time soon. Rott’s life was both short and tragic. He was born on August 1st of 1858 in a suburb of Vienna. His father’s original name was Roth, which means that Hans was most likely Jewish, although we don’t know whether he, like Mahler some time later, had later converted to Catholicism. Rott attended the Vienna Conservatory, where his organ teacher was Anton Bruckner. His composition teacher was Franz Krenn, who also taught Mahler. Mahler, two years younger, and Rott even shared a room for a while. But it was Bruckner, and also Wagner, who influenced Rott the most. In 1878 (he was 20) Rott decided to participate in a composers’ competition, submitting the first movement of his Symphony in E Major. Everybody on the jury, except for Bruckner, was highly negative. Two years later, Rott presented the complete symphony to Brahms. He should’ve known better! Brahms intensely disliked both composers whose influence he could discern in Rott’s music: Wagner and Bruckner. Brahms’s criticism was vicious: he told Rott that he had no talent and should look for a different vocation while he was still young. We can assume that at that time Rott was already mentally ill, because just several months later while traveling to Mülhausen by train (he had reluctantly applied for and received a position of the director of the Alsatian choir association) he pointed a revolver at a fellow passenger who was trying to light a cigar. The previous encounter with Brahms was probably on his mind, as in his madness he claimed that Brahms had planted dynamite on the train and he, Rott, was just trying to save his fellow travelers from being blown up. Rott was brought back to Vienna and institutionalized. He spent the rest of his short life in a lunatic asylum. Rott died of tuberculosis on June 25th of 1884, at age 25.
Here’s what Mahler said in a conversation with a friend, the violist Natalie Bauer-Lechner: “What music has lost in him is immeasurable. His first symphony, written when he was a young man of twenty, already soars to such heights of genius that it makes him – with exaggeration – the Founder of the New Symphony as I understand it. It is true that he has not yet fully realized his aims here. It is like someone taking a run for the longest possible throw and not quite hitting the mark. But I know what he is driving at. His innermost nature is so akin to mine that he and I are like two fruits from the same tree, produced by the same soil, nourished by the same air. We would have had an infinite amount in common. Perhaps we two might have gone some way together towards exhausting the possibilities of this new age that was then dawning in music.” This acknowledgement from Mahler, who started composing his own First Symphony five years after Rott completed his, is very important. Rott’s music is very Mahlerian in its sound, style, even in somewhat chaotic development. Rott stopped composing at the age of 22, consumed by insanity. In addition to his symphony, he wrote several songs, smaller orchestral pieces, a string quartet and a string quintet. We can only guess how his talents would’ve developed, but as one listens to his Symphony in E, it becomes clear that his potential was immense. Here ’s the first movement, Alla Breve; here – the second, Adagio - Sehr Langsam; here – the third, Frisch und lebhaft; and, finally, here – the fourth, Sehr langsam – Belebt. It’s performed by the Mainz State Theater Philharmonic Orchestra, Catherine Rückwardt conducting.