Julius Bittner: String Quartets 1 & 2 Thomas Christian Ensemble

• Julius Bittner (1874 - 1939): String Quartet No. 1 in A major:
• 1 Bittner: String Quartet No. 1 in A major: Leicht bewegt 07:44
• 2 Bittner: String Quartet No. 1 in A major: Getragen, sehr ruhig 09:15
• 3 Bittner: String Quartet No. 1 in A major: Nicht zu rasch 06:25
• 4 Bittner: String Quartet No. 1 in A major: Rasch, lebhaft 06:37
• String Quartet No. 2 in E flat major:
• 5 Bittner: String Quartet No. 2 in E flat major: Leicht bewegt 09:04
• 6 Bittner: String Quartet No. 2 in E flat major: Sehr ruhig und gehalten 08:47
• 7 Bittner: String Quartet No. 2 in E flat major: Gemütlich, nicht rasch 09:05
• 8 Bittner: String Quartet No. 2 in E-Flat Major: IV. Gemächlich 05:57
• Total Runtime 01:02:54

Info for Julius Bittner: String Quartets 1 & 2

A good year younger than Max Reger and five months older than Arnold Schoenberg, the Viennese Julius Bittner (1874–1939) earned his living as a lawyer for many years. Even before he gave up this profession in 1922, however, he was already one of the most frequently performed Austrian opera composers. His one-act opera Das höllisch Gold, premiered in 1916, was particularly well received, and several of his instrumental works also found an audience – even though (or perhaps because) he was anything but a “new toner”: he was rooted in melody, had broken free from Wagner's influence and had become ‘folksy’, as in his two string quartets (1913 and 1917) with their ‘pastoral’ flair. The older of the two works in particular seems in some passages like a ‘chamber music Mahler’ – possibly a posthumous homage to his former patron, who had guided Bittner's talent in the right direction.

Thomas Christian Ensemble

Thomas Christian Ensemble
Thomas Christian is founder and first violinist of the "Vienna String Quintet". This quintet, established 1986, extensively tours the world, giving concerts in Europe, Japan and South America. Their programmes are well documented on numerous CDs including the complete Mozart string quintets as well as the Bruckner quintet. Besides these pieces with two violas their repertoire includes also the Schubert quintet with two violoncelli and works by Dvorak, Lanner and Strauß with double bass.

Since 2003 Thomas Christian has constantly altered and extended the ensemble in order to be able to perform chamber music for various instruments on the highest level. Under the name "Thomas Christian Ensemble" chamber music works ranging from string trios to great ensembles with winds and strings are brought to the stage. The repertoire consists especially of seldom played pieces like the string quartets of H.W.Ernst, J.Marx or W.Kienzl, but includes also adaptations for chamber ensemble from A.Schönberg and his circle e.g. A.Bruckner's symphony No.7 and G.Mahler's symphony No.4.

The musicians of the ensemble consist of high profile players from the international music scene. Regularly they perform at renowned festivals as for example Schloss Elmau, the Brucknerfest Linz, the Beethovenfest Bonn, at Osterklang Wien and at the Romanesque Nights Cololgne.

Booklet for Julius Bittner: String Quartets 1 & 2