Karl Rankl
http://www.musicweb-international.com/rankl/index.htm
Chronology
1898 Born in Gaaden, Austria, October 1st
1925 Conductor in Liberec
1927 Conductor in Konigsberg
1928-1931 Klemperer's assistant at the Kroll Opera, Berlin
1931-1932 Director of the Opera House at Wiesbaden
1933-1937 Conductor in Graz
1937-1939 Director of the German Theatre, Prague
1938 Conducted the first performance of Ernst Krenek's "Karl V"
1939 Arrived in Britain three weeks before war broke out and lived in Bristol
In may 1940 he his declared as "Enemy Alien". Then one morning a policeman came to visit him to take him to the internment camp. The policeman said he would come back in an hour as Karl hadn't dressed (it was about 7.15am) and I think the man was hoping when he came back that Karl would have disappeared to visit friends but no, Karl was still there when the man came back. He had packed and they went off to barracks in Albany Street and then he went to Lingfield Racecourse (Bristol) and then Huyton in Liverpool. Then they shipped him out to the Isle of Man even though it had been officially signed that if he was kept in confinement for any longer he would have a nervous breakdown. Ravitsch and Landauer were there and they played concerts every night for the refugee camp. Eventually, in mid november 1941, Karl came out and by this time his wife had gone to Oxford and there he stayed in a lorry driver's room in Cowley. Then he went to another place and then he was lucky. A friend of theirs from the Vienna days was the housekeeper for the warden of Wadham College and had heard that Professor Gilbert Murray the Greek/Latin philologist had a cottage free. So Karl spent the last year and a half of the War at Professor Gilbert Murray's cottage
1946-51 Music Director of the new Covent Garden Opera Company
1949 Conducted the first performance of Bliss's "The Olympians" at Covent Garden
1950 Conducted Wagner's Ring cycle at Covent Garden
1952-57 Conductor of the Scottish Orchestra
1958-60 Music Director of the Elizabethan Theatre Trust, Australia
1968 Died in St Gilgen, Salzburg September 6th
List of Works
Orchestral Works
Symphony no 1 (1938)
Symphony for large orchestra and three female voices
(soprano, mezzo-soprano and alto) in the second movement.
Score: soprano, mezzo, alto, 2 piccolos, 3 flutes, 3 oboes,
cor anglais, 3 clarinets in A, bass clarinet, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns
in F, 3 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, side drum, cymbals,
triangle, wood block, tambourine, tam tam, xylophone and strings (8,8,7,6,5)
In three movements:
Un poco maestoso pp1-78 (of the score) Krassa 03/08/38
Sehr ruhevoll pp79-113 Prague 10/09/38
Lebhaft, doch nicht zu schell pp114-194 Zurich
19/11/38
Texts of the songs in the second movement: i) Ein Volkslied,
ii) Ein Volkslied, iii) by Mathias Claudius.
First performance: 29th January in Liverpool
(Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra under Karl Rankl).
Symphony no 2 (1941)
Score: 2 piccolos, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, cor anglais, 2
clarinets in A, clarinet in E flat, bass clarinet in B, 3 bassoons,
contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani,
triangle, cymbals, side drum, glockenspiel and strings.
Written in 1941, England
In three movements:
Allegro energico pp1-96 Oxford 30/09/41
Adagio pp97-137 Oxford 02/07/41
Burlesque pp138-222 Oxford 12/06/41
Symphony no 3 (1944)
Score: 2 piccolos, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 clarinets
in B, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, strings
(8,7,6,5,4)
Written between 1943 and 1944 in England
In three movements:
Allegro non troppo pp1-75 Boar's Hill 24/07/43
Adagio pp76-100 Boar's Hill 15/08/43
Allegro molto pp101-169 Boar's Hill 08/11/43
Dedicated "to Lady Mary and Dr Gilbert Murray in affectionate
admiration and sincerest gratitude"
Symphony no 4 (1953)
Score: 2 piccolos, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, cor anglais, 3
clarinets in A, bass clarinet in B, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3
trumpets in B, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, side drum, cymbals,
triangle, wood block, tambourine, tam tam, glockenspiel and strings (8,7,6,5,4)
Written between 1952 and 1953 in Austria and England
In three movements:
Allegro energico pp1-42 London 18/01/53
Variations on an old folksong, Andante pp43-66 London
27/01/53
Rondo Finale. Allegro ma non troppo pp67-111 London
16/04/53
Also sketched movements 1 and 3 in Schloss Huttenstein on
14/08/52 and 28/08/52
On 16/04/53 finished the score in London.
First performance: 20th January 1954 in Vienna (Vienna
Symphony Orchestra under Karl Rankl).
Symphony no 5 (1954)
Score: piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets
in A, clarinet in E flat, bass clarinet in B, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns
in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, strings (8,7,6,5,4).
Written between the summer of 1953 and the summer of 1954 in
Austria and England.
In four movements:
Tema con variazione (un poco sostenuto) pp1-6
Huttenstein 15/08/53
Scherzo pp7-18 Huttenstein 22/08/53
Adagio pp19-25 Huttenstein 13/07/54
Finale (Allegro, ma non troppo) pp25-52 Huttenstein
03/08/54
First performance: 25th January 1957 in Edinburgh
(Scottish National Orchestra under Hans Swarowsky)
Second performance: 26th January in Glasgow (SNO
under Hans Swarowsky)
Third performance: 10th July at the BBC, London
(SNO under Karl Rankl)
(Recorded in Glasgow on May 1957 with the SNO under Karl
Rankl)
Symphony no 6 (1961)
Score: piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets
in A, bass clarinet in B, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets in C, 3
trombones, tuba and strings (8,8,7,6,5)
Written between 1959 and 1961 in Austria and Australia
In four movements:
Allegro pp1-39 St Gilgen 30/10/60
Scherzando pp39-75 St Gilgen 04/12/60
Adagio pp76-93 St Gilgen 25/12/60
Allegro giocoso pp94-130 St Gilgen 25/02/61
Finished at Hochreithaus St Gilgen 25/02/61
Dedicated "to my friend Franz Holford in memory of happy days
in Australia"
Symphony no 7 (1962)
Score: piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets
in A, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones,
tuba and strings (8,8,7,6,5)
Written in 1962 in Austria and England
In four movements:
Vivace pp1-29 London 18/03/62
Scherzo pp30-72 London 15/01/62
Adagio (attaca) pp73-82 London 01/02/62
Finale pp83-121 London 10/05/62
Orchestral parts finished 11/05/62
Dedicated to "Herrn Hofrat Professor, Joseph Marx, in
Verehrung und Zuneigung gewidmet, 11. Mai 1962"
Symphony no 8 (1963)
Score: piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets
in A, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones,
tuba and strings
Written in 1963 in Austria and England
In four movements:
Maestoso, alla marcia funebre pp1-14
Hochreithaus, St Gilgen 25/08/63
Adagio pp14-24 Hochreithaus, St Gilgen 05/09/63
Scherzo pp25-45 London 04/10/63
Allegro molto pp46-75 London 05/11/63
Sinfonietta no 1 (1957)
Score: piccolo, 3 flutes, 3 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets
in A, clarinet in E flat, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in
C, timpani, triangle, side drum and strings (8,7,6,5,4)
Finished on 08/01/57
In one movement: Allegro capriccioso (ma non troppo)
pp1-71
Sinfonietta no 2 (1961)
Score: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2
bassoons, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C and strings.
In three movements:
Moderato pp1-12
Tema con variazione pp13-21
Allegro commodo pp21-34
Written in 1961 in Austria
Finished at Hochreithaus, St Gilgen on Saturday 2nd
September 1961
Music from the Opera "Deirdre" - Suite for large orchestra
(1956)
Score: 2 piccolos, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2
clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B, 3
trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, side drum, tambourine, glockenspiel, harp and
strings (8,7,6,6,6)
Written in 1956 in Austria
Finished 15/07/56
In three movements: (i) Adagio, (ii) Molto
tranquilo, (iii) Poco maestoso
Suite for Strings (1953)
Score: Violin 1, Violin II, Viola, 'Cello and Double Bass
In five movements: (i) Prelude and Fugue, (ii) Valse, (iii)
Fandango, (iv) Andante con variazione, (v) Scherzo
Written in Austria between July 1st and July 18th
1953
Dedicated "to my friend John Gardner and the Haslemere
Musical Society"
Two Dances for Strings (Valse and Fandango from the Suite)
Published separately by OUP in 1954
Weihnachts-Ouverture (Christmas Overture) (1957)
Score: piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2
bassoons, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle,
glockenspiel in B, F and F sharp and strings
Finished 20/10/57 in London
Variations on "Waltzing Matilda" (1959)
Score: piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets
in A, bass clarinet in B, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horn in F, 3 trumpets in
C, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, side drum, cymbals, triangle and strings
15 Variations and Coda (pp1-78)
Written in 1959 in Australia
Dedicated "to Sir Bernard Heinze, the Doyen of Music in
Australia"
Finished 30/08/59 in Sydney
Symphonic March for large orchestra (1952)
Score: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B, 2
bassoons, 4 horns in F, 3 trumpets in B, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum,
side drum, cymbals, triangle and strings
Tempo di Marcia ma non troppo (pp1-16)
Written in 1952 in England
Finished 15/02/52 in London
Vocal Works
Der Mensch (1964)
Oratorio in three parts after pastiche-like texts. Rankl uses
some of his own older compositions, or their different treatments.
Teil I "Jugend" ("Youth)
Teil II "Kreig" ("War")
Teil III "Alter" ("Old Age")
Score: soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, Male and female
choir, gem. Chor, piccolo, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 3 clarinets in A,
bass clarinet in B, bass clarinet in A, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns in F,
3 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, wood block, tam tam, xylophone,
harp and strings
Verwendet wurden folgende texte von:
Matthias Claudius: "Der Mensch" ("Empfangen und genaehret")
Joseph v. Eichendorff: "Wiegenlied" ("Das Kind ruht aus")
Emil A Hermann: "Wiegenlied" ("und was she' ich den")
Dettlev v. Liliencron: "Wiegenlied" ("vor der Ture schlaft
der Baum")
Paul Fleming: "Tanzlied" ("Lasst uns tanzen")
Walther von der Vogelweide: "Tandaradei" ("Unter der Linde")
John M Synge: aus dem Schauspiel "Dierdre" (Textubers: Furegg)
Heinrich v. Kleist: "Das Kathchen von Heilbronn" (Akt 4, 2.
Auftritt bis Ende des 3. Auftritts. In RuB: S.82 z. ( - S.87 z. 17)
Mathias Claudius: "Kriegslied" ("'s ist Krieg")
Karl Kraus: "Chor der erfrorenen Soldaten" ("Kalt war die
Nacht")
Volkslied: "Bohmisches Rekrutenleid" ("Als ich noch ein
kleiner Junge")
Siegfried Sassoon: "Traumer" ("Soldaten sind Burger")
Joseph v. Eichendorff: "Der Soldat" ("Und wenn es einst
dunkelt")
Anton Ulrich, Hzg. Zu Braunschweig-Luneburg: "Abschied" ("Mein
matter Sinn")
Anonymous (aus dem Liederbuch eines Schwarzwalder Uhrmachers):
("Die Uhr schlaegt eins)
Volkslied: ("Wir leben und wissen nicht warum")
Matthias Claudius: "Der Tod" ("Ach, es ist so dunkel")
Matthias Claudius: "Motett") ("Der Mensch lebt")
Written between 1963 and 1964 in England
Finished Saturday 21/03/64 in London
Four Scottish Songs
Score: 1 high voice (alto), 2 flutes, 2 piccolos, 2 clarinets
in A, 2 bassoons, 2 oboes, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, timpani,
harp, celesta and strings
1 Scottish folksong: An Eriksay Love Lilt arr Rankl "Bhair mi
oro bharo"
2 Scottish folksong: Kishmul's Gallery, A' Bhirlin Bharrich
arr Rankl "High form the Bena Haylich"
3 Highland Cradle Song: "O can ye sew cushions" arr Rankl
4 Robert Burns: "O whistle and I'll come to you" arr Rankl
Dedicated "to Constance Shacklock"
Deirdre of the Sorrows (1950)
Opera in three Acts after a play by John Millington Synge
(1871-1908)
Written in the summer of 1948, 1949 and 1950 in Schloss
Huttenstein
Scored in 1950 in London.
Songs with piano:
Songs for a Female Voice (1920-22)
A Chinese Picture-Book op5 (1941-42, England)
7 Songs for Baritone op6 (1939-42, England)
9 Songs for Soprano op7 (Jan-Oct 1942, England)
7 Songs for Tenor op8 (1941-42, England)
7 Songs for Mezzosoprano op9 (1942-42, rev. 1952, England)
War - 11 Songs for Baritone op10 (Oct-Nov 1939-42, England)
"Mutter" (3rd March 1962, London)
Vier Lieder aus frueher Zeit:
1. Fruehlingsende (Hans Bethge nach jap. Dichtung) 1920
2. An einen Freund (Mitsumi) 1920
3. Abendstaendchen (Cl. Brentano) 1922
Choral works with instrumental ensemble:
Litanei der Gutsarbeiter (19 Feb 1933, Berlin)
Schlusschor der Arbeiter (17 March 1932, Wiesbaden)
Lied der Arbeiter (1 March 1932, Wiesbaden)
Schliesse mir die Augen beide (Th. Storm) sehr frueh
Gespraech ueber Rankl (Albrecht Duemling, Matthias Wurz)
Drei Lieder aus der mittleren Periode (Oxford 1942)
1. A Girl's Mood op.7,1
2. Gather ye Rose-birds op.7,5
3. Coming and Going op. 7,7
Gottes Segen (Eichendorff) 1964
Miscellaneous choral works:
Schnitterlied (24 Oct 1932, Berlin)
Budjongs Regiment (24 Oct 1932, Berlin)
Tanzlied (29 June, 1964, London)
Ballade von der Arbeit (30 Sep 1930, Berlin)
Chor von der Arbeit (1 Mar 1932, Wiesbaden)
Leid vom Abbau (30 Oct 1930, Berlin)
Chorstuck fur Naturschwarmer (an einen Baum) (30 Oct 1932)
Kneipenlied (2 Sep 1930, Berlin)
Gehn zwei Buben (30 July 1953)
Chamber Music
String Quartet (written in the summer of 1935)
Quartettsatz:
Scherzo. Sehr rasch
Menuett. Allegro moderato
Scherzo and Trio. Sehr lebhaft
Trio. Ruhiger
Sonata for Double bass and piano (1957)
Written in August 1957 in Austria.
In three movements: (i) Moderato, (ii) Tema con
variazione, (iii) Rondo
Works for solo piano:
Include: Scherzos, Menuetts, Rondos, Allegros, Menuett and
Trio and Maessig Langsam