[This paper was delivered at the IDRS Conference in Manchester, August 17, 1989.]

Introduction
Biography
Lindpaintner's Job
The Bassoonists in Lindpaintner's Orchestra
Lindpaintner--the Composer
The Bassoon Works
The Study of the Manuscript
Appendix I: Bibliography
Appendix II: Entries from the Catalog of Works by Lindpaintner in his own hand showing his works for bassoon--Example 1 | Example 2
Music: Example 1 | Example 2

As a schoolboy in my hometown Stuttgart, I often rode the streetcar along the Lindpaintnerstrasse. The name of the street meant absolutely nothing to me, and today it still means nothing to most of the inhabitants of Stuttgart. In a publication in honour of the 350th Anniversary of the Wurttemberg State Orchestra in 1967, I discovered, however, that Peter Josef Lindpaintner was the musical director at the Court of Stuttgart from 1819 to 1856 as the successor of Franz Danzi, Konradin Kreutzer and Johann Nepomuk Hummel. And so I saw for the first time his picture, a lithography from 1841. (Written on the ribbons of the laurel wreath are the titles of his most popular operas of the time.)

Later on, during one of my lessons, a teacher of mine, Hermann Herder (Principal Bassoon of the Southern German Radio Orchestra) happened to mention an unpublished bassoon concerto written by Lindpaintner. Unfortunately I did not follow up on this information. Not until the next time I ran across the name of Lindpaintner did I decide to investigate further the whereabouts of this concerto. The name turned up on a record given to me by my friend Dietmar Ullrich. (He is a hornist with the Suddeutsche Rundfunk Orchestra and a member of the Aulos Wind Quintet, which had recorded Lindpaintner's two Sinfoniae Concertantes.) I was fascinated by this extremely romantic music written with a touch of humour. It was especially well written for wind instruments. I was curious to know more about it.

I found out that the manuscript was not in Stuttgart (as was the manuscript to the Concertantes) but in the Bavarian State Library in Munich (Mus. Mss. 2325). This will not surprise you when I explain a bit about the life of Lindpaintner. The Munich Library made a copy for me, and I planned to print an Edition and to perform the work. The IDRS Conference in 1989 seemed to me to be the perfect occasion for this.

But as it turned out, another younger student of Hermann Herder was quicker than 1. William Waterhouse gave me the sad news just after I handed in my proposal. Albrecht Holder had already played the Concerto with the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra on June 20, 1987 in a concert of' "Music from the Time of Napoleon." and played it in Manchester on Aug. 16, 1989, with piano accompaniment. The work will be computer printed and published by his publishing firm "Ars Allima" in the version for bassoon and piano. The orchestra parts may be rented from them.

In this article I would like to combine the following: some background information about the concerto, the re-discovery of an interesting composer, an explanation of his relationship to the bassoonists of his day, and a presentation of further works of his for bassoon.

Peter Josef Lindpaintner was born on Dec. 9, 1791 in Koblenz. His father was a chamber singer and travel cashier for the electoral court of the Archbishop Clemens Wenzeslaus (1739-1812). His grandfather on his mother's side as well as two brothers of his mother were famous hornists.

Imagine the time of the French Revolution. French soldiers have occupied the bishopric of Trier, to which Koblenz belongs. The whole court was forced to flee. And so the family had to move to Augsburg in 1794.

Here, Peter went to the boys grammar school and later to the Jesuit school St. Salvador. At the age of seven he took violin lessons with A. Plodterl, a student of Campagnoli, as well as piano and thorough bass lessons with the priest, K.B. Witzka. In 1803 Augsburg became a part of Bavaria, and in 1806 Peter went to Munich to study composition with the court musical director, Peter von Winter (1754-1825). This happened, however, only after he had first persuaded his father to give up the dream of his son becoming a doctor.

In 1811, the 25-year-old Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) wrote the first edition of his Bassoon Concerto in F-major, opus 75 in Munich for the 38-year-old principal bassoonist of the Munich court orchestra, Georg Friedrich Brandt (1773-1836). Brandt, by the way, also came to Munich in the same year as Lindpaintner, 1806.

Now, at this point, I would like to add that as I was looking through the handwritten catalogue of Lindpaintner's works (Landesbibliothek Stuttgart Cod.Mus. 11. 40180.1, 1-4) 1 made a small discovery in exactly the same year and in exactly the same city, Lindpaintner wrote a work for bassoon other than the two I already knew. It is entitled: 'Andante fur den Fagott aus des dur in ein danzisches Konzert an Herrn Franz Lang Febraur 1811 zu Munchen" (WV Nr. 19) 'Andante for the Bassoon in D-flat major in a Danzi Concerto for Herr Franz Lang,- February 1811, Munich.)"

At the age of 20-one year before Lindpaintner and Brandt-Franz Lang (1785-1828) had come to Munich where he stayed until he died.

Franz Danzi (1763-1826), who was one generation older than Lindpaintner and who--like Lindpaintner's teacher, von Winter--was a student of Abbee Vogler, preceded Lindpaintner twice in his position. From 1798-1807 he was deputy musical director in Munich-thus they had onecornmon year in Munich-and then, until 1812, Danzi was Lindpaintner's predecessor in his position as musical director at the Court of Stuttgart. His Bassoon Concerto in F major, written during his stay in Munich may have been a major stimulus for Weber as well as for Lindpaintner. However, I am not in a position to say for which work Lindpaintner wrote his D flat major Andante.

In 1811/1812 Lindpaintner returned to Augsburg for one year. This is where he wrote the "Rondo fur den Fagott aus B-dur und G-mol. . ." (wv nr. 39) ("Rondo for the Bassoon in B flat major and G-, minor"), which he also dedicated to the Royal Bavarian Court Musician, Franz Lang, to whom he referred as "son ami" It was October. At the same time, Weber was probably composing his Bassoon Concerto which was performed for the first time on Dec. 28, 1811.

In 1812, Lindpaintner played the double role of musical director and composer. I want to be very brief about his first function: In 1817, 236 perfor- mances of the IsartorTheatre included as many as 118 different operas. Forty-eight of them were performed for the first time. Which modern theatre could boast such a repertoire?

Until 1817 Lindpaintner was not very successful as a composer, and I cannot spare us a quotation from a review published in the "Allgemeine Musik Zeitung" on Aug. 7, 1816.

"We must now speak about a totally new theatrical form, about the opera "Kunstsinn und Liebd' (Sense of Art and Love) with the music composed by Mr. Lindpaintner. If the title were "Unsinn etc", (I.E. nonsense), we would no longer have, to talk about it. Not long ago, Mr. Lindpaintner was given the advice in a public paper to pay more attention to his art. However, he did not follow this advice, for his latest work reveals once again that he does not try hard enough; unless he wants us to assume that he is lacking any talent to produce anything similar to art. His biggest merit appears to be his speed in writing ... We cannot but advise this composer to let his quill rest for some years... for if he continues like this he might have to face some words which cannot but insult him"

Can you imagine reading such a review--which obviously was not even meant to be an insult--in a modern paper? This would probably end up in court. Anyway, at that time Lindpaintner wrote his "Concert fur den Fagott an Herrn Franz Lang aus F-dur Jun; Dez. 1816" (WV Nr. 173) ("Concerto for Bassoon in F-major dedicated to Herr Franz Lang Jun.; Dec. 1816").

Lindpaintner followed the well-meant advice and decided to attend once again composition classes taught by Josef Gratz (1760-1826) who was a student of Haydn.

He was not afraid to be a student in the morning, who went to see his highly-respected and excellent teacher with his music notebook under his arm, and to conduct melodramas and operas of his own composition in.the evening.

1816 was the decisive year of the decline of the Isartor-Theatre which came to a sad end when all the staff was dismissed. This development was certainly influenced by the opening of a big competing theatre, the new Hoftheater.

Lindpaintner's friend, the clarinettist Heinrich Barmann (1784-1847), who was seven years his senior, helped him to find a job in Stuttgart. Lindpaintner applied for it, and in 1819 he obtained the position of a musical director at the Royal Wurttemberg Court. He held
this position until he died 37 years later.

In his job Lindpaintner concentrated on reforming and enlarging his orchestra. In 1823 it con- sisted of 15 violins including the leader and two assistant musical directors, who
were also obliged to conduct, and a colleague who was obliged to play the trombone. Furthermore, there were 4 violas (including one with obligation to the trombone and
one with obligation to horn); 4 violoncelli (including one hornist); 3 double basses; 1 harp (the only "Demoiselle7'); 3 flutes; 4 oboes; 4 clarinets; 3 bassoons played by the principal
bassoonist Barn- beck and by Mr. Stahle and Mr. Traub; 3 horns; 2 trumpets (brothers!) and 1 timpanist.

On the occasion of a visit to Stuttgart, Mendelssohn declared Lindpaintner to be the best German conductor, and in his "Memoirs" Berlioz praised the orchestra by writing: "The
members of the Stuttgart Orchestra excel as musicians because they are not afraid of playing at sight, because nothing can confuse them; nothing can upset them, because they read the notes and the nuances at the same time and because they do not fail to notice at first glance a piano or a forte, a mezzoforte or a smorzando... in short, their musicail training is perfect in every respect"

Lindpaintner succeeded in interesting many virtuosos in his orchestra. They came from all over Germany. He did not find them by organizing auditions but by traveling with his
director to different orchestras.

What do we know about his bassoonists; A certain Mr. Barnbeck whose name appears on the list of orchestra musicians, is praised in numerous con- temporary reviews for his solo performances. In 1822, the "Chamber Musician of the Duchy of Coburg, Mr. Jacobi" was on tour in Stuttgart and his performance was followed by negotiations about a possible engagement. I wonder whether he might have been a descendant of C.Jacobi who was born in 1756 and composed several bassoon works. The most eminent musician is Wenzel Neukirchner, a bassoonist from Prague who lived from 1805 to 1899 and thus enjoyed a surprisingly long career as a bassoonist. In June 1823, when he was an 18-year-old student, he attracted atten- tion in one of Lindpaintner's "academies". On the occasion of.the performance of a Double Concerto for clarinet and bassoon by Cartellieri, the reviewer of the AMZ speaks favorably of him in comparison with the clarinettist
Stephan Molnar:

He has such a full, strong and sonorous sound that he can already compete with those outstanding virtuosos who we were also listening to, and if he continues to be an eager student he can claim to be one of the best bassoonists as soon as he is leaving the institute.

In May 1828, when he was already a member of the Prague Orchestra, he went on an "art
tour through Northern Germany ... where he won well-deserved applause for his beautiful sound and his artistic skill" One year later he became first bassoonist in the Stuttgart Orchestra.

He became also known for his cooperation with Carl August Schaufler (1792-1877), a woodwind instrument maker living in Stuttgart. Besides Almenrader and Heckel, Schaufler was one of the most important reformers of the bassoon. His bassoon with a Bb key made c. 1845 was termed "Neukirchner Model". In 1839, Neukirchner had sold a modernized
Schaufler bassoon to Adler in Paris who then gave out Neukirchner's improvements as his own discoveries. In a letter Neukirchner contemptuously terms Adler's bassoon a bad imitation--which might be comforting for us to know that such problems already existed 150 years ago--and details the improvements as follows:

1. Omitting the pin-hole in the crook, already tried in 1814 by Schaufler.
2. U-channel at the butt instead of twin plugs
3. Broader bell
4. Two more keys on the wing-joint.

As we will see later, Lindpaintner was certainly influenced by improvements on the classical bassoon which were rapidly carried out since c. 1810.

Lindpaintner played Mozart's and Beethoven's symphonies in Stuttgart, performed Weber's
"Freeshooter" as early as 1822 and Rossini's "Barber of Seville' in 1846 and was thus always a protagonist of contemporary music.

Lindpaintner refused to accept several invitations to work in other cities - such as Kassel in 1822, Berlin in 1826 and Vienna in 1840. The former Rheinlander apparently felt at home in the small Swabian metropolis. In 1835, he said, for example:

I cannot deny that I prefer to work in the beautiful nature. There is nothing I enjoy more than climbing that mountain over there or walking in the woods.
This is when melodies come easily to me. Some people might take it badly when I'm saying this, but it is true: Stuttgart is nothing but a big village with a
Court that I serve. Yet, the places where I spend my happiest hours are the gardens, the meadows and the mountains surrounding the village and in the evening the art hall of my king.

Still, he performed at two major international musical events: in 1851 he was in charge of the Lower Rhine Music Festival and in 1852 he con- ducted the Philharmonic Society London. When he was forced to work with an incapable, but popular assistant musical director in 1851, Lindpaintner became more and more embittered. In a dramatic letter addressed to King William I on Oct. 26, 1851 ("A lower position would be tantamount to a death sentence") he asked for his retirement. However, the next day, his request was turned down by the director of the Hoftheater. Almost five years later, on Aug. 21, 1856, Lindpaintner died during a stay in Nonnenhorn on Lake Constance. He was almost 65 years old.

As far as the number of his works is concerned, Lindpaintner was certainly an opera composer ("Vampire" in 1828, "Lichtenstein" in 1846). However, W. Neumann, a contemporary, who has already been quoted several times, wrote in his series entitled "Die Componisten der neueren Zeit" ("The Composers of Modern Times") (Cassel 1856): ". . this is why he had long gained a European reputation as a brilliant instrumental composer, in particular because of his clarinet and flute solos. On the other hand it took him a long time to be recognized as a composer of dramas." Neumann goes ou by describing the end of the Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven epoch and then writes enthusiastically: "Only Lindpaintner was pursuing a goal which seemed to be far away but beautiful and attainable. Less experienced people were puzzled, the initiated were full of admiration for his way of using artistic means, instruments and parts which he combined, classified and strung together... In uniting everything that preceded he gradually and unmistakably advanced and thus prepared and founded a totally new epoch"

The only symphony he wrote was the "Schlacht-Symphonie "(Battle-Symphony"). Furthermore, there are four piano concertos, some works for violin and violoncello and a whole variety of works for wind instruments. I'm once more referring to Neumann's little book, but as one can see from the number of bassoon works Neumann was either not precise or he mentioned only those works which were available in the year of Lindpaintner's death: "For French horn 12, flute 15, clarinet 7, hautboy 5, bassoon 2".

Unfortunately, Lindpaintner did not write a bassoon concerto in Stuttgart, after 1819, although he met Neukirchner there and was certainly impressed by him. (Neukirchner, by the way, wrote a bassoon concerto of his own and performed it for the first time in 1832.) After 1819 Lindpaintner wrote the two "Quintett Concertant" that I mentioned earlier. In December, 1831, wv (Catalogue Number) 230 (opus 36) in B flat major was performed "five times" and then, in August, 1823, wv 233 (opus 44) in F major was performed for the first time. Both quintets were played by Kruger (flute), Ruthart (oboe), Reinhart (clarinet), Neukirchner (bassoon) and Schunke (horn).

1) The Rondo in B flat major written in 1811 was published as "opus 24" by Breitkopf & Hartel in Leipzig in 1821. Lindpaintner cooperated with this publishing house since 1817.

It is scored for I flute-2 clarinets in Bb-2 horns in Bb-bass trombone-strings and consists of 437 measures in the following tempo indications: Allegro moderato two-four time; Andantino three-eight time (G-minor); Pin Lento, Allegro assai six-eight time. The bassoon does not play higher than A flat whereas the low tones are twice characterized by remarkable chromatic passages.

As early as 1811 Weber wrote up to d2, which was certainly the ultimate pitch at that time. On the other hand, Weber avoids the use of B natural and C sharp. Why does Lindpaintner avoid extremely high tones, yet asks for this chromatic lowness? I cannot but speculate about it and I would like you to use your imagination: The well-known acoustician Gottfried Weber, who was to go into Almenrader's improvements in 1825 and 1828, said in 1816: ". . only its lowest tones (i.e. of the bassoon) are... full and sturdy but on the other hand these tones are not easy to produce because the keys are difficult to handle and the C-hole is difficult to cover with the left thumb; in short-especially when a key consists of several flats or even sharps this instrument is much clumsier than a violoncello, let alone these unpleasant gaps which exist because the contra-B and C sharp are missing."

We do not want to assume that Lindpaintner did not know about these facts. So does this mean that Franz Lang succeeded in playing these passages by producing C sharp with a half-covered C hole and by raising B flat' to play b'? Did he know about Almenrader's and Schaufler's invention and did he recommend his composer to experiment a little bit because the bassoon was being further developed? Or did he even own a bassoon with the appropriate keys which, however, is highly unlikely.

After all, Barmann's less famous brother Carl Barmann (1782-1842), who was first bassoon with the Kgl. Preussische Kappelle zu Berlin (Royal Prussian Orchestra Berlin), said that in 1807 he had seen "a dilettante" use such a bassoon in Switzerland ...

2) The Concerto in F major written in 1816 is certainly closely related with Weber's opus 75. The key is identical and so is the B flat Major key of the middle movement. The orchestration, consisting of I flute, 2 oboes, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in F, 2 trumpets in F kettledrum and strings, is almost the same as Weber's orchestration which, however, includes a second flute. The wind parts are rather "thankless... only the flute plays sometimes a bigger role. In Weber's Adagio the two horns have a much more important part to play. Albrecht Holder told me that his colleagues in the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra had complained a lot. In the first and second movement, Lindpaintner writes the violoncello and the violone in separate systems and then-apart from a few exceptionsgoes on to lead them unisono. Compared with the classical bassoon, which was just about to be modernized, the sound of a romantic instrumentation was certainly an absolute novelty

Formally, Lindpaintner also followed his great models. The first movement is an Allegro giusto in the principal movement form of a sonata with two themes which are typical for the bassoon but not particularly characteristic. In any case, it is not as differentiated as Weber's magnificent contrast between a pronounced/male first and a lyrical/ female second theme.

The second movement, a Romanza in B flat major, reminds one of a simple pastorale with a slight Italian touch. However, Lindpaintner had never been to Italy. He had planned to visit this country in 1812 but then he had to cancel his trip because he did not receive the applied-for scholarship. Lindpaintner also includes motives from the first movement.

The third movement is a rondo. Unlike Weber's rondo, it is an Allegro ma non troppo written in three-eight time. As far as the theme is concerned nothing spectacular is happening. Most of it can be easily and mechanically played. The characteristic staccato sixteenth-note triplets remind one of Danzi's "Polacca" and Weber's "Ongarese" (opus 35; arranged for bassoon in 1813) and suggests a masterly staccato of Franz Lang.

As far as the range is concerned, Lindpaintner does not use B' and C sharp and does not go higher than A'. Yet, there is one part in the Romance which seems to call for C flat2. With regard to harmony it could fit, yet the melody would be interrupted. Furthermore, it would be totally inexplicable why Lindpaintner should have used B in the bass parts and the enharmonic C flat in the bassoon part. At the time, C flat was probably not intonated as B.

At this point I must say that the study of Lindpaintner's autograph involved a lot of work. Before I was told about Mr. Holder's activities I had already copied some parts which I later compared with him. Sometimes Lindpaintner is so careless about articulation that you could rack your brains for days about the question whether Lindpaintner really called for different things at parallel passages or whether he was simply inconsistent and inexact. Also some ink stains make it impossible to read the notation. This is why several passages must be completed by relying on parallel passages. The key signatures are used at random. Sometimes Lindpaintner omits them when we would have needed them. On the other hand he sometimes includes them when they are superfluous.

Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between a flat and a natural; sometimes ink looks like another ledger line and then again an ornament is so small that you could take it for a fly-speck.

Moreover, there are some harmonious ventures which he might not necessarily have intended.

We now know that Lindpaintner attended composition classes again after finishing the Bassoon Concerto. Yet, in order to restore his reputation, it must be said that the Sinfoniae Concertantes are much more mature in every respect.

In conclusion I hope that I succeeded in reviving the spirit of the times a little bit; it was the period after the big Napoleonic changes in Southern Germany; a period marked by a cooperation between composers/conductors, instrumentalists and instrument-makers; a fruitful cooperation which was to intensify in the 19th century and resulted in Romanticism in music and in the development of our modern bassoon.

[Stephan Weidauer studied musicology, sinology, and philosophy at Tubingen and Stuttgart. He is now Principal Bassoon in Saarbrucken and teaches at the Saarland Academy.]

Lindpaintner, Peter: Thematisches Verzeichnis meiner sämtlichen Werke, Bd. I u. 2 (Landesbibliothek Stuttgart Cod. mus. Il. Reihe, 40/80).

ders. Fagottkonzert in F-dur (Bayerische Sattsbibliotheck, Mus. Mss. 2325).

ders. Rondeau pour le Basson (Partiturabschrift von John Parr, Sheffield 1932).

Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, Leipzig, Jahrgange 1816, 1820, 1823, 1828.

Rolf Hänsler, Peter Lindpainter als Opernkomponist, Dissertation, Stuttgart, 1928.

Rudolf Kraub, Das Stuttgarter Hoftheater Stuttgart1908.

W. Neumann, Die Componisten der neueren Zeit, Bd. 41, Cassel 1856.

Festschrift 350 Jahre Württembergisches Staatsorchester Stuttgart, 1967.

L.G. Langwill, The Bassoon and Contrabassoon, London, 1965 (1971).

William Waterhouse, "Webers Fagottkonzert op.75 Vergleich von handschriftlichen und gedruckten Quellen" in Oboe-Klarinette-Fagott 4/1988.

Artikel: "Lindpainter" in MGG und Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

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