Thomas Christian Ensemble: Bittner

The Strad Issue: April 2026

Description: A lawyer-turned-composer proves disappointingly conservative

Musicians: Thomas Christian Ensemble

Works: Bittner: String Quartets nos.1 and 2

Catalogue number: CPO 555 201-2

On casting an eye over Julius Bittner’s first opera, Gustav Mahler reputedly said that too much of the score was imitation Wagner, and it was therefore necessary for him to have lessons with Bruno Walter to try and find his own voice.

How successful he was in establishing a personal identity remains an open question, particularly when it comes to these two quartets (written in 1913 and 1917), which are highly conservative, being written in a late-Romantic language with occasional incursions into a more overtly chromatic invention.

Unfortunately, Bittner relies too much on a rather mundane salon type of melodic material, depicting lilting Viennese-style folk music which projects the feeling of a worn-out vernacular. He clothes this style with densely worked textures that need careful handling, but in this regard, the Thomas Christian Ensemble performs intelligently and with technical aplomb.

Both works were premiered by the famed Rosé Quartet, and so had a stellar exposé, yet even so, critical opinion at their premieres was at best mixed. The Second Quartet has more lucid writing and stronger ideas, but still lacks a distinctive personality.

Nevertheless, these carefully articulated and honed performances serve to give a wider understanding of the contemporary musical scene in Vienna during this period.

Although a lawyer by profession, Bittner had amassed impressive technical craft in assembling these relatively extended pieces, and was a recognised musical force in Vienna. But in all fairness, these works are hardly deserving of being revived – they simply don’t have enough individuality.

JOANNE TALBOT