Small teaching pieces for string quartet
«Nur Tropfen» is the title of the seven short pieces by Theodor Kirchner. The new edition also contains notes for the classroom.
Theodor Kirchner, educated in Leipzig and Dresden, accepted a position as organist in Winterthur at the age of 20 on the recommendation of Felix Mendelssohn. He worked in Switzerland for 30 years as a music teacher and conductor and started a family. A Swiss obituary states that he «stood at the center of musical endeavors in Zurich and Winterthur for a quarter of a century». In the difficult years after his return to Germany, he was supported by his friend Brahms.
In addition to 1000 piano pieces, he composed a great deal of chamber music, including some with pedagogical intentions such as the seven short string quartets Only drops. The moderately difficult pieces of varying character comprise only 16 to 60 (fast) bars. The rhythmically interwoven Romantic style requires all instruments to pay attention to the whole event. The notes for teaching by Anna Erdmann-Schiegnitz in the appendix to the edition contain important interpretative and technical aids.
Theodor Kirchner: Only drops. Very small pieces for string quartet, edited by Wolfgang Birtel, SE 1059, € 14.00, Schott, Mainz
