Capital of Australia Mandolinata
	Konrad Wolki

Author: Jean-Paul Bazin (extracted from a number of the magazine Plectre)

Bibliographical elements

Konrad Wölki was born on December 27, 1904 in Berlin, and died just 10 years ago, on July 5, 1983, in Berlin also. One can regard it as the inventor of the modern orchestra with plectre, which it left the Neapolitan melody to lead it on the way of the contemporary music (without never giving up, for its part, with a neo-classic or postromantic lyricism). It has tried to bring closer its image sound that symphony orchestra, in particular while formalizing use of tremor, while giving to different voice role equivalent (in opposition to the melody of first mandolines accompanied per seconds and guitars, with some contrechants episodical of mandoles that one finds in the majority of the compositions of first half of the century), and by adding wind instruments sometimes to it.

At 12 years, he was member of the chorus of children of the Opera of Berlin; at 18 years, having studied the mandoline at Vorpahl, it melted its orchestra which was going to become in 1937 famous Berliner Lautengilde (guild of the lutes of Berlin), that it will direct until 1972. It was one of the first to make serious research on the history of our instrument (its History of the Mandoline is appeared in 1939, to see this number p.15). Professor of mandoline of 1934 to 1940, he becomes principal of Music of Reinickendorf of 1948 to 1959, then directing of the Department of musical Awakening to the Academy of Berlin. Reprocessed, it still formed part of many jurys of contest.

For orchestra with plectre, its catalogue contains 103 works, for which it is necessary to add very many transcriptions, and the great number of works that it caused in other type-setters. In order to help the latter, he wrote a Treaty of instrumentation for instruments with plectre (1948). He is also the author of methods for the mandoline, the guitar, the accordion and the recorder. One can divide his work into three periods: a symphonic writing in the Twenties (with winds and percussions), then starting from approximately 1935, a neo-classic period (lightening of the orchestration and construction; differentiated use from the tremor and of detached); finally, in the Fifties, it modernizes its writing, calling upon more complex rates/rhythms and harmonies, but without never yielding to temptation graphic music!

The apogee of its style is undoubtedly to seek about 1950-55, if one grows about it the type-setter Dietrich Erdmann who met it in 1951, and the Concerto for violin in the minor (1954) is undoubtedly his masterpiece. However, its most important work for the evolution of the orchestra with plectre is obviously the Continuation n°2 (1937), where the type-setter discovers and exploits the duality detached/tremor.

Catalogue works

(Note: All works below do not appear in the bottom of this site.)
103 works of Wölki are disseminated in many different editors. The question it is quite out ofit is quite out of to make an exhaustive catalogue here of it, we will thus limit ourselves to the parts listed by the Musical Confederation of France or Deutscher Musikrat, and to works which seem to us major, and most easily available (editions Trekel and Vogt & Fritz). For each one of enter they, we indicate the approximate level (from 1 to 4, 1 correspondent with the third division CMF, and 4 with the division of honor CMF). We will add, for some of quoted works, the recordings available which we know, without claiming, there either, with exhaustiveness (there exists more than 100 discs containing of works of Wölki!).

First period (romantic, with winds and percussions)

# Opening n°1 in the Major one, op.1 (1924), Trekel R.35 [3-4]
# Opening n°2 in fa# minor, op.2 (1925), Trekel R.72 [3-4]
“Meister der Zupfmusik” vol.3, by Badisches Zupforchester, to dir. W. Bast (1982)
TBS/B 786 1075 (distr. Manfred Herzog)
# Opening n°3 in Major D, op.3 (1926), Trekel R.79 [3-4]
# Opening n°4 in so minor (1927), Trekel R.99
# Symphony as a semi minor, op.12 (1929), Trekel R.121 [3-4]
“The Art of the Mandoline”, by Estudiantina of Argenteuil, to dir. Mr. Monti (1982)
Arion ARN 36657 (distr. Auvidis)
# Romantic part in Concert, Trekel R.134 [3-4]
# Return to the Country, Trekel R.138 [2-3]
# Great Moment, op.18 (1933), Trekel R.149 [3-4]

Second period (Neo-classic, little tremor)

# Continuation n°1, op.29 (1935), Trekel R.168a
“Meister der Zupfmusik” vol.3 (cf above)
# Continuation 2, op.31 (1937), Trekel R.168 [3-4]
“Meister der Zupfmusik” vol.3 (cf above)
# Mrs Pompadour, Trekel R.145 [2]
# Small Parts, Trekel R.200 [1-2]
# Six merry Dances according to Haendel, Trekel 3515 [3]
# Small Continuation in Ground (1939), Trekel R.207 [1]

Third period (maturity)

# Concerto in the minor for violin, two flutes and OAP, op.57 (1954), Trekel 3546 [4]
“Akzente”, by Dortmunder Zupforchester, to dir. V. Gerland (1991) Dozo MINOR ROAD 001 (distr. Manfred Herzog)
# European continuation, Trekel 3525 [3]
# Ratisbon, Trekel 3530 [3]
# Appassionata continuation, op.56c (1975), Trekel 3528 [2-3]
# Concert Viennese, op.86 (1979), Trekel 3535 [3]
# Concertino in minor D for oboe and OAP, op.97 (1978), V&F 1015 [2-3]
“Stationen der Zupfmusik”, by Jugendzupforchester Baden-Württemberg,
to dir. G. Siegwarth (1987), TBS/B 1709 1213 (distr. Manfred Herzog)
# Large Country, V&F 1021 [3]
# Songs without Words, V&F 1027 [3]
# Exchanges, op.99 (1979), Trekel 3541 [3]

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Last updated 8 July 2007