Josef Stritzko (1861–1908)

The earliest significant published source of information about Josef Stritzko junior is a short biography published by Gustav Kühle to coincide with the Vierte deutsche Sängerbundfest, held in Vienna in August 1890 (OMTZ, II/22 (15 August 1890), 5):

Essentially this narrative fits with other accounts – although his mother died of tuberculosis when he was only eight – and it usefully refers to a number of works (and genres) that do not figure on other contemporary lists of his output. Another, rather more detailed, biography appeared three years later (DKMZ 20/3 (1 February 1893), 33 [click on the date to view the original article]):

This article – which was clearly written with Strizko's cooperation, if not active encouragement – was accompanied by a short song, Das Veilchen, to a text by Vincenz Zusner, printed (as were all the periodical's music supplements at this time) by Jos. Eberle & Co. It is possible that the work dates from Stritzko's student years, as the Zusner prize – for settings of the poet's rather pallid verse – was an annual award at the Vienna Conservatoire offering a cash prize that attracted a number of budding but impoverished composers (including Mahler) who might not otherwise have looked at Zusner's poetry. The decision to feature the composer in this way may not have been disinterested: by this date the periodical had been taken over by the firm of Rebay & Robitschek, one of the publishers of Stritzko's music.

The articles quoted above probably formed the basis of entry in an Austrian dictionary that appeared in 1902 (KDOK, 587), but it was supplemented with some additional information about Stritzko's career as a composer:

Stritzko at the Vienna Conservatoire

The documentation of Stritzko's studies at the Conservatorium für Musik und darstellende Kunst is contained in his Matrikel (matriculation registration form) which does not wholly corroborate the published biographies.⁸ It does confirm that his study was interrupted by military service: he entered on 15 September 1880, but was absent for the academic year 1881/2, re-entering on 1. October 1882. There appear to have been some unusual features to his studies: he initially registered for composition with Franz Krenn as his principal subject but quickly transferred to the second year of the advanced piano course (Ausbildungsschule) taught by Anton Door, with the first year of the composition course with Krenn as a frei Nebenfach (elective subsidiary course) and Chorschule and Chorübung as obligatory subsidiaries. Despite his transfer to composition as a subsidiary course, the Director, Josef Hellmesberger sen., agreed that Stritzko should be examined in composition as his principle course. The motivations behind these academic manoeuvres are unexplained, but at the end of his first year Stritzko achieved grade 2 (= satisfactory) in the  composition examination; no grade for his studies with Door is recorded. The two choral courses which he attended must have been particularly useful, as it was in 1880, with the Landstraße Sängerclub, that he began his career as a choral conductor.

When Stritzko rejoined the Conservatoire in 1882 he registered for the second year of the composition course with Krenn, but there is no record of his signing up for any subsidiary courses, of his end-of-year examination result in composition, or of his receiving a leaving certificate; these gaps may reflect either poor performance or poor record keeping. Nevertheless it is notable that there is also no evidence in his Matrikel that Stritzko studied Harmony with Wilhelm Kleinecke while a student at the Conservatoire, or that he studied with Bruckner while there – as claimed by August Göllerich (see below) – though it is possible that such lessons were arranged privately. All in all, this does not appear to have been a particularly distinguished studentship, but he clearly had facility as a pianist and in later years occasionally appeared as an accompanist at events organised by the Wiener Männerchor. On at least two evenings he rounded off the event with keyboard improvisations, on the second occasion (16 April 1887) in partnership with Anton Stritzko at a second piano.⁹

Military Service

For Stritzko, his time in the Army was probably a useful, practice-based phase of his musical training: the Hoch- und Deutschmeister Kapelle in which he served, was one of the best known and most admired in the Austrian army, and over the years included a number of musicians – such as Joseph Helmesberger, Joseph Bayer, Robert Stolz, Edmund Eysler und Carl Michael Ziehrer – who went on to have major careers. Since 1918 it has been a private organisation and it seeks to maintain the old tradition of Austrian military music.¹⁰

The regiment arrived in Innsbruck from Cattaro on 17 November, 1881 and left for Vienna on 15 September 1882 (IN 28/238 (12 November 1881), 3830; ibid. 29/211 (15 September 1882), 3535). The Kapellmeister at the time was Anton Klemm (1844–1920), and he conducted the band's first concert in Innsbruck, at Kraft's Veranda, on 11 December with some notable success (IN, 28/279 (7 December 1881), 4181–2):

As the report and advertisement make clear, the band could call on string players for concerts. Of the works composed while Stritzko served with the Kapelle, the titles of three marches have been recorded: Kaiser Jubiläums-Marsch (though one might wonder exactly when this was composed), Landsturm Ade! (published by Rebay & Robitschek in 1887) and Oberst Möraus-Marche (composed in honour of the commanding officer of the regiment) (see ASRM, 306 and BMPP, 326). Stritzko's connection with the band did not end with the completion of his military service: on at least two occasions (1886, 1893) it took part in events organised by his choir.

Stritzko and the Wiener Männerchor (1880–96)

The Wiener Männerchor was a small association founded in 1881: its membership seems to have been only around thirty, and published reports of its performances often make the point that this was unusual.¹¹ That in 1880, at the age of nineteen, Stritzko took over the choir's forerunner, the Landstrasse Sängerclub (see above), seems remarkable, but he was apparently assiduous in his participation in choir rehearsals and classes at the Conservatoire, and evidently developed into a very able choir trainer and conductor over the years. Following his military service it was not until the start of the 1886–7 season that Stritzko assumed a role in the artistic leadership of the new society, as joint Chormeister, working alongside Josef Pobisch. This arrangement was soon abandoned, and by January 1887 Stritzko was in sole charge: during the next ten years he gradually established a distinguished reputation for himself and the choir. At the outset reviewers occasionally noted problems of balance within the small ensemble, poor diction and ensemble, and under-rehearsal, but Stritzko not only addressed these issues – in 1893 the choir was described as a 'small but exceptionally tight vocal ensemble' – but also introduced more nuanced dynamics and phrasing.

Fig. 2

Österreichische Musik- und Theaterzeitung II/24 (15 September 1889), 7

It was presumably not coincidental that during Stritzko's tenure two new members were recruited from within the music business: the talented and popular amateur baritone and after-dinner speaker Ferdinand Rebay, who had a career as a music seller and publisher (including a brief period on the staff of J. Eberle & Co.), and Josef V. von Wöß (1863–1943), composer, teacher, conductor, and editor first at J. Eberle & Co. and later Universal Edition, who became the much-admired accompanist of the choir. Between them Stritzko and von Wöß also provided a substantial part of the repertoire, which fitted in with a programming policy that promoted new works alongside classics for the medium, and also sometimes dispensed with the normal trappings of guest instrumental solos and post-performance dancing. The seriousness of approach and accomplishment of the performers was noted (see Die Lyra XII/6 (15 December 1888), 50) as was the decision to give a concert entirely of new works (13 December 1891) and one solely of music composed by members of the association (2 April 1892): Josef Stritzko, Jos. V. v. Wöss, August Thonet (1829–1910, the retired head of the famous Thonet firm of furniture manufacturers and amateur composer, whose family supported the choir financially), Max von Weinzierl (1841–98, honorary member), Jacob Thonet (August's brother), Franz Tittrich and Eduard Kremser (honorary member). Although Stritzko briefly also conducted the Wiener Männergesangverein „Arion” in 1889 his tenure of the post of Chorleiter of the Wiener Männerchor apparently continued until the end of the 1895–6 season. In the 1898–99 season he conducted the Wiener Sängerbund and he was a Ausübende (performing) member of the Wiener Männergesang-Verein (KAWM, 452).

Josef Eberle & Co.

According to the article in the Deutsche Kunst und Musik Zeitung Stritzko decided in 1884 that with his military service and musical training complete, it was time to settle down; on 15 November 1885 he married Franziska Bauer (16 August 1862–January 1944) and at about the same time found a role that drew on both his commercial and musical training, working for the printing firm owned by his brother-in-law, Josef Eberle, where he was soon appointed director of the printing department. (LEH (1886), 990).

The scope of Stritzko's duties and responsibilities during his early years with Jos. Eberle & Co. is not entirely clear. At present there is no evidence that he had any previous training in music printing or lithography, but by 1900 had developed sufficient technical and historical knowledge to be invited to give two lectures to the Vienna branch of the International Musical Association, 'Über moderne Notendruck und -Stiche' (26 February) and 'Über die Entwicklung des Notenstiche und -Drucke' (5 March) (ZIMG I (1899–1900), 257; 363; both were chaired by Guido Adler).¹² There is also some evidence that he undertook in-house editing and correction of music (ASBD, 3/9, 216). Stritzko joined the firm shortly before  preliminary planning for Eberle's first foray into music publishing, the Wiener Volksausgabe (1888–9), must have begun, and he eventually contributed an edition of Schubert songs – 'revised from the the oldest editions' – to the project. At about the same time he was involved in the firm's other publishing venture, the bi-monthly periodical An der schönen blauen Donau which Eberle acquired in 1888: in the following year Stritzko served briefly as managing editor (verantwortlicher Redacteur) of five issues. Whether Stritzko played any role in the initiation of these projects is unclear, but after the Volksausgabe came to an end in 1889 and the magazine was sold, Stritzko was closely involved with a new phase in Jos. Eberle & Co.'s publishing ventures, the publication of Bruckner's music.

The contract with Jos. Eberle & Co, signed on 14 July 1892, was generous, providing the composer with a modest but guaranteed income from his works for the rest of his life, and resulted in the distribution of a number of works by Doblinger, including the First Symphony (1893), Second Symphony (1892), Fifth Symphony (ed. Schalk, 1896), Sixth Symphony (1899), Ninth Symphony (1903), Mass in E minor (1896) and Mass in F minor (1894).

From the earliest biographical article quoted above it seems that as a student Stritzko tackled some of the genres of ernster Musik (serious music), composing piano sonatas, overtures and chamber music, but he seems not to have returned to these in later years. His time on military service may well have convinced him that his true gifts lay in more popular repertoires, and having tried his hand at band music, he seems to have found a more secure niche in the male-voice choir community, helped by his undoubted gifts as a choir-trainer: as the partial work list indicates it was was in this medium that he produced a substantial body of work, and most readily found publishers. The dedications also reflect the tight-knit community within which he worked for more than a decade.

At first glance it would seem that Stritzko's productivity declined after the late 1890s but this impression in part reflects his decision to focus on works for the stage. In any case his business commitments and responsibilities were increasing, reducing the time he could have devoted to creative work. Of his first venture into music theatre, an operetta, Hochzeit auf Sacramento, nothing is known: it was presumably composed sometime between 1893 and c.1900, but was not published or performed. It was followed in 1901 by a 'Musik-Lustspiel', Der Hofmeister, to a libretto by Oscar Fronz (1861–1925), who had recently had a success at the Jubiläumstheater with Familielumpen. That Stritzko was able to secure performances at the Theater an der Wien almost certainly reflects his business contacts with two of the owners, Leon Doret and Josef Simon: both were on the board of Universal-Edition as private shareholders and would therefore have met Stritzko as the managing director of the Erster Wiener Zeitungs-Gesellschaft, a corporate shareholder and the firm's music printer.

The show opened on 11 March 1901, conducted by the composer, and had seven performances in all. The music – especially the instrumentation – garnered praise from the critic of the Deutsches Volksblatt (signed 'Sch—r') who nevertheless noted that despite the enthusiastic reception from family and friends of the composer it would be the second night which would reveal whether the work had enough quality to survive on the Viennese stage: it did not. So the fact that at least three numbers from the work were published by Doblinger, may have also have been influenced in part by Stritzko's role as the printer of that firm's publications.

The Lustspiel's successor, Tip-Top, was doubly cursed: completed in 1905 and apparently accepted for performance at the Theater an der Wien, it was preceded by the first night of Die Lustige Witwe by Lehar, which went on to run solidly for 450 performances, thus postponing Stritzko's premiere until 5 October 1907, when, according to the same Deutsches Volksblatt critic, it was apparent that Stritzko's 'attractive and charming music' was hampered by a 'completely worthless and very badly made libretto'. The new work ran for only 25 performances in total, but the postcards advertising the work announce the availability of recordings on the Odeon label; the vocal score and a number of spin-off items based on the operetta were published by W. Karczag and C. Wallner and printed, appropriately (and handsomely), by Jos. Eberle & Co. (EWZG). The score reveals a genuine, if scarcely original talent, and the relatively detailed indications of scoring lend credence to the positive comments about Stritzko's gifts as an orchestrator; in 'Dolly's Traumlied (Die Brautnacht)' (Act II), Stritzko briefly moves  beyond wholly predictable structures to something more ambitious, a charming and explicitly erotic lyric scena.

Fig. 3 Deutsches Volksblatt 4377 (11 March 1901), 8. Apart from those listed, there were two further performances on 16 and 17 March.	Fig. 4 Deutsches Volksblatt 6738 (5 October 1907), 15. The operetta ran for 25 consecutive performances up to 29 October.

Final Years

A new phase in Stritzko's business career opened up when in late 1894 his brother-in-law agreed to sell his firm to the Erste Wiener Zeitungs-Gesellschaft, and especially after board-room manoeuvring in the parent company led to Eberle's resignation early in 1898. For whatever reason, Stritzko chose not to join him in setting up a new printing business, but remained where he was. One can only suppose that this was a difficult time for the two families, but Stritzko gained some rewards, as one of the three executive directors with places on the EWZG board, and by c. 1902 he was the only such director, having been an authorised signatory for the firm since about 1898. It was probably Stritzko who was chiefly responsible for the negotiations with Guido Adler and Mahler that culminated in a publishing contract that initially covered the scores, parts and piano arrangements for Mahler's first three Symphonies, though it was apparently extended subsequently to cover the Wunderhorn songs, Das klagende Lied and the Fourth Symphony.

Josef Eberle's departure from the Erste Wiener Zeitungs-Gesellschaft in early 1898 coincided with a series of business decisions, all of which must have involved Stritzko in his position as a director of the firm, and probably impacted on the time he had for composition.¹³ In 1898 EWZG acquired a new property at Seidengasse 9, which permitted the building of a new wing to the printing works, designed by Karl Stigler (1865–1926), that considerably expanded the firm's printing capacity, though at the cost of two years of operational disruption. Other decisions proved less immediately advantageous, including the sale of the Illustriertes Wiener Extrablatt in 1905. The resulting loss was considerable and in that year the company recorded an annual trading deficit (of 1,197,806 Kr.) for the first time in its history, shareholders lost 25% of their investment at a stroke and no dividend was paid. Although the restructured company managed to achieve a small profit and paid a modest dividend in 1906, serious management failings emerged the following year and the annual report recorded that 'notable damage resulted from the irregularities of the previous director, which necessitated substantial right-offs'.

The director concerned was Stritzko and although by 1907 he had an apparently enviable position – a family home at Andreasgasse 17 provided by the firm, and an annual salary reported to be K. 20,000¹⁴ – it proved to be a singularly unhappy year. In the spring he witnessed the insolvency (and subsequent bankruptcy) of Josef Stritzko & Co. and the institutionalisation of Anton Stritzko, an emotionally unsettling situation which may have had financial consequences for Josef, and this was followed by the commercial failure of Tip-Top. It was reported that Stritzko had pinned great hope on the success of the work, and towards the end of the run was conducting many of the performances, perhaps in a desperate attempt to establish it in the repertoire, but in the event lost about K 30,000 on the venture.  The impact of those developments on his health was deleterious and he applied for and was granted sick leave. It was while he was recuperating in the Tirol that an internal audit was initiated and revealed irregularities in the book-keeping: the press reports indicate mismanagement rather than dishonesty was deemed to be the cause, so it is perhaps significant that Mahler noted as early as 1903 that the firm had not been sending him annual royalty statements as stipulated by his contract (GMBaA, 164–5; GMBaA, 131). The upshot was that Stritzko resigned or was dismissed in February 1908, together with two other senior members of staff; perhaps not coincidentally four non-executive members of the board resigned the same year. In all K. 166,673 had to be written off, contributing to a trading deficit of K. 9,242 in 1907.

Stritzko scarcely had time to recover from this professional disaster as he died unexpectedly a month later at the age of 47, as reported in the Neue freie Presse (15643 (Nachmittagsblatt, 9 March 1908), 6):