Schumann Robert Alexander, German composer.
Born on June 8, 1810 in the city of Zwickau in the family of a book publisher. He started studying music at the age of seven.
In his work, the composer devoted great attention piano music. Most of piano works Schumann are cycles of small plays of the lyrical-dramatic, visual and “portrait” genres, interconnected by an internal plot and psychological line. Along with works of variation and sonata types, Schumann has piano cycles built on the principle of a suite or an album of plays: “Fantastic passages”, “Children’s scenes”, “Album for youth”.
"Album for Youth" op.68 was created by Robert Schumann in 1848. The history of its creation is closely connected with my father’s personal musical experience. In October, Schumann wrote to his friend Karl Reinecke: “I wrote the first plays for the birthday of my eldest daughter, and then the rest.” The original title of the collection was “Christmas Album.” In addition to the musical material, the draft manuscript included instructions young musicians, in a brief aphoristic form, revealing Schumann’s artistic credo. He planned to place them between plays. This idea was not implemented. For the first time, aphorisms, the number of which increased from 31 to 68, were published in the New Musical Newspaper in a special supplement entitled “Home and life rules for musicians" and then reprinted in the appendix to the second edition. The success of the first edition of the “Album for Youth” was greatly facilitated by its title page, designed by the famous German artist, professor at the Dresden Academy of Arts Ludwig Richter. The artist's son, Heinrich Richter was Schumann's composition student in 1848-49. Schumann indicated the ten most important plays, in his opinion, for which, according to his explanations, the artist created vignettes for the cover of the publication. These plays are Vintage Time, The First Loss, The Merry Peasant, Round Dance, Spring Song, Song of the Reapers, Mignon, Knecht Ruprecht, Brave Rider and Winter Time. There was an opinion among teachers, contemporaries of the author, that the “Album” was illogically structured and the plays were too difficult for children to perform. Indeed, the pieces are not arranged in order of increasing difficulty and the amplitude of their complexity is extremely high, but let us remember that in the time of Schumann, in mid-19th century century, there was no systematization yet educational materials. In addition, the author did not at all strive to follow the canons of the modern pedagogical repertoire. During this period of time it was natural that various schools published material for six to seven years of study. The significance of the Album for piano pedagogy is that R. Schumann was the creator of a completely new and deeply innovative piano style, which is probably why the pieces turned out to be much more difficult than the repertoire that teachers used at that time. An analogy arises with J.S. Bach, who also was ahead of his time, creating pieces for students much more difficult than the generally accepted level of learning. To appreciate the novelty of this music, it is enough to pay attention to the educational repertoire that teachers used at that time. These were not only popular piano schools the best teachers of that time, but also the works of numerous dropouts.
No country in the world has given humanity as many great composers as Germany. Traditional ideas about the Germans as the most rational and pedantic people are crumbling from such a wealth of musical talents (as well as poetic ones). German composers Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Arf, Wagner - this is far from full list talented musicians who created an incredible amount musical masterpieces a variety of genres and directions.
German composers Johann Sebastian Bach and Johann Georg Handel, both born in 1685, laid the foundations classical music and brought Germany to the “front line” of the music world, where the Italians had previously dominated. The genius, not fully understood and recognized by contemporaries, laid the powerful foundation on which all the music of classicism later grew.
The great J.Haydn, W.A.Mozart and L.Beethoven are the brightest representatives Viennese classical school- trends in music that developed in late XVIII - early XIX centuries. The name itself " Viennese classics» implies participation Austrian composers, as Haydn and Mozart were. A little later, Ludwig van Beethoven, a German composer, joined them (the history of these neighboring states is inextricably linked with each other).
The great German, who died in poverty and loneliness, gained centuries-old glory for himself and his country. German romantic composers (Schumann, Schubert, Brahms and others), as well as modern German composers such as Paul Hindemith, having gone far from classicism in their work, nevertheless recognize the enormous influence of Beethoven on the work of any of them.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Beethoven was born in Bonn in 1770 into the family of a poor and hard-drinking musician. Despite the addiction, the father was able to discern the talent of his eldest son and began to teach him music himself. He dreamed of making Ludwig a second Mozart (Mozart’s father successfully demonstrated his “miracle child” to the public from the age of 6). Despite the cruel treatment of his father, who forced his son to study all day, Beethoven passionately fell in love with music, by the age of nine he even “outgrew” him in performing, and at eleven he became an assistant to the court organist.
At the age of 22, Beethoven left Bonn and went to Vienna, where he took lessons from the maestro Haydn himself. In the Austrian capital, which at that time was the recognized center of the world musical life Beethoven quickly gained fame as a virtuoso pianist. But the composer's works, filled with intense emotions and drama, were not always appreciated by the Viennese public. Beethoven, as a person, was not very “convenient” for those around him - he could be either harsh and rude, or unbridledly cheerful, or gloomy and gloomy. These qualities did not contribute to Beethoven's success in society; he was considered a talented eccentric.
The tragedy of Beethoven's life was deafness. The illness made his life even more isolated and lonely. It was painful for the composer to create his own brilliant creations and never hear them performed. Deafness didn't break me strong in spirit master, he continued to create. Being already completely deaf, Beethoven himself conducted his brilliant 9th symphony with the famous “Ode to Joy” with words by Schiller. The power and optimism of this music, especially considering tragic circumstances the composer's life still amazes the imagination.
Since 1985, Beethoven's Ode to Joy, arranged by Herbert von Karajan, has been recognized as the official anthem of the European Union. wrote about this music: “The whole of humanity stretches out its arms to the sky... rushes towards joy and presses it to its chest.”
Max Bruch's symphonies are not as popular as his violin concertos or the Scottish Fantasy and are performed quite rarely. However, Harmony reigns supreme in them, awakening in the soul of the listener the aspiration for wisdom and strength, strengthening the spirit and helping to cope with all difficulties. Among the notable recordings of Bruch's works, in addition to the main concert works, is a set of three of his rarely performed symphonies; a project carried out by conductor Kurt Masur. One of these recordings will now be played - a very beautiful Adagio from the Third Symphony in E major
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Kurt Masur, conductor
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Music is the art of sounds and each sound in it has its own designation. A note (lat. nōta - “sign”, “mark”) in music is a graphic designation of sound piece of music, one of the main symbols of modern musical notation. Variations in…
The name of Max Bruch (1838-1920) does not sound so loud in musical world, like the names of Mendelssohn and Brahms. But his Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26, occupies its rightful place in the pedigree of great romantic masterpieces. Max Bruch was born in the same year that Mendelssohn made the first sketches of his Violin Concerto in E minor. Bruch's Concerto premiered ten years after Schumann's death. A decade later, Brahms' famous Violin Concerto appeared. However there is one more great musician, whose art united the aforementioned violin concertos into a tradition uninterrupted for a century. His name was Joseph Joachim. On title page The score of Bruch's Violin Concerto is dedicated to: Joseph Joachim as a sign of friendship.
The sketches for the G minor concerto probably date back to 1857, when the 19-year-old Bruch graduated from the Cologne Conservatory, where his teachers were Ferdinand Hiller and Karl Reinecke. At the age of 20, Bruch was already teaching music theoretical subjects at the conservatory. Premieres of his operas, oratorios, symphonies follow one after another, instrumental concerts, chamber ensembles, vocal cycles… Bruch choirs are especially popular in Germany. He conducts opera performances and symphony concerts in various cities in Germany and abroad. Among Max Bruch's students are representatives of national composer schools, such outstanding masters of the twentieth century as the Italian Ottorino Respighi, the Englishman Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Max Bruch / Max Bruch
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Johann Philipp Kirnberger (German: Johann Philipp Kirnberger; baptized April 24 1721, Saalfeld - July 27, 1783, Berlin) - German music theorist, composer, violinist, teacher.
According to F. V. Marpurg, Kirnberger in 1739-41 studied in Leipzig with J. S. Bach, whom he considered the largest German composer. In 1741 - 50 he served as a music teacher and bandmaster in Polish aristocratic families, was a bandmaster convent in Lviv. Since 1754, Kirnberger, a violinist and conductor of the court chapel in Berlin, taught composition to Anna Amalia of Prussia, the younger sister of the King of Prussia, Frederick the Great.
Kirnberger sought the publication of Bach's choral arrangements, about which he wrote in a letter to the Leipzig publisher Breitkopf:
Regarding the Bach chorales, numbering more than 400, which C. F. E. Bach collected and many of which were transcribed in his own hand, it is extremely important to me that these chorales, which are now in my possession, are preserved for future musicians, composers and music lovers .
Kirnberger bought the chorale manuscripts from C. F. E. Bach. To promote the publication, Kirnberger donated these manuscripts free of charge to Breitkopf's publishing house (which remained their owner after Kirnberger's death).
The most prominent representative of violin playing in Germany in the first half of the 19th century was the famous Ludwig Spohr.
The son of a doctor who lived in Brunswick, Spohr has been early age was placed in conditions extremely favorable for its development musical talent. Spohr's father played the flute (!), and his mother was a singer and quite a good pianist. The boy listened with particular pleasure home music and was very glad when they bought him a small violin: he could play by ear the songs and romances performed by his mother. The boy's talents were noticed by a French emigrant Dufour, who lived in the town where Spohr's parents moved from Braunschweig. Dufour, who himself played the violin and cello quite well, supervised Spohr’s classes and he began to write his own compositions (they say that Spohr’s violin duets date back to this time).
This was followed by years of study, work as a soloist in the chapel of the Duke of Brunswick, and tours of European cities. For example, in Denmark Spohr happened to talk with a lady who was a great admirer of his talent. She asked me to tell her some details from his past life and, among other things, asked whether Spohr would not have done better by taking up his father’s craft. Spohr responded this way:
()Christian Kannabich (German: Christian Cannabich; December 28th 1731 - January 20, 1798, Frankfurt am Main) - German bandmaster, violinist and composer, representative of the Mannheim school.
Pupil of J. Stamitz, N. Jommelli (composition). He worked in the orchestras of Mannheim and Munich. Violinist of the Mannheim Court Chapel (since 1774 its director). From 1778 he lived in Munich. After the death of J. Stamitz, he was recognized as the head of the Mannheim School. Friend V.A. Mozart. Kannabikh applied new principles of orchestration based on an even distribution of thematic material between all orchestral groups, one of the first to introduce symphony orchestra clarinets. The leading genre of creativity is the symphony. Author of about 90 symphonies, 40 operas and ballets, concerts for violin and orchestra, chamber and instrumental ensembles. Mozart in his letters praises Kannabikh's talent. Be that as it may, Mozart describes him as the best music director he has ever seen.
Carl Orff (Carl Orff; Carl Heinrich Maria Orff, July 10, 1895, Munich - March 29, 1982, Munich) was a German composer and teacher, best known for the cantata Carmina Burana (1937). As a major composer of the 20th century, he also made a major contribution to the development of music education.
Carl Orff's father, an officer, played the piano and several string instruments. His mother was also a good pianist. It was she who discovered her son’s talent for music and began teaching him.
Orff learned to play the piano at age 5. At the age of nine he was already writing long and short pieces of music for his own puppet theater.
In 1912-1914, Orff studied at the Munich music academy. In 1914 he continued his studies with Hermann Zilcher. In 1916 he worked as bandmaster at the Munich chamber theater. In 1917, during the First World War, Orff volunteered for military service in the First Bavarian Field Artillery Regiment. In 1918 he was invited to the position of bandmaster in National Theater Mannheim under the direction of Wilhelm Furtwängler, and then he began to work at the Palace Theater of the Grand Duchy of Darmstadt.
In 1923, he met Dorothea Günther and in 1924, together with her, he created the Günther-Schule school of gymnastics, music and dance in Munich. From 1925 until the end of his life, Orff was the head of the department at this school, where he worked with aspiring musicians. Having constant contact with children, he developed his theory of music education.
()Karl (Heinrich Karsten) Reinecke(German) Carl (Heinrich Carsten) Reinecke ; June 231824, Altona, now part of Hamburg - March 10, 1910, Leipzig) - German composer, conductor and pianist.
From the age of six he studied music with his father, Johann Rudolf Reinecke. IN 1835 debuted in hometown as a pianist, then toured Europe, where he gained fame as a “graceful performer of works Mozart " The young men's musical idols were Clara Wieck and Franz Liszt; Due to his timid character, Reinecke was not well suited for the role of a touring virtuoso pianist.
WITH 1843 to 1846 Thanks to a scholarship from King Christian VIII of Denmark, he studied piano and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory. Felix Mendelssohn, who was the bandmaster of Gewandhaus at that time, organized public performances for him. During the same period, Reinecke met Robert Schumann. Reinecke was greatly impressed by the works of Mendelssohn and Schumann, which greatly influenced his own writings.
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Hans Leo Hassler(baptized 10/26/1564 - 06/08/1612) - German composer and organist of the era late Renaissance and early Baroque. One of the most significant composers who developed Italian style in Germany at the beginning of the seventeenth century.
Johann Heinrich Scheidemann(c. 1595 - September 26, 1663) - German organist and composer of the Baroque era. One of the leaders of the North German organ school. An important predecessor of Dietrich Buxtehude and J. S. Bach.
Heinrich Schutz(08.10.1585 - 06.11.1672) - great German composer and organist of the Baroque era. Considered on a par with Claudio Monteverdi and Johann Sebastian Bach. He combined Venetian antiphonal and monodic techniques with Protestant music, and also created the first German opera.
Hieronymus Praetorius(08/10/1560 - 01/27/1629) - North German composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. Namesake of the more famous composer Michael Praetorius, although there were many in the family of Hieronymus Praetorius outstanding musicians 16-17 centuries
Johann Adam Reincken(baptized December 10, 1643 - November 24, 1722) - Dutch-German composer and organist of the Baroque period. One of the prominent representatives of the North German school, a friend of Dietrich Buxtehude, had a great influence on the young Johann Sebastian Bach.
Johann Hermann Schein(01/20/1586 - 11/19/1630) - German composer and poet of the early Baroque era. Among the first to develop innovative Italian style in German music. He was considered a refined and elegant composer of his time.
Johannes Nucius (Nux, Nucis)(c. 1556 - 03/25/1620) - German composer and music theorist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. Being far from major centers musical activity, he was an exquisite composer in the style of the Franco-Flemish composer Orlando di Lasso. Compiled by a very influential treatise on the rhetorical use of compositional devices.
Johann Ulrich Steigleder(22 March 1593 - 10 October 1635) - South German composer and organist of the Baroque era. Most famous member musical family Steigleder from Stuttgart, which includes his father Adam (1561-1633) and grandfather Utz (d. 1581), who was a court musician and diplomat.
Johann Jakob Froberger(baptized May 19, 1616 - May 7, 1667) - German composer of the Baroque era, virtuoso harpsichordist and organist. One of the most famous composers era, made a great contribution to the development of the keyboard repertoire and created the first examples of program music. Thanks to numerous travels, he made a great contribution to the exchange musical traditions Germany, Italy and France. His work was studied by musicians in the 18th century, including composers such as Handel and Bach, and even Mozart and Beethoven.
German composers made a great contribution to the development of the world musical art. Among them are a huge number of those whom we call great. The whole world listens to their masterpieces. In musical educational institutions the works of many of them are included in the curriculum.
Music of Germany
The heyday of music in this country began in the 18th century. Then such great German composers as Robert Schumann, Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert, Ludwig Van Beethoven began to create. They were the first representatives of romanticism.
Great composers who lived in Austria: Franz Liszt, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Strauss.
Later, Carl Orff, Richard Wagner, and Max Reger became famous. They wrote music turning to their national roots.
Famous German composers of the 20th century: Arnold Schoenberg, Paul Hindemith, Karlheinz Stockhausen.
James Last
Famous German composer James Last was born in Bremen in 1929. His real name is Hans. He worked in the jazz genre. James first appeared on stage in 1946 as part of the Bremen Radio Orchestra. After 2 years, he created his own ensemble, which he led and performed with. In the 50s of the 20th century, Last was considered the best jazz bassist. In 1964, James created his own orchestra. He was involved in arranging popular melodies at that time. The composer released his first album in 1965, after which there were 50 more. They sold millions of copies. Eighteen discs went platinum, 37 went gold. James Last created arrangements for authors and performers working in completely different musical genres from folk music to hard rock. The composer died in the USA in June 2015.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Great German composers of the Baroque era: Georg Böhm, Nikolaus Bruns, Dietrich Buxtehude, George Frideric Handel and others. At the top of this list is Johann Sebastian Bach. He was a great composer, teacher and virtuoso organist. J. S. Bach is the author of more than a thousand works. He wrote music of different genres. Everything that was significant during his life, except operas. The composer's father was a musician, like many other relatives and ancestors.
Johann Sebastian loved music since childhood and never missed an opportunity to play music. The future composer sang in the choir, played the harpsichord and organ, and studied the works of composers. At about 15 years old he wrote his first works. After completing his studies, the young man served as a court musician, then as an organist in the church. Johann Sebastian Bach had seven children, two of them became famous composers. His first wife died and he married again. His second wife was a young singer with a magnificent soprano. In old age, J. S. Bach became blind, but continued to compose music, the notes were written down by the composer's son-in-law under dictation. The great Johann Sebastian is buried in the city of Leipzig. In Germany, his image is immortalized in a large number of monuments.
Ludwig van Beethoven
Many German composers were adherents of the Viennese classical school. The most striking figure of them is Ludwig Van Beethoven. He wrote music of all genres that existed at the time he lived. He even composed works for drama theaters. L. Beethoven is a composer whose works are performed by all musicians in the world. The instrumental works of L. Beethoven are considered the most significant.
The composer was born in 1770. He was the son of a court chapel singer. The father wanted to raise his son as a second W. Mozart and taught him to play several musical instruments. At the age of 8, Ludwig first appeared on stage. Contrary to his father's expectations, L. Beethoven did not become a miracle boy like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. When the future great composer was 10 years old, his father stopped teaching him on his own, and the boy got a real teacher - composer and organist - K. G. Nefe. The teacher immediately recognized talent in L. Beethoven. He taught the young man a lot, introduced him to the work of the great composers of that time. L. Beethoven performed for W. A. Mozart, and he highly appreciated his talent, expressing confidence that Ludwig had a great future ahead of him, and he would make the world talk about himself. At the age of 34, the composer became deaf, but continued to write music because he had excellent inner hearing. L. Beethoven had students. One of them is the famous composer Carl Czerny. L. Beethoven died at the age of 57 years.
Kurt Weill
Many German composers of the 20th century are considered classics. For example, Kurt Weill. He was born in 1900 in Germany. His most famous work is The Threepenny Opera. K. Weil was the son of a cantor in the synagogue. The composer received his education in Leipzig. He introduced elements of jazz into many of his works. Kurt Weill collaborated with playwright B. Brecht and wrote music for a large number productions of his plays. The composer also composed 10 musicals. Kurt Weill died in 1950 in the USA.