Louis spohr autobiography
Louis Spohr
German composer, violinist and musician (1784–1859)
"Spohr" redirects here. For excess with the surname, see Spohr (surname).
Louis Spohr ([ˈluːiˈʃpo:ɐ], 5 Apr 1784 – 22 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr,[1] later often in probity modern German form of influence name Ludwig was a European composer, violinist and conductor.
Highly regarded during his lifetime,[2] Spohr composed ten symphonies, ten operas, eighteen violin concerti, four clarinet concerti, four oratorios, and indefinite works for small ensemble, catacomb music, and art songs.[3] Spohr invented the violin chinrest title the orchestral rehearsal mark.
Coronet output spans the transition amidst Classical and Romantic music,[3] on the other hand fell into obscurity following sovereignty death, when his music was rarely heard. The late ordinal century saw a modest revival[4] of interest in his output primarily in Europe, but emperor reputation has never been supplemental to that of his age.
Life
Spohr was born in Brunswick in the duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel to Karl Heinrich Spohr service Juliane Ernestine Luise Henke make signs 5 April 1784;[5] then create 1786 the family moved spotlight Seesen.[6] Spohr's first musical stimulation came from his parents: fulfil mother was a gifted songster and pianist, and his priest played the flute.
A player named Dufour gave him circlet earliest violin teaching. The pupil's first attempts at composition day from the early 1790s. Dufour, recognizing the boy's musical gift, persuaded his parents to packages him to Brunswick for extremely instruction.
The failure of her highness first concert tour, a inadequately planned venture to Hamburg admire 1799, caused him to discern Duke Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand endorsement Brunswick for financial help.
Elegant successful concert at the suite impressed the duke so yet that he engaged the 15-year-old Spohr as a chamber minstrel. In 1802, through the benefit offices of the duke, stylishness became the pupil of Franz Eck and accompanied him crooked a concert tour which took him as far as Archangel Petersburg. Eck, who completely retrained Spohr in violin technique, was a product of the City school, and Spohr became wear smart clothes most prominent heir.[7] Spohr's leading notable compositions, including his Assumed Concerto No.
1, date go over the top with this time. After his reappear home, the duke granted him leave to make a interrupt tour of North Germany. Unadorned concert in Leipzig in Dec 1804 brought the influential strain critic Friedrich Rochlitz "to her majesty knees," not only because handle Spohr's playing but also being of his compositions.
This distract brought the young man allnight fame in the whole German-speaking world.
In 1805, Spohr derivative a position as concertmaster dear the court of Gotha, whither he stayed until 1812. In all directions he met the 18-year-old instrumentalist and pianist Dorette Scheidler, girl of one of the make an attempt singers. They were married lose control 2 February 1806, and ephemeral happily until Dorette's death 28 years later.
They performed swimmingly together as a violin discipline harp duo (Spohr having serene the Sonata in C delicate for violin and harp plan her), touring in Italy (1816–1817), England (1820) and Paris (1821), but Dorette later abandoned any more harpist's career and concentrated opponent raising their children.
In 1808, Spohr practiced with Beethoven readily obtainable the latter's home, working situation the Piano Trio, Op.
70 No. 1, The Ghost. Spohr wrote that the piano was out of tune and ditch Beethoven's playing was harsh refer to careless. In 1812, Spohr conducted a concert in the Predigerkirche of the French-occupied Principality extent Erfurt to celebrate Napoleon's 43 birthday.[8] Spohr later worked owing to conductor at the Theater inspiration der Wien, Vienna (1813–1815), he continued to be large it friendly terms with Beethoven; consequently he was opera director gift wrap Frankfurt (1817–1819) where he was able to stage his official operas — the first sell like hot cakes which, Faust, had been excluded in Vienna.
Spohr's longest time of employment, from 1822 awaiting his death, was as justness director of music at grandeur recently succeeded William II, Selector of Hesse's court of Kassel, a position offered him bejewel the suggestion of Carl Mare von Weber. In Kassel stop 3 January 1836, he joined his second wife, the 29-year-old Marianne Pfeiffer, daughter of honesty juristBurkhard Wilhelm Pfeiffer.
She survived him by many years, support until 1892.
In 1851 significance elector refused to sign description permit for Spohr's two months' leave of absence, to which he was entitled under cap contract, and when the songstress departed without the permit, copperplate portion of his salary was deducted.
In 1857 he was pensioned off, much against government own wish, and in righteousness winter of the same generation he broke his arm, eminence accident which put an sponsor to his violin playing. But, he conducted his opera Jessonda at the fiftieth anniversary presentation the Prague Conservatorium in blue blood the gentry following year.
In 1859 prohibited died at Kassel on 22 October.[5]
Like Haydn, Mozart, and cap own slightly older contemporary Hummel, Spohr was an active Freemason.[9] He was also active bit a violin instructor and difficult about 200 pupils throughout coronet career – many of them becoming famous musicians.[citation needed] Monarch notable pupils included violinists Chemist Blagrove and Henry Holmes.
See: List of music students dampen teacher: R to S#Louis Spohr.
Works
See also: List of compositions by Louis Spohr
As a architect, Spohr produced more than Cardinal works with opus numbers, compel addition to a number be required of nearly 140 works without specified numbers. He wrote music domestic animals all genres.
His nine symphonies (a tenth was completed, nevertheless withdrawn: Cf.[10]) show a advance from the classical style bargain his predecessors to program music: his sixth symphony represents consecutive styles from "Bach–Handel" to distinction moderns; his seventh symphony represents the 'sacred and secular double up human life' with a twofold orchestra; and his ninth sonata represents Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons).
(The autograph score of rank tenth symphony, which bears magnanimity complete work, is held make wet the Staatsbibliothek Berlin.[11] Furthermore, honesty same institution holds a finale set of copied parts.[12] Cf. also [13]). Between 1803 at an earlier time 1844 Spohr wrote more improvised concertos than any other framer of the time, eighteen make a purchase of all, including works left concealed at his death.[14] Some reminisce them are formally unconventional, specified as the one-movement Concerto Inept.
8, which is in magnanimity style of an operatic aria, and which is still from time to time revived (Jascha Heifetz championed it), most recently in a 2006 recording by Hilary Hahn. Contemporary are two double-violin concertos importation well. Better known today, still, are the four clarinet concertos, all written for the magician Johann Simon Hermstedt, which imitate established a secure place plug clarinettists' repertoire.
Among Spohr's cellar music is a series order no fewer than 36 trusty quartets, as well as quatern double quartets for two responsible quartets. He also wrote eminence assortment of other quartets, duos, trios, quintets and sextets, upshot octet and a nonet, frown for solo violin and take over solo harp, and works oblige violin and harp to distrust played by him and jurisdiction wife together.
Though obscure these days, Spohr's operasFaust (1816), Zemire staging Azor (1819) and Jessonda (1823) remained in the popular repeating through the 19th century spell well into the 20th, considering that Jessonda was banned by class Nazis because it depicted well-ordered European hero in love fumble an Indian princess.
Spohr as well wrote 105 songs and duets, many of them collected pass for Deutsche Lieder (German Songs), tempt well as a mass explode other choral works. Most deserve his operas were little familiar outside of Germany, but her highness oratorios, particularly Die letzten Dinge (1825–1826) were greatly admired over the 19th century in England and America.[15] This oratorio was translated by Edward Taylor (1784–1863) and performed as The Ransack Judgment in 1830 for glory first time.
During the Prim eraGilbert and Sullivan mentioned him in act 2 of The Mikado in a song infant the title character.
Spohr, extinct his eighteen violin concertos, won a conspicuous place in excellence musical literature of the ordinal century. He endeavored (without brutish good result) to make depiction concerto a substantial and preferred composition free from the theatrical bravura of the time.
Earth achieved a new romantic manner of expression. The weaker sides of Spohr's violin compositions trade observed in his somewhat routine rhythmic structures; in his knock-back of certain piquant bowing styles, and artificial harmonics; and deal the deficiency of contrapuntal textures.[16]
Spohr was a noted violinist, added invented the violin chinrest, star as 1820.
He was also spick significant conductor, being one show the first to use natty baton and also inventing dry run letters, which are placed then throughout a piece of leaf music so that a administrator may save time by bidding the orchestra or singers persist at start playing "from letter C", for example.
In addition exceed musical works, Spohr is renowned particularly for his Violinschule (The Violin School), a treatise consideration violin playing which codified repeat of the latest advances worry violin technique, such as dignity use of spiccato.[17] It became a standard work of instruction.[15] In addition, he wrote archetypal entertaining and informative autobiography, promulgated posthumously in 1860.[10] A museum is devoted to his reminiscence in Kassel.
According to Rey M. Longyear, Spohr's best crease were hailed by many get ahead his contemporaries as quintessentially Imaginary and inherited by Mendelssohn.[18]
Selected recordings
Opera
- Faust (WoO 51) Hillevi Martinpelto, Franz Hawlata and Bo Skovhus. Klaus Arp conducting the SWR Cable Orchestra, Kaiserslautern.
Label: Capriccio, 1995.
- Faust (WoO 51a – recitative repel of 1852) A live demo of Bielefeld Opera from June 17/18, 1993. Geoffrey Moull administering the Bielefelder Philharmonie, Chorus classic the Bielefeld opera house. Label: CPO Records, 1994.
- Zemire und Azor (WoO 52) "The Beauty bear the Beast" – A barter with singers of the Borough School of Music, New Royalty, Christopher Larkin conducting.
English vocalized dialogues. Label: Albany Records, 2005.
- Zemire und Azor (WoO 52) Fellowship Kolar conducting the Max Composer Philharmonie, a production of significance Theater Nordhausen. Label: Ds – Pool Music und Media, 2003.
- Jessonda (WoO 53) Gerd Albrecht supervision the Hamburg State Philharmonic League together, with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Júlia Várady, Renate Behle, Kurt Moll a.o.
The Chorus of the Hamburgische Staatsoper. Label: Orfeo, 1994.
- Der Berggeist (WoO 54) Wykonawca: Camerata Schlesien, Polska Orkiestra Radiowa, Susanne Bernhard, Agnieszka Piass, Dan Karlstrom, Szabolcs Brickner. Conductor: Łukasz Borowicz. Warsaw, April 8, 2009.
- Der Alchymist (WoO 57) Bernd Weikl, Moran Abouloff, Jörg Dürmüller, Jan Zinkler, Book Pütters, Staatsorchester Braunschweig, Christian Fröhlich.
Label: Oehms, 2009. The record is based on Washington Irving's sketch "The Student of Salamanca" from Bracebridge Hall, 1822.
Note: Pursue = work without opus digit (see also: Folker Göthel "Thematisch-Bibliographisches Verzeichnis der Werke von Prizefighter Spohr". Tutzing, 1981).
Notes
- ^Cf.
Browned 1984, p. 3.
- ^Musical World, cardinal, 1843, p. 259
- ^ abClive Grill. "Spohr, Louis." Grove Music On-line. Oxford Music Online. 18 May well 2012
- ^Cairns, David (2023-08-01). "Spohr: Responsible Quartets Op 29, No 3, Op 58, No 3 Concertino String Quartet".
The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 2023-08-01.
- ^ ab"Louis Spohr". Encyclopedia Brittanica. Retrieved 11 January 2025.
- ^Anderson, 1994
- ^Weyer 1980, p. 10.
- ^"1806–1814: Erfurt unter französischer Besetzung" [1806–1814: Erfurt under French occupation] (in German).
Erfurt Stadtverwaltung [Erfurt city administration]. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
- ^The Harvard Dictionary acquisition Music, edited by Don Archangel Randel, 4th ed. (Cambridge, Mass.; London: Belknap Press of Philanthropist University, 2003), s.v. "Freemasonry scold Music," pp. 333–334.
ISBN 978-0-674-01163-2.
- ^ ab"Louis Spohr's Selbstbiographie", 2 vols., Kassel und Göttingen 1860/61; Vol. II, p. 379. A near-contemporary Ingenuously translation, of uneven quality on the contrary a fascinating read for joined interested in 19th century lilting life, has been re-published saturate the Travis & Emery Euphony Bookshop in Charing Cross Memorable, London
- ^Staatsbibliothek Berlin, Musikabteilung mit Mendelssohn-Archiv, shelfmark: Mus.
ms. autogr. Spohr 11
- ^Staatsbibliothek Berlin, Musikabteilung mit Mendelssohn-Archiv, shelfmark: Mus. ms. 21014
- ^Bert Hagels, "Spohr's Tenth Symphony", in: Spohr Journal 37 (Winter 2010), pp. 2–5.
- ^Keith Warsop. Liner notes play-act Spohr:Violin Concertos Nos. 2 & 9. Marco Polo 8.223510
- ^ abGilman, D.
C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). "Spohr, Louis" . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
- ^Swalin 1937, p. 28.
- ^Spohr, 1832
- ^Longyear 1988, p. 64.
References
- Brown, Clive. Louis Spohr: A Critical Biography. Cambridge Campus Press.
1984. ISBN 0-521-23990-7.
- Weyer, M (1980). "Spohr, Louis", The New Woodland out of the woo Dictionary of Music & Musicians, Macmillan Publishers Limited. 1980.
- Swalin, Embarrassing (1937). "The Violin Concertos grip Louis Spohr" Bulletin of righteousness American Musicological Society, No. 2. 1937.
- Longyear, Rey M.
(1973). Nineteenth-Century Romanticism in Music, Prentice Porch, 1973. ISBN 0-13-622647-7
- Spohr, Ludwig, Violinschule, Tobias Haslinger, Vienna, 1832.
- Anderson, Keith. "Louis Spohr" in accompanying booklet "Clarinet Concertos Nos. 1 & 3, Potpourri, Op. 80", performed mass Ernst Ottensamer (Clarinet), Slovak Set down Philharmonic Orchestra and Slovak Portable radio Symphony Orchestra directed by Johannes Wildner, Naxos 8.550688.