Alexander von Zemlinsky
Encyclopedia
Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky (October 14, 1871, Vienna
– March 15, 1942, Larchmont, New York
) was an Austrian composer
, conductor
, and teacher.
to a highly multicultural family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton Semlinski, immigrated from Žilina
, Hungary
(now in Slovakia
) to Austria
and married an Austrian woman. Both were from staunchly Roman Catholic
families, and Alexander's father, Adolf, was raised as a Catholic. Alexander's mother was born in Sarajevo
to a Sephardic Jewish father and a Bosnian
Muslim
mother. Alexander's entire family converted to the religion of his grandfather, Judaism, and Zemlinsky was born and raised Jewish. His father added an aristocratic "von" to his name, though neither he nor his forebears were ennobled. He also began spelling his surname with a "Z."
Alexander studied the piano
from a young age. He played the organ
in his synagogue
on holidays, and was admitted to the Vienna Conservatory in 1884. He studied piano with Anton Door, winning the school's piano prize in 1890. He continued his studies until 1892, studying theory
with Robert Fuchs
and composition with Johann Nepomuk Fuchs
and Anton Bruckner
. At this time he began writing music.
Zemlinsky had a valuable supporter in Johannes Brahms
. In 1893, On the invitation of Zemlinsky's teacher Johann Nepomuk Fuchs, Brahms attended a performance of Zemlinsky's Symphony in D minor. Soon after that, Brahms attended a performance of one of Zemlinky's quartets by the Hellmesberger Quartet
. Brahms, impressed with Zemlinsky's music, recommended the younger composer's Clarinet Trio (1896) to the Simrock
company for publication.
Zemlinsky also met Arnold Schoenberg
when the latter joined Polyhymnia, an orchestra
in which he played cello
and helped found in 1895. The two became close friends and later mutual admirers and brothers-in-law when Schoenberg married his sister Mathilde. Zemlinsky gave Schoenberg lessons in counterpoint
, thus becoming the only formal music teacher Schoenberg would have.
In 1897 Zemlinsky's Symphony No. 2 (chronologically the third he had written, and sometimes numbered as such) was a success when premiered in Vienna. His reputation as a composer was further helped when Gustav Mahler
conducted the premiere of his opera
Es war einmal... (Once Upon a Time) at the Hofoper
in 1900. In 1899 Zemlinsky secured the post of Kapellmeister
at Vienna's Carltheater.
, from 1907/1908 at the Hofoper in Vienna. From 1911 to 1927, he was conductor at Deutsches Landestheater
in Prague
, premiering Schoenberg's Erwartung
in 1924. Zemlinsky then moved to Berlin
, where he taught and worked under Otto Klemperer
as a conductor at the Kroll Opera. With the rise of the Nazi Party, he fled to Vienna in 1933, where he held no official post, instead concentrating on composing and making the occasional appearance as guest conductor. In 1938 he moved to the United States
and settled in New York City
. While fellow émigré Schoenberg was celebrated and feted in the Los Angeles of the 1930s and 40s – teaching at UCLA
and USC
and gaining a new generation of acolytes – Zemlinsky was neglected and virtually unknown in his adopted country. He fell ill, suffering a series of stroke
s, and ceased composing. Zemlinsky died in Larchmont, New York
of pneumonia
.
(1923), a seven-movement piece for soprano
, baritone
and orchestra, set to poems by the Bengal
i poet Rabindranath Tagore
(in German translation), which Zemlinsky compared in a letter to his publisher to Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde
(though the first part of Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder
is also a clear influence). The work in turn influenced Alban Berg
's Lyric Suite, which quotes from it and is dedicated to Zemlinsky.
Other orchestral works include the large-scale symphonic poem
Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid). This work, premiered in 1905 in the same concert as Schoenberg's
Pelleas und Melisande
, was considered 'lost' until 1984, since when it has become one of Zemlinsky's most frequently performed scores. A three-movement Sinfonietta written in 1934, admired by Schoenberg and Berg, is written in a style comparable to contemporary works by Paul Hindemith
and Kurt Weill
.
Other works include eight operas (including Eine florentinische Tragödie
(1915–16) and the semi-autobiographical Der Zwerg
(The Dwarf, 1919–21), both after Oscar Wilde
); chamber music (including four string quartets) and the ballet
Der Triumph der Zeit (1901). He also composed three psalm settings for chorus and orchestra and numerous song cycles, both with piano and with orchestra, of which the Sechs Gesänge, Op. 13, to texts by Maurice Maeterlinck
is the best-known.
While the influence of Brahms is evoked in Zemlinsky's early works (prompting encouragement from Brahms himself), an original voice is present from the first works on, handling dissonances in a much freer manner than Brahms. Later works adopt the kind of extended harmonies
that Wagner
had introduced whilst also drawing influence from Mahler. In contrast to his friend Schoenberg, he never wrote atonal
music, and never used the twelve-tone technique
. However, late works such as the Symphonische Gesänge, Sinfonietta and third and fourth string quartets move away from post-Romanticism
towards a leaner, harder-edged idiom that incorporates elements of Neue Sachlichkeit, Neoclassicism
and even jazz
.
As a conductor, Zemlinsky was admired by, among others, Kurt Weill
and Stravinsky
, not only for his notable interpretations of Mozart
, but also for his advocacy of Mahler
, Schoenberg
and much other contemporary music. As a teacher, his pupils included Erich Wolfgang Korngold
, Hans Krása
and Karl Weigl
.
Principal publishers: Universal Edition, Ricordi Munich, Simrock/Boosey & Hawkes
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
– March 15, 1942, Larchmont, New York
Larchmont, New York
Larchmont is a village in Westchester County, New York. The population was 5,864 at the 2010 census. It is located within the town of Mamaroneck, on the shore of Long Island Sound, northeast of Midtown Manhattan...
) was an Austrian composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, and teacher.
Early life
Zemlinsky was born in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
to a highly multicultural family. Zemlinsky's grandfather, Anton Semlinski, immigrated from Žilina
Žilina
Žilina is a city in north-western Slovakia, around from the capital Bratislava, close to both the Czech and Polish borders. It is the fourth largest city of Slovakia with a population of approximately 85,000, an important industrial center, the largest city on the Váh river, and the seat of a...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
(now in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
) to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and married an Austrian woman. Both were from staunchly Roman Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
families, and Alexander's father, Adolf, was raised as a Catholic. Alexander's mother was born in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
to a Sephardic Jewish father and a Bosnian
Bosniaks
The Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller minority also present in other lands of the Balkan Peninsula especially in Serbia, Montenegro and Croatia...
Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
mother. Alexander's entire family converted to the religion of his grandfather, Judaism, and Zemlinsky was born and raised Jewish. His father added an aristocratic "von" to his name, though neither he nor his forebears were ennobled. He also began spelling his surname with a "Z."
Alexander studied the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
from a young age. He played the organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
in his synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
on holidays, and was admitted to the Vienna Conservatory in 1884. He studied piano with Anton Door, winning the school's piano prize in 1890. He continued his studies until 1892, studying theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
with Robert Fuchs
Robert Fuchs
Robert Fuchs was an Austrian composer and music teacher.As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in his lifetime....
and composition with Johann Nepomuk Fuchs
Johann Nepomuk Fuchs
Johann Nepomuk Fuchs was an Austrian composer and conductor, and the brother of Robert Fuchs.Fuchs was born at Frauental, Styria. He worked as a conductor in Bratislava, Brno, Cologne, Hamburg, and Leipzig, before he became Kapellmeister of the Wiener Hofoper in 1880 and Vice Kapellmeister in 1894...
and Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
. At this time he began writing music.
Zemlinsky had a valuable supporter in Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
. In 1893, On the invitation of Zemlinsky's teacher Johann Nepomuk Fuchs, Brahms attended a performance of Zemlinsky's Symphony in D minor. Soon after that, Brahms attended a performance of one of Zemlinky's quartets by the Hellmesberger Quartet
Hellmesberger Quartet
The Hellmesberger Quartet was a String Quartet formed in Vienna in 1849. It was founded by Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr. and was the first permanent named String Quartet.-Composition:...
. Brahms, impressed with Zemlinsky's music, recommended the younger composer's Clarinet Trio (1896) to the Simrock
Simrock
The Simrock family included:* Nikolaus Simrock, , who founded in 1793 the music publishing firm Musikverlag N...
company for publication.
Zemlinsky also met Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
when the latter joined Polyhymnia, an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
in which he played cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and helped found in 1895. The two became close friends and later mutual admirers and brothers-in-law when Schoenberg married his sister Mathilde. Zemlinsky gave Schoenberg lessons in counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
, thus becoming the only formal music teacher Schoenberg would have.
In 1897 Zemlinsky's Symphony No. 2 (chronologically the third he had written, and sometimes numbered as such) was a success when premiered in Vienna. His reputation as a composer was further helped when Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
conducted the premiere of his opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Es war einmal... (Once Upon a Time) at the Hofoper
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
in 1900. In 1899 Zemlinsky secured the post of Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
at Vienna's Carltheater.
Middle years
In 1900, Zemlinsky met and fell in love with Alma Schindler, one of his composition students. She reciprocated his feelings initially; however, Alma felt a great deal of pressure from close friends and family to end the relationship. They were primarily concerned with Zemlinsky's lack of an international reputation and by an unappealing physical appearance. She broke off the relationship with Zemlinsky and subsequently married composer Gustav Mahler in 1902. Zemlinsky married Ida Guttmann in 1907, but the marriage was an unhappy one. Following Ida's death in 1929, Zemlinsky married Luise Sachsel in 1930, a woman twenty-nine years his junior, and to whom he had given singing lessons since 1914. This was a much happier relationship, lasting until Zemlinsky's death.Last years
In 1906 Zemlinsky was appointed first Kapellmeister of the new Vienna VolksoperVienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
, from 1907/1908 at the Hofoper in Vienna. From 1911 to 1927, he was conductor at Deutsches Landestheater
Prague State Opera
The Prague State Opera , is an opera and ballet company in Prague, Czech Republic. The theatre was originally founded in 1888 as the New German Theatre and from 1949 to 1989 it was known as the Smetana Theatre....
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, premiering Schoenberg's Erwartung
Erwartung
Erwartung , Op.17 is a one-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg to a libretto by Marie Pappenheim. Composed in 1909, it was not premiered until June 6, 1924 in Prague conducted by Alexander Zemlinsky with Marie Gutheil-Schoder as the soprano. The work takes the unusual form of a monologue for solo...
in 1924. Zemlinsky then moved to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, where he taught and worked under Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer
Otto Klemperer was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading conductors of the 20th century.-Biography:Otto Klemperer was born in Breslau, Silesia Province, then in Germany...
as a conductor at the Kroll Opera. With the rise of the Nazi Party, he fled to Vienna in 1933, where he held no official post, instead concentrating on composing and making the occasional appearance as guest conductor. In 1938 he moved to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. While fellow émigré Schoenberg was celebrated and feted in the Los Angeles of the 1930s and 40s – teaching at UCLA
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
and USC
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and gaining a new generation of acolytes – Zemlinsky was neglected and virtually unknown in his adopted country. He fell ill, suffering a series of stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s, and ceased composing. Zemlinsky died in Larchmont, New York
Larchmont, New York
Larchmont is a village in Westchester County, New York. The population was 5,864 at the 2010 census. It is located within the town of Mamaroneck, on the shore of Long Island Sound, northeast of Midtown Manhattan...
of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
.
Music
Zemlinsky's best-known work is the Lyric SymphonyLyric Symphony (Zemlinsky)
The Lyric Symphony op.18 was composed by Alexander Zemlinsky between 1922 and 1923 and received its premiere in Prague onJune 4 1924 under the composer's direction. It is Zemlinsky's best-known work....
(1923), a seven-movement piece for soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
, baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
and orchestra, set to poems by the Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
i poet Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
(in German translation), which Zemlinsky compared in a letter to his publisher to Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde
Das Lied von der Erde
Das Lied von der Erde is a large-scale work for two vocal soloists and orchestra by the Austrian composer Gustav Mahler...
(though the first part of Schoenberg's Gurre-Lieder
Gurre-Lieder
Gurre-Lieder is a massive cantata for five vocal soloists, narrator, chorus and large orchestra, composed by Arnold Schoenberg, on poems by the Danish novelist Jens Peter Jacobsen...
is also a clear influence). The work in turn influenced Alban Berg
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg was an Austrian composer. He was a member of the Second Viennese School with Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, and produced compositions that combined Mahlerian Romanticism with a personal adaptation of Schoenberg's twelve-tone technique.-Early life:Berg was born in...
's Lyric Suite, which quotes from it and is dedicated to Zemlinsky.
Other orchestral works include the large-scale symphonic poem
Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid). This work, premiered in 1905 in the same concert as Schoenberg's
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
Pelleas und Melisande
Pelleas und Melisande
Pelleas und Melisande, a Symphonic Poem for orchestra, is composer Arnold Schoenberg's earliest completed orchestral work, and his opus 5. The work was completed in February 1903, when Schoenberg was 28, and was premiered on 25 January 1905 at the Musikverein in Vienna under the composer's...
, was considered 'lost' until 1984, since when it has become one of Zemlinsky's most frequently performed scores. A three-movement Sinfonietta written in 1934, admired by Schoenberg and Berg, is written in a style comparable to contemporary works by Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
and Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
.
Other works include eight operas (including Eine florentinische Tragödie
Eine florentinische Tragödie
Eine florentinische Tragödie , Op. 16 is an opera in one act by Alexander Zemlinsky to a libretto adapted by the composer from a German translation by Max Meyerfeld of a play by Oscar Wilde.-Performance history:...
(1915–16) and the semi-autobiographical Der Zwerg
Der Zwerg
Der Zwerg , Op.17 is an opera in one act by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky to a libretto by Georg Klaren, freely adapted from the short story The Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde.-Composition history:...
(The Dwarf, 1919–21), both after Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
); chamber music (including four string quartets) and the ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
Der Triumph der Zeit (1901). He also composed three psalm settings for chorus and orchestra and numerous song cycles, both with piano and with orchestra, of which the Sechs Gesänge, Op. 13, to texts by Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
is the best-known.
While the influence of Brahms is evoked in Zemlinsky's early works (prompting encouragement from Brahms himself), an original voice is present from the first works on, handling dissonances in a much freer manner than Brahms. Later works adopt the kind of extended harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
that Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
had introduced whilst also drawing influence from Mahler. In contrast to his friend Schoenberg, he never wrote atonal
Atonality
Atonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Atonality in this sense usually describes compositions written from about 1908 to the present day where a hierarchy of pitches focusing on a single, central tone is not used, and the notes of the chromatic scale...
music, and never used the twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique
Twelve-tone technique is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg...
. However, late works such as the Symphonische Gesänge, Sinfonietta and third and fourth string quartets move away from post-Romanticism
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
towards a leaner, harder-edged idiom that incorporates elements of Neue Sachlichkeit, Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
and even jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
.
As a conductor, Zemlinsky was admired by, among others, Kurt Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
and Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, not only for his notable interpretations of Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, but also for his advocacy of Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
, Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
and much other contemporary music. As a teacher, his pupils included Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian film and romantic music composer. While his compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a reevaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest...
, Hans Krása
Hans Krása
Hans Krása was a Czech composer who was killed in the Holocaust at Auschwitz. He helped to organize cultural life in Theresienstadt concentration camp.-Life:...
and Karl Weigl
Karl Weigl
Karl Ignaz Weigl was an Austrian composer. He was born in Vienna, being the son of a bank official who was also a keen amateur musician. Alexander Zemlinsky took him as a private pupil in 1896. Weigl went to school at the Franz-Joseph-Gymnasium and graduated from there in 1899...
.
Operas
| Opus | Title | Genre | Subdivisions | Libretto | Composition | Première date | Place, theatre |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarema | 3 parts | the composer, Adolf von Zemlinszky and Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School... |
1893–95 | 10 October 1897 | Munich Munich Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat... , Hofoper |
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| Es war einmal Es war einmal Es war einmal is a fairy-tale opera in a prologue and three acts by the Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky. Its libretto, an adaptation of M... |
prologue and 3 acts | Maximilian Singer after Holger Drachmann Holger Drachmann Holger Henrik Herholdt Drachmann , was a Danish poet and dramatist. He is an outstanding figure of the Modern Break-Through.... |
1897–99, rev.1912 | 22 January 1900 | Vienna Vienna Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre... , Hofoper Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian... |
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| Der Traumgörge Der Traumgörge Der Traumgörge is an opera in two acts and an epilogue by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky. The libretto was written by Leo Feld.-Performance history:... |
Nachspiel | 2 acts and a postlude | Leo Feld Leo Feld Leo Feld was an Austrian librettist, dramaturge, stage director, and writer. He also worked as a translator for publishing companies, and was notably responsible for translating many of Charles Dickens' English language works for their first German language publications.Born with the name Leo... |
1904–06 | 11 October 1980 | Nuremberg Nuremberg Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664... , Opernhaus |
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| Kleider machen Leute Kleider machen Leute (opera) Kleider machen Leute is a comic opera in a prologue and two acts by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky. The libretto was written by Leo Feld, based on the short novel by Gottfried Keller.... |
musikalische Komödie | prologue and 3 acts | Leo Feld, after Gottfried Keller Gottfried Keller Gottfried Keller , a Swiss writer of German-language literature, was best known for his novel Green Henry .- Life and work :... |
1907–1909, revised in 1910 and 1922 | Vienna, Volksoper Vienna Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June.... |
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| 16 | Eine florentinische Tragödie Eine florentinische Tragödie Eine florentinische Tragödie , Op. 16 is an opera in one act by Alexander Zemlinsky to a libretto adapted by the composer from a German translation by Max Meyerfeld of a play by Oscar Wilde.-Performance history:... |
1 act | Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s... 's A Florentine Tragedy, translated by Max Meyerfeld |
1915–16 | 30 January 1917 | Stuttgart Stuttgart Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million .... , Hoftheater Staatsoper Stuttgart The Staatsoper Stuttgart is a German opera company based in Stuttgart, Germany.-History:The Stuttgart Staatsoper forms part of the Stuttgart State Theatre , which is a a three-branch-theatre complex and represents the largest theatre of its kind in Europe... |
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| 17 | Der Zwerg Der Zwerg Der Zwerg , Op.17 is an opera in one act by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky to a libretto by Georg Klaren, freely adapted from the short story The Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde.-Composition history:... |
1 act | Georg C. Klaren based on Oscar Wilde Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s... 's The Birthday of the Infanta |
1919–21 | 28 May 1922 | Cologne Cologne Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the... , Neues Theater |
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| 21 | Der Kreidekreis | 3 acts | the composer after Klabund Klabund Alfred Henschke , better known by his pseudonym Klabund, was a German writer.-Life:Klabund, born Alfred Henschke in 1890 in Krossen, was the son of an apothecary. At the age of 16 he came down with tuberculosis, which the doctors initially misdiagnosed as pneumonia... |
1930–31 | 14 October 1933 | Zurich Zürich Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich... , Stadttheater Zurich Opera House Opernhaus Zürich is an opera house in the Swiss city of Zurich. It has been the home of the Zurich Opera since 1891.- History :... |
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| 26 | Der König Kandaules Der König Kandaules Der König Kandaules is an opera in three acts by the Austrian composer Alexander von Zemlinsky. Its libretto was adapted by the composer from Franz Blei's German translation of the play Le roi Candaule by French author André Gide.... |
3 acts | the composer after André Gide André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1947. Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism between the two World Wars.Known for his fiction as well as his autobiographical works, Gide... 's Le roi Candaule in the German translation by Franz Blei Franz Blei Franz Blei was an essayist, playwright and translator from Vienna... |
1935–36, orchestration completed by Antony Beaumont Antony Beaumont Antony Beaumont is an English and German musicologist, writer, conductor and violinist. As a conductor, he has specialized in German music from the first half of the 20th century, including works by Zemlinsky, Weill, and Gurlitt... (1992–96) |
6 October 1996 | Hamburg Hamburg -History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808... , State Opera Hamburg State Opera The Hamburg State Opera is one of the leading opera companies in Germany.Opera in Hamburg dates back to 2 January 1678 when the "Opern-Theatrum" was inaugurated with a performance of a biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile... |
Other stage works
- Ein Lichtstrahl (A Ray of Light). Mime drama for piano (scenario by Oskar Geller, 1901, rev. 1902)
- Ein Tanzpoem. A Dance Poem in one act for orchestra (Hugo von HofmannsthalHugo von HofmannsthalHugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal ; , was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist.-Early life:...
(1901–04, final version of the ballet Der Triumph der Zeit) - Incidental music for ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's CymbelineCymbelineCymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
for tenor, reciters and orchestra (1913–15)
Choral works
- Frühlingsglaube for mixed chorus and string orchestra (T: Ludwig UhlandLudwig UhlandJohann Ludwig Uhland , was a German poet, philologist and literary historian.-Biography:He was born in Tübingen, then Duchy of Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest in medieval literature, especially old German and French poetry...
) (1896) - Geheimnis for mixed chorus and string orchestra (1896)
- Minnelied (T: Heinrich HeineHeinrich HeineChristian Johann Heinrich Heine was one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century. He was also a journalist, essayist, and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Robert Schumann...
) for men's choir and chamber ensemble (c.1895) - Hochzeitgesang (T: Jewish liturgyJewish liturgyJewish liturgy refers specifically to following the Torah in all of its rites and ceremonies, whether in the home or in the Synagogue. The main purposes of following the carefully laid out observances is to maintain uniformity, and to avoid improper and unacceptable practices at variance with those...
) for tenor solo, chorus, and organ (1896) - Frühlingsbegräbnis (Text: Paul Heyse). Cantata for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus and orchestra (1896/97, rev. c.1903)
- Aurikelchen (T: Richard DehmelRichard DehmelRichard Fedor Leopold Dehmel was a German poet and writer.- Life :...
) for women's choir (1898) - Psalm 83 for soloists, mixed chorus, and orchestra (1900)
- Psalm 23 for chorus and orchestra, Op. 14 (1910, first performance, Vienna 1910)
- Psalm 13 for chorus and orchestra, Op. 24 (1935)
Voice(s) and orchestra
- Waldgespräch (T: Joseph von Eichendorff) for soprano, two horns, harp and strings (1896)
- Maiblumen blühten überall (T: Richard DehmelRichard DehmelRichard Fedor Leopold Dehmel was a German poet and writer.- Life :...
) for soprano and string sextet (c.1898) - Sechs Gesänge after poems by Maurice MaeterlinckMaurice MaeterlinckMaurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
, Op. 13 (1913, orchestrated 1913/21) - Lyric SymphonyLyric Symphony (Zemlinsky)The Lyric Symphony op.18 was composed by Alexander Zemlinsky between 1922 and 1923 and received its premiere in Prague onJune 4 1924 under the composer's direction. It is Zemlinsky's best-known work....
for soprano, baritone and orchestra, Op. 18 (after poems by Rabindranath TagoreRabindranath TagoreRabindranath Tagore , sobriquet Gurudev, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped his region's literature and music. Author of Gitanjali and its "profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse", he became the first non-European Nobel laureate by earning the 1913 Prize in Literature...
) (1922–23) - Symphonische Gesänge for baritone or alto and orchestra, Op. 20 (T: from Afrika singt. Eine Auslese neuer afro-amerikanischer Lyrik, 1929)
Songs for voice and piano
- Lieder, Op. 2 (1895–96)
- Gesänge, Op. 5 (1896–97)
- Walzer-Gesänge nach toskanischen Liedern von Ferdinand GregoroviusFerdinand GregoroviusFerdinand Gregorovius was a German historian who specialized in the medieval history of Rome. He is best known for Wanderjahre in Italien, his account of the walks he took through Italy in the 1850s, and the monumental Die Geschichte der Stadt Rom im Mittelalter , a classic for Medieval and early...
, Op. 6 (1898) - Irmelin Rose und andere Gesänge, Op. 7 (1898/99)
- Turmwächterlied und andere Gesänge, Op. 8 (1898/99)
- Ehetanzlied und andere Gesänge, Op. 10 (1899–1901)
- Sechs Gesänge after poems by Maurice MaeterlinckMaurice MaeterlinckMaurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
, Op. 13 (1913) - Sechs Lieder, Op. 22 (1934; first performance, Prague 1934)
- Zwölf Lieder, Op. 27 (1937)
- Three Songs (T: Irma Stein-Firner) (1939)
Orchestral works
- Symphony in E minor (1891) - two surviving movements only
- Symphony No. 1 in D minor (1892–93)
- Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major (1897)
- Drei Ballettstücke. Suite from Der Triumph der Zeit (1902)
- Die Seejungfrau (The Little MermaidThe Little Mermaid"The Little Mermaid" is a popular fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...
), fantasy after Hans Christian AndersenHans Christian AndersenHans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...
(1902–03, premiered in Vienna in 1905) - Sinfonietta, Op. 23 (1934, first performance, Prague 1935)
Chamber music
- Three Pieces for cello and piano (1891)
- String Quartet in E minor (c.1893)
- Sonata in A minor for cello and piano (1894)
- Two Movements for string quintet (1894/1896) – surviving movements of the String Quintet in D minor
- Serenade (Suite) for violin and piano (1895)
- Trio for clarinet (or violin), cello and piano in D minor, Op. 3 (1896)
- String Quartet No. 1 in A major, Op. 4 (1896)
- String Quartet No. 2, Op. 15 (1913–15, first performance, Vienna 1918)
- String Quartet No. 3, Op. 19 (1924)
- Two Movements for string quartet (1927) – completed movements of abandoned quartet, originally intended as No.4
- String Quartet No. 4 (Suite), Op. 25 (1936)
- Quartet for clarinet, violin, viola and cello (1938/39) – unfinished, fragments only
- Humoreske (Rondo) for wind quintet (1939)
- Jagdstück (Hunting Piece) for two horns and piano (1939)
Works for piano
- Ländliche Tanze, Op. 1 (1892)
- Vier Balladen (1892–93)
- Albumblatt (Erinnerung aus Wien) (1895)
- Skizze (1896)
- Fantasien über Gedichte von Richard DehmelRichard DehmelRichard Fedor Leopold Dehmel was a German poet and writer.- Life :...
, Op. 9 (1898) - Menuett (from Das gläserne Herz) (1901)
Principal publishers: Universal Edition, Ricordi Munich, Simrock/Boosey & Hawkes