Alfred Lorenz
Encyclopedia
Alfred Lorenz was an Austrian-German conductor
, composer
, and musical analyst
. His principal work is the four-volume Das Geheimnis der Form bei Richard Wagner, which attempts to comprehensively analyze some of Richard Wagner's
best-known operas
. Reception of Lorenz's work has been complicated by his association with Nazism
.
, a historian who studied genealogy
. His father's interest in genealogy may have influenced Alfred Lorenz's later interest in race and his eventual involvement with Nazi ideology. In 1885, Lorenz moved to Jena
, where he began his legal studies in 1886. Lorenz ended his legal studies in 1889, and began studying music with Robert Radecke and Philipp Spitta
in Berlin. Lorenz's career as a conductor and composer lasted until 1920, when he was forced to retire by the Social Democrats
. Lorenz then moved to Munich, where he spent the rest of his life as an academic. Lorenz joined the Nazi party in 1931, and remained an active party member until his death in 1939.
, Tristan und Isolde
, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
, and Parsifal
. To analyze these large, dramatic works, Lorenz develops a set of forms, and then proceeds to show in specific detail how Wagner's operas can be divided into these forms. One of Lorenz's forms is the Bar form
AAB, which has a historical legacy dating back to medieval poetry. Another of Lorenz's forms is the Bogen form, which in its simple form is ABA.
Lorenz is considered to be the first analyst to attain a substantial understanding of Wagnerian form. His formal ideas regarding Wagner's operas were enormously influential; McClatchie suggests that by 1952, Lorenz's formal conception of Wagner's operas was almost "universally accepted." At the same time, Lorenz has remained a problematic figure for later scholars, likely due to his support of Nazi ideology.
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...
, 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...
, and musical analyst
Musical analysis
Musical analysis is the attempt to answer the question how does this music work?. The method employed to answer this question, and indeed exactly what is meant by the question, differs from analyst to analyst, and according to the purpose of the analysis. According to Ian Bent , analysis is "an...
. His principal work is the four-volume Das Geheimnis der Form bei Richard Wagner, which attempts to comprehensively analyze some of Richard Wagner's
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
best-known operas
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...
. Reception of Lorenz's work has been complicated by his association with Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
.
Life
Lorenz was born in Vienna in 1868. Lorenz's father was Ottokar LorenzOttokar Lorenz
Ottokar Lorenz was an Austrian-German historian and genealogist who was a native of Iglau ....
, a historian who studied genealogy
Genealogy
Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Genealogists use oral traditions, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kinship and pedigrees of its members...
. His father's interest in genealogy may have influenced Alfred Lorenz's later interest in race and his eventual involvement with Nazi ideology. In 1885, Lorenz moved to Jena
Jena
Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...
, where he began his legal studies in 1886. Lorenz ended his legal studies in 1889, and began studying music with Robert Radecke and Philipp Spitta
Philipp Spitta
Julius August Philipp Spitta was a German music historian and musicologist best known for his 1873 biography of Johann Sebastian Bach.-Biography:...
in Berlin. Lorenz's career as a conductor and composer lasted until 1920, when he was forced to retire by the Social Democrats
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
. Lorenz then moved to Munich, where he spent the rest of his life as an academic. Lorenz joined the Nazi party in 1931, and remained an active party member until his death in 1939.
Das Geheimnis der Form bei Richard Wagner, 1924-1933
Das Geheimnis der Form bei Richard Wagner consists of four volumes, each of which analyzes one of Wagner's operas. The four operas covered by Lorenz are Der Ring des NibelungenDer Ring des Nibelungen
Der Ring des Nibelungen is a cycle of four epic operas by the German composer Richard Wagner . The works are based loosely on characters from the Norse sagas and the Nibelungenlied...
, Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
, and Parsifal
Parsifal
Parsifal is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the 13th century epic poem of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail, and on Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval, the Story of the Grail.Wagner first conceived the work...
. To analyze these large, dramatic works, Lorenz develops a set of forms, and then proceeds to show in specific detail how Wagner's operas can be divided into these forms. One of Lorenz's forms is the Bar form
Bar form
Bar form is a musical form of the pattern AAB.-Original Use:The term comes from the rigorous terminology of the Meistersinger guilds of the 15th to 18th century who used it to describe their songs and the songs of the predecessors, the minnesingers of the 12th to 14th century...
AAB, which has a historical legacy dating back to medieval poetry. Another of Lorenz's forms is the Bogen form, which in its simple form is ABA.
Lorenz is considered to be the first analyst to attain a substantial understanding of Wagnerian form. His formal ideas regarding Wagner's operas were enormously influential; McClatchie suggests that by 1952, Lorenz's formal conception of Wagner's operas was almost "universally accepted." At the same time, Lorenz has remained a problematic figure for later scholars, likely due to his support of Nazi ideology.
Writings
- Das Geheimnis der Form bei Richard Wagner
- Der musikalische Aufbau des Bühnenfestspieles "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (Berlin, 1924)
- Der musikalische Aufbau von Richard Wagners "Tristan und Isolde" (Berlin, 1926)
- Der musikalische Aufbau von Richard Wagners "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" (Berlin, 1931)
- Der musikalische Aufbau von Richard Wagners "Parsifal" (Berlin, 1933)