Allgemeine Deutsche Musikverein
Encyclopedia
The Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein (ADMV) (General German Music Association) was a German musical association founded in 1861
by Franz Liszt
and Franz Brendel
, to embody the musical ideals of the New German School
of music.
At the Tonkünstler-Versammlung (Musicians Assembly) of 1859 in Leipzig
, the organisers, Liszt and Brendel, wanted to open the path for the foundation of a "Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein" (General German Music Association), to embody what they thought of as the core principles of the New German School
(q.v.) of music. The proposal was introduced by Louis Köhler
on the afternoon of June 3, 1861. It was supported in speeches by prominent persons, among them Liszt, and then accepted. On 7 August 1861, at the next Tonkünstler-Versammlung, for this time in Weimar
, the foundation of the ADMV took place. The association started with 202 members, 37 of them from abroad.
, where, from August 22 until September 19, in Löwenberg
he was guest of the Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. In a letter to Brendel of September 16, 1861, he wrote:
The letter shows that, according to Liszt's wishes, the endeavors of the "New German School" and those of the ADMV were to be very close, not to say identical. For the purpose of reaching this aim, the steering committee of the ADMV should consist solely of persons with his confidence.
The main initiatives which led to the foundation of the ADMV had nearly all been Liszt's. In 1835 he had published in the Paris
ian Gazette musicale an article series De la situation des artistes ("On the situation of artists"). In his first articles, he had taken a critical look at contemporary Parisian musical life which he found wanting in all aspects. In his last article he had made suggestions for a reorganisation of musical life.
In October 1842 Liszt had been nominated in Weimar as "Kapellmeister
in außerordentlichen Diensten" ("Conductor in extraordinary services"). At that time he was travelling virtuoso, touring with concerts through Europe. In the beginning of 1848 he had settled in Weimar. Since 1849 he had tried to install a "Goethe
-Stiftung" ("Goethe Foundation") for the purpose of supporting the arts as suggested in his article series of 1835. During the 1850s it became clear that the project could not be realized. The foundation of the ADMV was Liszt's next attempt, and this attempt was a success.
In their version of 1861, the statutes of the ADMV were formulated by Liszt together with Brendel. They resembled those of the projected "Goethe-Stiftung". In the early 20th century, there were attempts to rename the ADMV as "Liszt Verein" or "Neudeutscher Musikverein" ("New German Music Association").
Until the end of his life, Liszt was the intellectual rector of the ADMV, but did not want to be its president. The first president was Franz Brendel
, until his death in 1868. Brendel's successors were Carl Riedel
, until 1888, Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff
, until 1898, Fritz Steinbach, until 1901, Richard Strauss
, until 1909, Max von Schillings
, until 1919, Friedrich Rösch, until 1925, Siegmund von Hausegger
until 1935, and Peter Raabe
. In 1937, the ADMV was closed on order of the German National Socialist
regime.
, August Göllerich, Felix Draeseke
, Max Reger
, Hans Pfitzner
and others.
After Liszt's death on July 31, 1886, Marie Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, daughter of Princess Wittgenstein, founded in 1887 a "Franz Liszt Stiftung" (Franz Liszt Foundation). The funds were destined for editing a complete edition of Liszt's musical works, as well as for stipends. Amongst artists supported by the "Franz Liszt Stiftung" were Robert Franz and Claudio Arrau
. In 1903 and 1904, when Richard Strauss
was president of the ADMV, Arnold Schoenberg
was supported with an annual sum of 1,000 Marks, the maximum grant of the foundation.
Further foundations were a "Mansouroff-Stiftung", founded 1889, a "Hermann-Stiftung", founded 1893, and a "Richard-Wagner-Stiftung", founded 1915 and dedicated to supporting performances of music dramatic works. In 1937, when the ADMV was closed, the foundations still existed, although there had been losses of considerable amounts due to World War I and subsequent economic crisis. Traces of the foundations can be found until 1943, but are lost thereafter.
. Afterwards, until 1933, members of the ADMV received "Mitteilungen" (Communications).
The ADMV had a literary and a musical department; the former decided about lectures to be given at the Tonkünstler-Versammlungen, the latter selected musical works to be performed. Until his death in 1886, Liszt was the head of the musical department. Other prominent members over the years were Hans von Bülow
, Carl Friedrich von Weitzmann, Louis Köhler, Carl Riedel, Bronsart von Schellendorff, Felix Draeseke, Eduard Lassen, Eugen d'Albert
, Richard Strauss, Engelbert Humperdinck
, Felix Weingartner
, Max von Schillings, Siegmund von Hausegger, Hans Pfitzner
, Alexander von Zemlinsky
, Peter Raabe, Jean Louis Nicodé, Emil von Reznicek
, Heinz Tiessen, Joseph Haas, Paul Hindemith
, Alban Berg
, Ernst Toch
and others.
The musical department also decided at which places the Tonkünstler-Versammlungen should be arranged. After the Tonkünstler-Versammlung of 1861 in Weimar, there was a break of three years. In 1864 a Tonkünstler-Versammlung in Karlsruhe
took place. After that, with exception of the years 1866, 1875 and 1915–18 (World War I), annual Tonkünstler-Versammlungen were arranged. In several cases, 1903, 1910 and 1932, places in Switzerland, Basel
, Zürich
, and once again Zürich, were chosen. The Tonkünstler-Versammlung of 1905 took place in Graz
.
with 30 performances of 24 works. Many of his works were new discoveries after they had for the first time been published in the complete edition of the "Bach-Gesellschaft" (Bach-Society). After Liszt the most frequently performed contemporary composer was Brahms
with 25 performances of 16 works. Of Berlioz
, 14 works were performed in 23 performances, and of Wagner
12 works in 22 performances. In places 6 to 12 were Raff, Cornelius, Lassen, Schumann, Draeseke, Beethoven and Bülow.
The strong position of Brahms in the concert programs of the ADMV may at first sight be surprising, as he had been often characterized by reference to the "Manifesto" he wrote with Joachim
against the New German School. But an artist's career can hardly be reduced to a single event. Even in 1864, in connection with the Tonkünstler-Versammlung in Karlsruhe
, it was Liszt who suggested a performance of Joachim's Violin Concerto in Hungarian style
. After a dispute with Bülow, who vehemently voted against, Liszt's suggestion was accepted. After 1869, Brendel having died the previous year, works by Brahms were regularly performed; and 1887, after Liszt's death, Brahms became himself a member of the ADMV. Shortly afterwards he was elected as member of the steering committee.
During 1861–1886, among the works on Liszt's suggestions were:
Frequently Liszt also suggested works by Russian composers such as César Cui
, Alexander Borodin
, Alexander Glazunov
, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
, all of them members of the ADMV. In 1876, 1880 and 1883, the Symphony in E-flat major of Borodin was played. However, not all of Liszt's suggestions regarding Russian composers found acceptance. For example, in 1885 it was Liszt's suggestion to perform the Symphony in C major by Mily Balakirev
, dedicated to him himself. Instead, Balakirev's Overture King Lear and some of his piano pieces were played.
Due to the close connection between Liszt himself, the "New German School" and the ADMV, the above listed works can be taken as examples of music of the "New German School". Estimating their artistic value, or even getting knowledge of them, is however a difficult task. Nearly all of the works have disappeared from the regularly played concert repertoire, and the scores can only be accessed in archives. The music of the "New German School" up to 1886, including most of Liszt's works, was neglected or ignored even by scholarly research for a long period, with the exception of that of Wagner. Only relatively late in the 20th century did interest revive.
The development of the ADMV after Liszt's death is linked with the career of Richard Strauss
. He was a member from 1887. In the same year, at the Tonkünstler-Versammlung in Cologne
, his Piano Quartet, Op. 13, for was performed. During 1890–98 Strauss was member of the "musikalische Sektion". As such he supported Gustav Mahler
, whose Symphony no. 1
was 1894 performed at the Tonkünstler-Versammlung in Frankfurt am Main.
In 1898 a new president was to be elected, since Bronsart von Schellendorff
wanted to resign. Strauss, at that time regarded as avant-garde composer, and a successful one, was an ideal candidate. However, there were severe divergences between him and the rest of the leading committee concerning his activities in favour of a change of the legal rights of composers of instrumental music, regarding royalties from performances of their works. For these reasons, after Fritz Steinbach had been elected as new president, Strauss was on September 24, 1898, excluded from the steering committee. He founded own organisations, but 1901 returned to the ADMV. In a so-called "revolution of Heidelberg
" the old steering committee was removed, and Strauss was elected as president. The subsequent presidents Max von Schillings
and Friedrich Rösch were close friends of Strauss, who in 1909 was nominated as Honorary President. Until World War I he dominated the ADMV as has Liszt in former times.
During the last years of Bronsart's time as president discontent arose over the repertoire of the concerts at the Tonkünstler-Versammlungen. In 1896, in Leipzig
, for example, works by Alessandro Scarlatti
, Pietro Antonio Locatelli
, Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel
and Friedrich II
of Prussia as well as works by Brahms, Berlioz, Liszt and Wagner were performed. The works of historical styles met an increasing interest of that time in music of the Baroque
or even earlier periods of music history. Performing these works was in congruence with the statutes of the ADMV. Brahms, Berlioz, Liszt and Wagner, however, were more and more regarded as classics. While their works were still performed, works of the present generation of young composers, with exception of Strauss, were missing. The ADMV hence was accused of confusing an esprit de corps, as installed by Liszt, with interests of a diocese or the conceit of a regiment.
Strauss, who did not share the interest in music of historical times, changed the statutes of the ADMV. Its central aim was now cultivating and supporting German musical life in the sense of new developments. The literary department and the paragraphs concerning performances of older works were removed, the Tonkünstler-Versammlungen were renamed as Tonkünstler-Feste (Musicians Festivals), and performances of works of the older "New Germans" were reduced to exceptions. Until World War I, the most frequently performed contemporary composer at the Tonkünstler-Feste was Strauss himself, but there were also works such as Mahler's Symphonies Nos. III and VI, Pfitzner's Overture Das Christ-Elflein, Reger's
String Quartet in D minor op.113, The Swan of Tuonela and Lemminkäinen's Return from the Lemminkäinen Suite
, Op. 22, of Sibelius
, Bartók's
Rhapsody Op. 1 for piano and orchestra, and Kodály's
String Quartet in C minor.
As president of the ADMV, Strauss was responsible for the complete edition of Liszt's musical works, as projected by the "Franz Liszt Stiftung". In this respect, due to legal difficulties, a delay occurred. The edition was to be undertaken by the publishing-house Breitkopf & Härtel
, Leipzig, but the consent of original publishers of Liszt's works was needed. Most of them refused to take part. According to the legal situation of that time, Liszt's works were not free until 30 years after his death, i.e. in 1916. The edition commenced in 1907 with volumes containing works, such as the Symphonic Poems, originally published by Breitkopf & Härtel. Until 1936 further volumes appeared. In the following year 1937, when the ADMV was closed, the Liszt edition, although by far incomplete, was stopped.
, the ADMV restarted with a concert program consisting of Karl Prohaska's Oratorio Frühlingsfeier, Friedrich Klose's Oratorio Der Sonne Geist, Julius Weismann's Lieder auf indische Dichtungen with Trio accompaniment, Siegmund von Hausegger's Aufklänge, Symphonic variations on the nursery-rhyme "Schlaf, Kindchen, schlaf", Georg Schumann
's Variationen über ein Thema von Bach, Op. 59, and his scene David und Absalom, Op. 70, songs with orchestral accompaniment by Paul Stuiber, the String Quartet, Op. 31, by August Reuß, a violin sonata by Julius Kopsch, Richard Strauss' Six Songs, Op. 68, on poems by Clemens Brentano
, a string trio by Erwin Lendvai
, Paul Juon's tone poem Litania for piano, violin and violoncello, and songs by Heinz Tiessen.
The ADMV was attacked by critics from different sides. According to Bruno Schrader, an ultranationalist
of an anti-Semitic inclination, most of the productions as performed at the Tonkünstler-Fest were hyper modern. The songs by Paul Stuiber were caterwauling, and with the songs by Strauss, not fit to be sung as they were, impotence and decadence had reached their height. After World War I had been lost by the "Deutsche Reich", according to Schrader, a cultural retaliatory battle against a French, Belgian and Polish invasion of art had to take place.
Other critics had opposite views. From their perspective, the ADMV was trying to reconstruct the cultural life of the "Deutsche Reich" of Wilhelm II. The "New Germans" thus were regarded as representatives of a misplaced traditionalism. Strauss’s Tone Poems, such as Also sprach Zarathustra
, ten years earlier still regarded as avant-garde music, were now viewed as works of times of yore. His Sinfonia Domestica was old-fashioned and even scraping the borders of program music, which was no longer acceptable. His Elektra
, premiered in 1909 and at that time attacked as ultra progressive, was old hat.
The ADMV elected new presidents, in 1919 Friedrich Rösch, and in 1925 Siegmund von Hausegger
. Until the early 1930s, works of a large scope of different styles, among them works by Arnold Schoenberg
, Anton Webern
, Alban Berg
, Paul Hindemith
, Ernst Krenek
, Heinz Tiessen
and Karol Rathau, were performed. Unavoidably, among the members of the ADMV there were different opinions regarding these works. By some, Hindemith's dance pantomime Der Dämon was taken as evil prank, and Krenek's opera Der Sprung über den Schatten as music of an intellectually overfed brain. Rathau in his Second Symphony had created a dissonant soup. Nevertheless, the ADMV had once again proven itself to be the leading institution of musical progress.
had become Chancellor of the "Deutsche Reich", the ADMV was attacked by the National Socialists. During the Tonkünstler-Fest, now being called Tonkünstler-Versammlung again, of that year in Dortmund
, the "Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda" (Ministry for the Enlightening of the People and Propaganda) of Joseph Goebbels
made known that a reorganization of cultural life had to take place. In November 1933, as part of Goebbels' Ministry, a Reichsmusikkammer
("Imperial Music Chamber"), directed by Richard Strauss
, was installed, responsible for all parts of German musical life. In July 1935 Strauss had to resign due to his collaboration with Jewish artists, especially with Stefan Zweig
, librettist of the opera Die schweigsame Frau. His successor, until his death on April 12, 1945, was Peter Raabe
.
Siegmund von Hausegger
, until then president of the ADMV, suggested his resignation in favour of Raabe, who should be elected instead. The suggestion was accepted, since leading members hoped, with Raabe's uniting both positions the ADMV could maintain independence; but this was an error. In 1936, at the Tonkünstler-Versammlung in Leipzig
, Raabe read out a letter to the general assembly of the ADMV. It was a letter by some National Socialistic members to Paul Graener
, rector of the composers department at the Reichsmusikkammer, with complaints about the steering committee of the ADMV. Suggestions by National Socialistic organisations had not sufficiently been taken into consideration. Besides, publishing-houses, such as Schott
, were supported by the ADMV, although their catalogues were promoting the works of Jewish composers. The ADMV was also accused of being reigned by a "black-red coalition".
After a heated debate with further accusations against Joseph Haas, Siegmund von Hausegger, Hermann Abendroth and Richard Strauss, the authors of the letter apologized. The letter, however, together with two further ones in which the liquidation of the ADMV was demanded, had been sent to the Gestapo
. In December 1936, Raabe told the leading committee, Goebbels had said to him that the ADMV should be dissolved. Raabe tried to convince his colleagues that the Reichsmusikkammer was the proper cultural advocate of musicians. He also assured them that future Tonkünstler-Feste would be as marvellous as the Nazi Rallies
in Nuremberg
. As Raabe found no support in decisions of two further general assemblies, in June and November 1937, the ADMV was closed.
In 1937, in Darmstadt
and Frankfurt, a last Tonkünstler-Versammlung with concerts took place. As last pieces, Liszt's
Symphonic Poem Orpheus, his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major
, and the Faust Symphony
were played. The Faust Symphony, in its final version, had for the first time been performed at the Tonkünstler-Versammlung of 1861 in Weimar
, where the foundation of the ADMV had taken place. A circle had closed. With the sounds of the Chorus mysticus "Alles Vergängliche ist nur ein Gleichnis" (Anything perishable is only a symbol) the ADMV dismissed itself from history.
1861 in music
- Events :* Tannhäuser scandal in Paris.*Giuseppe Verdi is elected a deputy in the first parliament of the new Italian nation.-Published popular music:* "Abide With Me", w. Rev Henry Francis Lyte m. William Henry Monk...
by Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
and Franz Brendel
Franz Brendel
Not to be confused with composer Franz Brendel .Karl Franz Brendel was a German music critic, journalist and musicologist....
, to embody the musical ideals of the New German School
New German School
The New German School is a term introduced in 1859 by Franz Brendel, editor of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik to apply to certain trends in German music...
of music.
Background
- For detailed background on events before 1859, see New German SchoolNew German SchoolThe New German School is a term introduced in 1859 by Franz Brendel, editor of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik to apply to certain trends in German music...
.
At the Tonkünstler-Versammlung (Musicians Assembly) of 1859 in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, the organisers, Liszt and Brendel, wanted to open the path for the foundation of a "Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein" (General German Music Association), to embody what they thought of as the core principles of the New German School
New German School
The New German School is a term introduced in 1859 by Franz Brendel, editor of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik to apply to certain trends in German music...
(q.v.) of music. The proposal was introduced by Louis Köhler
Louis Köhler
Christian Louis Heinrich Köhler was a German composer, conductor and piano teacher.Köhler was born in Braunschweig. He studied piano in Vienna under Carl Maria von Bocklet, Simon Sechter and Ignaz von Seyfried. As a conductor, he worked in Marienburg and Elbing...
on the afternoon of June 3, 1861. It was supported in speeches by prominent persons, among them Liszt, and then accepted. On 7 August 1861, at the next Tonkünstler-Versammlung, for this time in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, the foundation of the ADMV took place. The association started with 202 members, 37 of them from abroad.
The ADMV
Liszt left Weimar on August 18, travelling to SilesiaSilesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
, where, from August 22 until September 19, in Löwenberg
Lwówek Slaski
Lwówek Śląski is a town in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship in Poland. Situated on the Bóbr River, Lwówek Śląski is about 30 km NNW of Jelenia Góra and has a population of about 10,300 inhabitants...
he was guest of the Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. In a letter to Brendel of September 16, 1861, he wrote:
- His Highness adheres always firmly and faithfully to the endeavors of the "New German School," and is desirous of supporting it still further. On this account I think it would be desirable to elect Seifriz as a member of the Committee of the Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein. I also vote especially for Stein (of Sondershausen), Eduard Liszt, Herbeck, Ambros, David – without a word against the rest of the names which you have proposed.
The letter shows that, according to Liszt's wishes, the endeavors of the "New German School" and those of the ADMV were to be very close, not to say identical. For the purpose of reaching this aim, the steering committee of the ADMV should consist solely of persons with his confidence.
The main initiatives which led to the foundation of the ADMV had nearly all been Liszt's. In 1835 he had published in the Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian Gazette musicale an article series De la situation des artistes ("On the situation of artists"). In his first articles, he had taken a critical look at contemporary Parisian musical life which he found wanting in all aspects. In his last article he had made suggestions for a reorganisation of musical life.
In October 1842 Liszt had been nominated in Weimar as "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...
in außerordentlichen Diensten" ("Conductor in extraordinary services"). At that time he was travelling virtuoso, touring with concerts through Europe. In the beginning of 1848 he had settled in Weimar. Since 1849 he had tried to install a "Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
-Stiftung" ("Goethe Foundation") for the purpose of supporting the arts as suggested in his article series of 1835. During the 1850s it became clear that the project could not be realized. The foundation of the ADMV was Liszt's next attempt, and this attempt was a success.
In their version of 1861, the statutes of the ADMV were formulated by Liszt together with Brendel. They resembled those of the projected "Goethe-Stiftung". In the early 20th century, there were attempts to rename the ADMV as "Liszt Verein" or "Neudeutscher Musikverein" ("New German Music Association").
Until the end of his life, Liszt was the intellectual rector of the ADMV, but did not want to be its president. The first president was Franz Brendel
Franz Brendel
Not to be confused with composer Franz Brendel .Karl Franz Brendel was a German music critic, journalist and musicologist....
, until his death in 1868. Brendel's successors were Carl Riedel
Carl Riedel
Carl Riedel was a German conductor and composer. Born in Cronenberg, Wuppertal, he initially worked as a dyer of silk before conductor Karl Wilhelm discovered his musicical talent and encouraged him to pursue a music career...
, until 1888, Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff
Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff
Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff was a classical musician and composer who studied under Franz Liszt....
, until 1898, Fritz Steinbach, until 1901, Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, until 1909, Max von Schillings
Max von Schillings
Max von Schillings was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925....
, until 1919, Friedrich Rösch, until 1925, Siegmund von Hausegger
Siegmund von Hausegger
Siegmund von Hausegger was an Austrian composer and conductor.-Early life:Siegmund was born in Graz, the son of Friedrich von Hausegger , a lawyer and writer on music...
until 1935, and Peter Raabe
Peter Raabe
Peter Raabe was a German composer and conductor. Graduated in the Higher Musical School in Berlin and in the universities of Munich and Jena. In 1894-98 Raabe worked in Königsberg and Zwickau. In 1899-1903 he worked in the Dutch Opera-House . In 1907-20 Raabe was the 1st Court Conductor in Weimar...
. In 1937, the ADMV was closed on order of the German National Socialist
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
regime.
Supporting aims
The ADMV aimed at both musical performance and practical support. Absence of funds delayed support initiatives. In the course of time the ADMV became trustee of several foundations. The earliest was a "Beethoven-Stiftung" (Beethoven Foundation), (1871) funded by the assets of Sophie and Robert Pflughaupt, and enlarged by gifts of Liszt and Karl Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Artists supported by the "Beethoven-Stiftung" included Robert FranzRobert Franz
Robert Franz was a German composer, mainly of lieder.-Biography:He was born Robert Knauth in Halle, Germany, the son of Christoph Franz Knauth...
, August Göllerich, Felix Draeseke
Felix Draeseke
Felix August Bernhard Draeseke was a composer of the "New German School" admiring Liszt and Richard Wagner. He wrote compositions in most forms including eight operas and stage works, four symphonies, and much vocal and chamber music.-Life:Felix Draeseke was born in the Franconian ducal town of...
, Max Reger
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
, Hans Pfitzner
Hans Pfitzner
Hans Erich Pfitzner was a German composer and self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera Palestrina, loosely based on the life of the great sixteenth-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.-Biography:Pfitzner was born in Moscow, Russia, where his...
and others.
After Liszt's death on July 31, 1886, Marie Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst, daughter of Princess Wittgenstein, founded in 1887 a "Franz Liszt Stiftung" (Franz Liszt Foundation). The funds were destined for editing a complete edition of Liszt's musical works, as well as for stipends. Amongst artists supported by the "Franz Liszt Stiftung" were Robert Franz and Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau León was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning from the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms and Debussy...
. In 1903 and 1904, when Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
was president of the ADMV, 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...
was supported with an annual sum of 1,000 Marks, the maximum grant of the foundation.
Further foundations were a "Mansouroff-Stiftung", founded 1889, a "Hermann-Stiftung", founded 1893, and a "Richard-Wagner-Stiftung", founded 1915 and dedicated to supporting performances of music dramatic works. In 1937, when the ADMV was closed, the foundations still existed, although there had been losses of considerable amounts due to World War I and subsequent economic crisis. Traces of the foundations can be found until 1943, but are lost thereafter.
Artistic aims
As part of the artistic aims of the ADMV, annual Tonkünstler-Versammlungen at different locations were to be arranged, with performances of important, rarely heard, and especially new musical works of all kinds. However, older works that were only seldom or not at all heard, but of interest because of their importance, were also to be performed. In addition, new works, either musical or scholarly ones, were to be printed. The ADMV was to have an own library,and to edit an annual almanac. Of the almanac, only volumes for the years 1868, 1869 and 1870 were realized. Until 1892, the main organ of the ADMV was the Neue Zeitschrift für MusikNeue Zeitschrift für Musik
Die Neue Zeitschrift für Musik was a music magazine published in Leipzig, co-founded by Robert Schumann, his teacher and future father-in law Friedrich Wieck, and his close friend Ludwig Schuncke...
. Afterwards, until 1933, members of the ADMV received "Mitteilungen" (Communications).
The ADMV had a literary and a musical department; the former decided about lectures to be given at the Tonkünstler-Versammlungen, the latter selected musical works to be performed. Until his death in 1886, Liszt was the head of the musical department. Other prominent members over the years were Hans von Bülow
Hans von Bülow
Hans Guido Freiherr von Bülow was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. He was one of the most famous conductors of the 19th century, and his activity was critical for establishing the successes of several major composers of the time, including Richard...
, Carl Friedrich von Weitzmann, Louis Köhler, Carl Riedel, Bronsart von Schellendorff, Felix Draeseke, Eduard Lassen, Eugen d'Albert
Eugen d'Albert
Eugen Francis Charles d'Albert was a Scottish-born German pianist and composer.Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, he won a scholarship to study in Austria...
, Richard Strauss, Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
, Felix Weingartner
Felix Weingartner
Paul Felix von Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
, Max von Schillings, Siegmund von Hausegger, Hans Pfitzner
Hans Pfitzner
Hans Erich Pfitzner was a German composer and self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera Palestrina, loosely based on the life of the great sixteenth-century composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.-Biography:Pfitzner was born in Moscow, Russia, where his...
, Alexander von Zemlinsky
Alexander von Zemlinsky
Alexander Zemlinsky or Alexander von Zemlinsky was an Austrian composer, conductor, and teacher.-Early life:...
, Peter Raabe, Jean Louis Nicodé, Emil von Reznicek
Emil von Reznicek
Emil Nikolaus Freiherr von Reznicek was an Austrian late Romantic composer of Czech ancestry.-Life:...
, Heinz Tiessen, Joseph Haas, 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...
, 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...
, Ernst Toch
Ernst Toch
Ernst Toch was a composer of classical music and film scores.- Biography :Toch, born in Leopoldstadt, Vienna, into the family of a humble Jewish leather dealer when the city was at its 19th-century cultural zenith, sought throughout his life to introduce new approaches to music...
and others.
The musical department also decided at which places the Tonkünstler-Versammlungen should be arranged. After the Tonkünstler-Versammlung of 1861 in Weimar, there was a break of three years. In 1864 a Tonkünstler-Versammlung in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
took place. After that, with exception of the years 1866, 1875 and 1915–18 (World War I), annual Tonkünstler-Versammlungen were arranged. In several cases, 1903, 1910 and 1932, places in Switzerland, Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Zürich
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...
, and once again Zürich, were chosen. The Tonkünstler-Versammlung of 1905 took place in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
.
Concert repertoire of the ADMV until 1886
During Liszt's lifetime, he was himself by a long way the most frequently performed composer at the concerts of the Tonkünstler-Versammlungen. In 135 performances 96 of his works were played. The second place was held by J. S. BachJohann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
with 30 performances of 24 works. Many of his works were new discoveries after they had for the first time been published in the complete edition of the "Bach-Gesellschaft" (Bach-Society). After Liszt the most frequently performed contemporary composer was 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...
with 25 performances of 16 works. Of Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
, 14 works were performed in 23 performances, and of 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...
12 works in 22 performances. In places 6 to 12 were Raff, Cornelius, Lassen, Schumann, Draeseke, Beethoven and Bülow.
The strong position of Brahms in the concert programs of the ADMV may at first sight be surprising, as he had been often characterized by reference to the "Manifesto" he wrote with Joachim
Joseph Joachim
Joseph Joachim was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant violinists of the 19th century.-Origins:...
against the New German School. But an artist's career can hardly be reduced to a single event. Even in 1864, in connection with the Tonkünstler-Versammlung in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
, it was Liszt who suggested a performance of Joachim's Violin Concerto in Hungarian style
Violin Concerto No. 2 (Joachim)
Violin Concerto No. 2 in D Minor "in the Hungarian Manner", Op.11 is a Romantic violin concerto written by violinist Joseph Joachim . The critic has called it "the Holy Grail of Romantic violin concertos."...
. After a dispute with Bülow, who vehemently voted against, Liszt's suggestion was accepted. After 1869, Brendel having died the previous year, works by Brahms were regularly performed; and 1887, after Liszt's death, Brahms became himself a member of the ADMV. Shortly afterwards he was elected as member of the steering committee.
- Felix Draeseke – Germania-Marsch (1861) as well as songs and the Requiem in B minor (1883)
- Hans von Bülow – song cycle Die Entsagende op.8 (1861)
- Bronsart von Schellendorff – Piano Concerto, Op. 10
- Peter Cornelius – Terzet from the opera Der Barbier von Bagdad (1861)
- Leopold Damrosch – Serenade for violin and orchestra (1861)
- Eduard Lassen – Symphony in four movements (1867) and the music to Hebbel's Nibelungen-Trilogy (1872)
- Heinrich Herzogenberg – Deutsche Liederspiel (1879)
- Carl Müller-Hartung – Psalm 42 for solo, chorus and orchestra (1872), Psalm 84 for baritone, solo-quartet and threesome male chorus (1878), a Fest-Ouverture in C major (1884), and soprano songs (1886)
- Xaver ScharwenkaXaver ScharwenkaFranz Xaver Scharwenka was a German pianist, composer and teacher. He was the brother of Philipp Scharwenka , who was also a composer and teacher of music.- Life and career :...
– 2nd Piano Concerto (1881) - Heinrich Schulze-Beuthen – Psalms 42 and 43 (1870),
- Carl Stöhr – Pastoral-Ouverture (1861),
- Camille Saint-SaënsCamille Saint-SaënsCharles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
– Die Hochzeit des Prometheus (1870) as well as a Cello Sonata (1874).
Frequently Liszt also suggested works by Russian composers such as César Cui
César Cui
César Antonovich Cui was a Russian of French and Lithuanian descent. His profession was as an army officer and a teacher of fortifications; his avocational life has particular significance in the history of music, in that he was a composer and music critic; in this sideline he is known as a...
, Alexander Borodin
Alexander Borodin
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five , who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music...
, Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor...
, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
, all of them members of the ADMV. In 1876, 1880 and 1883, the Symphony in E-flat major of Borodin was played. However, not all of Liszt's suggestions regarding Russian composers found acceptance. For example, in 1885 it was Liszt's suggestion to perform the Symphony in C major by Mily Balakirev
Mily Balakirev
Mily Alexeyevich Balakirev ,Russia was still using old style dates in the 19th century, and information sources used in the article sometimes report dates as old style rather than new style. Dates in the article are taken verbatim from the source and therefore are in the same style as the source...
, dedicated to him himself. Instead, Balakirev's Overture King Lear and some of his piano pieces were played.
Due to the close connection between Liszt himself, the "New German School" and the ADMV, the above listed works can be taken as examples of music of the "New German School". Estimating their artistic value, or even getting knowledge of them, is however a difficult task. Nearly all of the works have disappeared from the regularly played concert repertoire, and the scores can only be accessed in archives. The music of the "New German School" up to 1886, including most of Liszt's works, was neglected or ignored even by scholarly research for a long period, with the exception of that of Wagner. Only relatively late in the 20th century did interest revive.
The ADMV up to World War I
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
. He was a member from 1887. In the same year, at the Tonkünstler-Versammlung in 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...
, his Piano Quartet, Op. 13, for was performed. During 1890–98 Strauss was member of the "musikalische Sektion". As such he supported 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...
, whose Symphony no. 1
Symphony No. 1 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 1 in D major by Gustav Mahler was mainly composed between late 1887 and March 1888, though it incorporates music Mahler had composed for previous works. It was composed while Mahler was second conductor at the Leipzig Opera, Germany...
was 1894 performed at the Tonkünstler-Versammlung in Frankfurt am Main.
In 1898 a new president was to be elected, since Bronsart von Schellendorff
Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff
Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff was a classical musician and composer who studied under Franz Liszt....
wanted to resign. Strauss, at that time regarded as avant-garde composer, and a successful one, was an ideal candidate. However, there were severe divergences between him and the rest of the leading committee concerning his activities in favour of a change of the legal rights of composers of instrumental music, regarding royalties from performances of their works. For these reasons, after Fritz Steinbach had been elected as new president, Strauss was on September 24, 1898, excluded from the steering committee. He founded own organisations, but 1901 returned to the ADMV. In a so-called "revolution of Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
" the old steering committee was removed, and Strauss was elected as president. The subsequent presidents Max von Schillings
Max von Schillings
Max von Schillings was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925....
and Friedrich Rösch were close friends of Strauss, who in 1909 was nominated as Honorary President. Until World War I he dominated the ADMV as has Liszt in former times.
During the last years of Bronsart's time as president discontent arose over the repertoire of the concerts at the Tonkünstler-Versammlungen. In 1896, in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, for example, works by Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti
Alessandro Scarlatti was an Italian Baroque composer especially famous for his operas and chamber cantatas. He is considered the founder of the Neapolitan school of opera. He was the father of two other composers, Domenico Scarlatti and Pietro Filippo Scarlatti.-Life:Scarlatti was born in...
, Pietro Antonio Locatelli
Pietro Locatelli
Pietro Antonio Locatelli was an Italian composer and violinist.-Biography:Locatelli was born in Bergamo, Italy. A child prodigy on the violin, he was sent to study in Rome under the direction of Arcangelo Corelli...
, Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
and Friedrich II
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
of Prussia as well as works by Brahms, Berlioz, Liszt and Wagner were performed. The works of historical styles met an increasing interest of that time in music of the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
or even earlier periods of music history. Performing these works was in congruence with the statutes of the ADMV. Brahms, Berlioz, Liszt and Wagner, however, were more and more regarded as classics. While their works were still performed, works of the present generation of young composers, with exception of Strauss, were missing. The ADMV hence was accused of confusing an esprit de corps, as installed by Liszt, with interests of a diocese or the conceit of a regiment.
Strauss, who did not share the interest in music of historical times, changed the statutes of the ADMV. Its central aim was now cultivating and supporting German musical life in the sense of new developments. The literary department and the paragraphs concerning performances of older works were removed, the Tonkünstler-Versammlungen were renamed as Tonkünstler-Feste (Musicians Festivals), and performances of works of the older "New Germans" were reduced to exceptions. Until World War I, the most frequently performed contemporary composer at the Tonkünstler-Feste was Strauss himself, but there were also works such as Mahler's Symphonies Nos. III and VI, Pfitzner's Overture Das Christ-Elflein, Reger's
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
String Quartet in D minor op.113, The Swan of Tuonela and Lemminkäinen's Return from the Lemminkäinen Suite
Lemminkäinen Suite
The Lemminkäinen Suite is a work written by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in the early 1890s which forms his opus 22...
, Op. 22, of Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
, Bartók's
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
Rhapsody Op. 1 for piano and orchestra, and Kodály's
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....
String Quartet in C minor.
As president of the ADMV, Strauss was responsible for the complete edition of Liszt's musical works, as projected by the "Franz Liszt Stiftung". In this respect, due to legal difficulties, a delay occurred. The edition was to be undertaken by the publishing-house Breitkopf & Härtel
Breitkopf & Härtel
Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf . The catalogue currently contains over 1000 composers, 8000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on music. The name "Härtel" was added when Gottfried...
, Leipzig, but the consent of original publishers of Liszt's works was needed. Most of them refused to take part. According to the legal situation of that time, Liszt's works were not free until 30 years after his death, i.e. in 1916. The edition commenced in 1907 with volumes containing works, such as the Symphonic Poems, originally published by Breitkopf & Härtel. Until 1936 further volumes appeared. In the following year 1937, when the ADMV was closed, the Liszt edition, although by far incomplete, was stopped.
The ADMV after World War I
After World War I, at the Tonkünstler-Fest of 1919 in BerlinBerlin
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...
, the ADMV restarted with a concert program consisting of Karl Prohaska's Oratorio Frühlingsfeier, Friedrich Klose's Oratorio Der Sonne Geist, Julius Weismann's Lieder auf indische Dichtungen with Trio accompaniment, Siegmund von Hausegger's Aufklänge, Symphonic variations on the nursery-rhyme "Schlaf, Kindchen, schlaf", Georg Schumann
Georg Schumann (composer)
Georg Alfred Schumann was a German composer and director of the Berlin Singakademie.-Biography:Schumann was born at Königstein, Germany, October 25, 1866. He was the son of Clemens Schumann and the older brother of Camillo Schumann...
's Variationen über ein Thema von Bach, Op. 59, and his scene David und Absalom, Op. 70, songs with orchestral accompaniment by Paul Stuiber, the String Quartet, Op. 31, by August Reuß, a violin sonata by Julius Kopsch, Richard Strauss' Six Songs, Op. 68, on poems by Clemens Brentano
Clemens Brentano
Clemens Brentano, or Klemens Brentano was a German poet and novelist.-Overview:He was born in Ehrenbreitstein, near Koblenz, Germany. His sister was Bettina von Arnim, Goethe's correspondent. His father's family was of Italian descent. He studied in Halle and Jena, afterwards residing at...
, a string trio by Erwin Lendvai
Erwin Lendvai
Erwin Lendvai was a Hungarian composer and choral conductor. He was an uncle of the composer Kamilló Lendvay....
, Paul Juon's tone poem Litania for piano, violin and violoncello, and songs by Heinz Tiessen.
The ADMV was attacked by critics from different sides. According to Bruno Schrader, an ultranationalist
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
of an anti-Semitic inclination, most of the productions as performed at the Tonkünstler-Fest were hyper modern. The songs by Paul Stuiber were caterwauling, and with the songs by Strauss, not fit to be sung as they were, impotence and decadence had reached their height. After World War I had been lost by the "Deutsche Reich", according to Schrader, a cultural retaliatory battle against a French, Belgian and Polish invasion of art had to take place.
Other critics had opposite views. From their perspective, the ADMV was trying to reconstruct the cultural life of the "Deutsche Reich" of Wilhelm II. The "New Germans" thus were regarded as representatives of a misplaced traditionalism. Strauss’s Tone Poems, such as Also sprach Zarathustra
Thus Spoke Zarathustra
Thus Spoke Zarathustra: A Book for All and None is a philosophical novel by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, composed in four parts between 1883 and 1885...
, ten years earlier still regarded as avant-garde music, were now viewed as works of times of yore. His Sinfonia Domestica was old-fashioned and even scraping the borders of program music, which was no longer acceptable. His Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
, premiered in 1909 and at that time attacked as ultra progressive, was old hat.
The ADMV elected new presidents, in 1919 Friedrich Rösch, and in 1925 Siegmund von Hausegger
Siegmund von Hausegger
Siegmund von Hausegger was an Austrian composer and conductor.-Early life:Siegmund was born in Graz, the son of Friedrich von Hausegger , a lawyer and writer on music...
. Until the early 1930s, works of a large scope of different styles, among them works by 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...
, Anton Webern
Anton Webern
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer and conductor. He was a member of the Second Viennese School. As a student and significant follower of Arnold Schoenberg, he became one of the best-known exponents of the twelve-tone technique; in addition, his innovations regarding schematic organization of...
, 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...
, 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...
, Ernst Krenek
Ernst Krenek
Ernst Krenek was an Austrian of Czech origin and, from 1945, American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music...
, Heinz Tiessen
Heinz Tiessen
Richard Gustav Heinz Tiessen was a German composer.-Biography:Tiessen was born at Königsberg, where he studied with composer Erwin Kroll before moving to Berlin. There, he enrolled at Humboldt University and at the Stern'sches Konservatorium, where he studied composition and music theory...
and Karol Rathau, were performed. Unavoidably, among the members of the ADMV there were different opinions regarding these works. By some, Hindemith's dance pantomime Der Dämon was taken as evil prank, and Krenek's opera Der Sprung über den Schatten as music of an intellectually overfed brain. Rathau in his Second Symphony had created a dissonant soup. Nevertheless, the ADMV had once again proven itself to be the leading institution of musical progress.
End of the ADMV
Since 1933, after Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
had become Chancellor of the "Deutsche Reich", the ADMV was attacked by the National Socialists. During the Tonkünstler-Fest, now being called Tonkünstler-Versammlung again, of that year in Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, the "Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda" (Ministry for the Enlightening of the People and Propaganda) of Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
made known that a reorganization of cultural life had to take place. In November 1933, as part of Goebbels' Ministry, a Reichsmusikkammer
Reichsmusikkammer
The Reichsmusikkammer was a Nazi institution. It promoted "good German music" which was composed by Aryans and seen as consistent with Nazi ideals, while suppressing other, "degenerate" music, which included atonal music, jazz, and music by Jewish composers...
("Imperial Music Chamber"), directed by Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
, was installed, responsible for all parts of German musical life. In July 1935 Strauss had to resign due to his collaboration with Jewish artists, especially with Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig
Stefan Zweig was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most famous writers in the world.- Biography :...
, librettist of the opera Die schweigsame Frau. His successor, until his death on April 12, 1945, was Peter Raabe
Peter Raabe
Peter Raabe was a German composer and conductor. Graduated in the Higher Musical School in Berlin and in the universities of Munich and Jena. In 1894-98 Raabe worked in Königsberg and Zwickau. In 1899-1903 he worked in the Dutch Opera-House . In 1907-20 Raabe was the 1st Court Conductor in Weimar...
.
Siegmund von Hausegger
Siegmund von Hausegger
Siegmund von Hausegger was an Austrian composer and conductor.-Early life:Siegmund was born in Graz, the son of Friedrich von Hausegger , a lawyer and writer on music...
, until then president of the ADMV, suggested his resignation in favour of Raabe, who should be elected instead. The suggestion was accepted, since leading members hoped, with Raabe's uniting both positions the ADMV could maintain independence; but this was an error. In 1936, at the Tonkünstler-Versammlung in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Raabe read out a letter to the general assembly of the ADMV. It was a letter by some National Socialistic members to Paul Graener
Paul Graener
Paul Graener was a German composer and conductor.-Biography:Graener was born in Berlin and orphaned as a young child. A boy soprano, he taught himself composition and in 1896 moved to London, where he gave private lessons and served briefly as conductor at the Haymarket Theatre...
, rector of the composers department at the Reichsmusikkammer, with complaints about the steering committee of the ADMV. Suggestions by National Socialistic organisations had not sufficiently been taken into consideration. Besides, publishing-houses, such as Schott
Schott Music
Schott Music is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe and is currently the second oldest music publishing house. The company headquarters of Schott Music was founded by Bernhard Schott in Mainz, Germany in 1770.Established in...
, were supported by the ADMV, although their catalogues were promoting the works of Jewish composers. The ADMV was also accused of being reigned by a "black-red coalition".
After a heated debate with further accusations against Joseph Haas, Siegmund von Hausegger, Hermann Abendroth and Richard Strauss, the authors of the letter apologized. The letter, however, together with two further ones in which the liquidation of the ADMV was demanded, had been sent to the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. In December 1936, Raabe told the leading committee, Goebbels had said to him that the ADMV should be dissolved. Raabe tried to convince his colleagues that the Reichsmusikkammer was the proper cultural advocate of musicians. He also assured them that future Tonkünstler-Feste would be as marvellous as the Nazi Rallies
Nuremberg Rally
The Nuremberg Rally was the annual rally of the NSDAP in Germany, held from 1923 to 1938. Especially after Hitler's rise to power in 1933, they were large Nazi propaganda events...
in 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...
. As Raabe found no support in decisions of two further general assemblies, in June and November 1937, the ADMV was closed.
In 1937, in Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
and Frankfurt, a last Tonkünstler-Versammlung with concerts took place. As last pieces, Liszt's
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
Symphonic Poem Orpheus, his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major
Piano Concerto No. 1 (Liszt)
Franz Liszt composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124 over a 26-year period; the main themes date from 1830, while the final version dates 1849. The concerto consists of four movements, which are performed without breaks in between, and lasts approximately 20 minutes...
, and the Faust Symphony
Faust Symphony
A Faust Symphony in three character pictures , S.108, or simply the "Faust Symphony", was written by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt and was inspired by Johann von Goethe's drama, Faust...
were played. The Faust Symphony, in its final version, had for the first time been performed at the Tonkünstler-Versammlung of 1861 in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, where the foundation of the ADMV had taken place. A circle had closed. With the sounds of the Chorus mysticus "Alles Vergängliche ist nur ein Gleichnis" (Anything perishable is only a symbol) the ADMV dismissed itself from history.
External links
- Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein, history at Carleton UniversityCarleton UniversityCarleton University is a comprehensive university located in the capital of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. The enabling legislation is The Carleton University Act, 1952, S.O. 1952. Founded as a small college in 1942, Carleton now offers over 65 programs in a diverse range of disciplines. Carleton has...
- Detaillierte Concert programs, ADMV, 1859–1937, McMaster UniversityMcMaster UniversityMcMaster University is a public research university whose main campus is located in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land in the residential neighbourhood of Westdale, adjacent to Hamilton's Royal Botanical Gardens...