Conrad Ansorge
Encyclopedia
Conrad Eduard Reinhold Ansorge (15 October 186213 February 1930) was a German pianist, teacher and composer.
He was born in Buchwald
, Silesia
, studied at the Leipzig Conservatory
between 1880 and 1882, and under Franz Liszt
in Weimar
in 1885 and 1886. He toured Europe and the United States. He was known for his interpretations of Beethoven
.
On 15 April 1890, his "Orpheus" symphony was performed in Steinway Hall, New York, under the baton of Theodore Thomas. He became professor of pianoforte at Weimar in 1893. From 1898 to 1903 he taught in Berlin, at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory
.
In 1920 he became head of the piano master class at the German Academy (Deutschen Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst) in Prague
.
Conrad Ansorge's students included: Selim Palmgren
, Eduard Erdmann
, James Simon
, Alice Herz-Sommer
, and Wilhelm Furtwängler
.
He made some Welte-Mignon
recordings in 1905, of music by Liszt, Schumann and others. He also wrote a Requiem, two symphonies, a piano concerto, three piano sonatas, two string quartets, and other works. None of these are in the current repertoire.
He married the pianist Margarete Wegelin. Their son Joachim (1893-1947) was also a pianist and teacher. He died in Berlin.
Buchwald
- Place name :* Groß Buchwald, a municipality in the district of Rendsburg-Eckernförde, in Schleswig-Holstein- Family name :* Anton Freiherr von Hohberg und Buchwald , a German Reichswehr - and SS -...
, Silesia
Silesia
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...
, studied at the Leipzig Conservatory
Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre
The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig is a public university in Leipzig . Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatory of Music, it is the oldest university school of music in Germany....
between 1880 and 1882, and under 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...
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...
in 1885 and 1886. He toured Europe and the United States. He was known for his interpretations of Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
.
On 15 April 1890, his "Orpheus" symphony was performed in Steinway Hall, New York, under the baton of Theodore Thomas. He became professor of pianoforte at Weimar in 1893. From 1898 to 1903 he taught in Berlin, at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory
Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory
The Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory was a music institute in Berlin, established in 1893, which for decades was one of the most internationally renowned schools of music. It was formed from the existing schools of music of Xaver Scharwenka and Karl Klindworth, the Scharwenka-Konservatorium and...
.
In 1920 he became head of the piano master class at the German Academy (Deutschen Akademie für Musik und Darstellende Kunst) 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...
.
Conrad Ansorge's students included: Selim Palmgren
Selim Palmgren
Selim Gustaf Adolf Palmgren , dubbed "The Finnish Chopin", was a Finnish composer, pianist, and conductor. Palmgren was born in Pori, Finland, February 16, 1878. He studied at the Conservatory in Helsinki from 1895 to 1899, then continued his piano studies in Berlin with Ansorge, Berger and Busoni...
, Eduard Erdmann
Eduard Erdmann
Eduard Erdmann was a Baltic German pianist and composer.Erdmann was born in Wenden in Livonia. He was the great-nephew of the philosopher Johann Eduard Erdmann. His first musical studies were in Riga, where his teachers were Bror Möllersten and Jean du Chastain and Harald Creutzburg...
, James Simon
James Simon (composer)
James Simon was a German composer, pianist and musicologist.-Biography:...
, Alice Herz-Sommer
Alice Herz-Sommer
Alice Herz-Sommer, also known as Alice Sommer-Hertz and Alice Sommer, is a Czech pianist, music teacher and survivor of the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Herz-Sommer has lived in North London, United Kingdom since 1986, and is the world’s oldest known Holocaust survivor...
, and Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
.
He made some Welte-Mignon
Welte-Mignon
M. Welte & Sons, Freiburg and New York was a manufacturer of orchestrions, organs and reproducing pianos, established in Vöhrenbach by Michael Welte in 1832.-Overview:...
recordings in 1905, of music by Liszt, Schumann and others. He also wrote a Requiem, two symphonies, a piano concerto, three piano sonatas, two string quartets, and other works. None of these are in the current repertoire.
He married the pianist Margarete Wegelin. Their son Joachim (1893-1947) was also a pianist and teacher. He died in Berlin.
List of works
- Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 1
- Traumbilder, Op. 8
- Acht Lieder, Op. 10
- Sieben Gesänge, Op. 11
- Vigilien, Op. 12
- String Quartet, Op. 13
- Fünf Gesänge, Op. 14, ein Cyclus in 4 Gesängen
- Fünf Lieder, Op. 15
- Weidenwald. Umdichtung von Stefan George nach Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Op. 16
- Fünf Lieder, Op. 17
- Erntelieder, nach einem Gedicht von Franz Evers, Op. 18
- Urworte und andere Gedichte von Goethe, Op. 19
- Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 21
- Lieder und Gesänge für eine Singstimmen mit Begleitung des Pianoforte, Op. 22
- Piano Sonata No. 3 in A major, Op. 23
- Cello Sonata, Op. 24
- Polish Dances (arr.for piano)
- Arrangement for piano of Bach's Toccata, Adagio and Fugue
Sources
- Eric BlomEric BlomEric Walter Blom CBE was a Swiss-born British-naturalised music lexicographer, musicologist, music critic, music biographer and translator. He is best known as the editor of the 5th edition of Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians .-Biography:Blom was born in Berne, Switzerland...
, ed., Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. - Bach cantatas