Emil Kreuz
Encyclopedia
Emil Anton Joseph Friedrich Kreuz, also known as Emil Frederick Thornfield, (25 May 1867 in Elberfeld
– 3 December 1932 in London
) was a German violin
ist, violist
, teacher, conductor
and composer
.
from the age of ten. At sixteen he won a scholarship at the Royal College of Music
in London
, where he studied violin with Henry Holmes
and composition with Charles Villiers Stanford
until 1888. For two years he concentrated his studies on the viola
, making his debut as soloist with Hector Berlioz
's Harold en Italie in December of 1888 at one of the London Symphony Concerts established by George Henschel
. He became well known in England. He was violin soloist at the Leeds Festival
in 1889, violist of the Grompertz Quartet along with violinists Richard Gompertz, Haydn Inwards and cellist Charles Ould from 1888 to 1903, and a member of the Convent Garden Opera Orchestra
from 1900 to 1903.
Kreutz became assistant musical director of the Convent Garden Opera in 1903, and joined The Hallé
to study conducting with its principal conductor Hans Richter
. He then turned his attentions toward operatic work, especially the training of singers and conducting.
Kreuz composed many works including pedagogical
works for violin and viola, a viola concerto
, songs, and chamber music, notably the "Prize Quintet" for horn
(or viola) and string quartet, Op. 49.
Literary works
Elberfeld
Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929.-History:The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "elverfelde" was in a document of 1161...
– 3 December 1932 in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
) was a German violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist, violist
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, teacher, 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 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...
.
Biography
Emil Kreuz began playing violin at an early age and studyed under Georg Joseph Japha (1835–1892) in CologneCologne
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...
from the age of ten. At sixteen he won a scholarship at the Royal College of Music
Royal College of Music
The Royal College of Music is a conservatoire founded by Royal Charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, England.-Background:The first director was Sir George Grove and he was followed by Sir Hubert Parry...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he studied violin with Henry Holmes
Henry Holmes (composer)
Henry Holmes was an English violinist, composer, and music educator. His compositional output includes a violin concerto, several works for solo violin, four symphonies, a concert overture, two sacred cantatas for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra, and other chamber and choral works.Born in...
and composition with Charles Villiers Stanford
Charles Villiers Stanford
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an Irish composer who was particularly notable for his choral music. He was professor at the Royal College of Music and University of Cambridge.- Life :...
until 1888. For two years he concentrated his studies on the viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
, making his debut as soloist with Hector 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...
's Harold en Italie in December of 1888 at one of the London Symphony Concerts established by George Henschel
George Henschel
Sir George Henschel , was a British baritone, pianist, conductor, and composer of German birth....
. He became well known in England. He was violin soloist at the Leeds Festival
Leeds Festival (classical music)
The Leeds Festival was a classical music festival which took place between 1858 and 1985 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.The first festival celebrated the opening of Leeds Town Hall by Queen Victoria on 7 September 1858...
in 1889, violist of the Grompertz Quartet along with violinists Richard Gompertz, Haydn Inwards and cellist Charles Ould from 1888 to 1903, and a member of the Convent Garden Opera Orchestra
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
from 1900 to 1903.
Kreutz became assistant musical director of the Convent Garden Opera in 1903, and joined The Hallé
The Hallé
The Hallé is a symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It is the UK's oldest extant symphony orchestra , supports a choir, youth choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasionally released recordings on Angel Records and EMI...
to study conducting with its principal conductor Hans Richter
Hans Richter (conductor)
Hans Richter was an Austrian orchestral and operatic conductor.-Biography:Richter was born in Raab , Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His mother was opera-singer Jozsefa Csazenszky. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory...
. He then turned his attentions toward operatic work, especially the training of singers and conducting.
Kreuz composed many works including pedagogical
Pedagogy
Pedagogy is the study of being a teacher or the process of teaching. The term generally refers to strategies of instruction, or a style of instruction....
works for violin and viola, a viola concerto
Viola concerto
The viola concerto is a concerto contrasting a viola with another body of musical instruments, usually an orchestra or chamber music ensemble. Early examples of the viola concerto include, among others, Georg Philipp Telemann's concerto in G major, and several concertos by the Stamitz clan...
, songs, and chamber music, notably the "Prize Quintet" for horn
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
(or viola) and string quartet, Op. 49.
Selected works
- 4 Gesänge (4 Songs) for tenor and piano, Op. 1 (published 1889)
-
- Am fernen Horizonte
- Jung sterben: Soll ich denn sterben
- Mädchen mit dem rothen Mündchen
- Vorsatz: Ich will dir's nimmer sagen
- 4 Lieder (4 Songs) for soprano or tenor and piano, Op. 3 (published 1889)
- O süß' Vielliebchen
- O wär' mein Lieb' der Fliederbusch
- Schlaf, du liebes Kind
- Daß du mich liebst, das wußt' ich
- Liebesbilder (Pictures of Love), 3 Pieces for viola (or violin) and piano, Op. 5 (1885)
- Frühlingsgedanken (Spring Fancies), 3 Pieces for viola (or violin) and piano, Op. 9 (c.1886)
- Der Violaspieler: Sammlung von progressiv geordneten Stücken für Viola und Klavier (The Viola Player: A Series of Progressive Pieces for Viola and Piano), Op. 13 (c.1887)
- No. 1 – 12 Very Easy Pieces
- No. 2 – Progressive and Easy Pieces
- Nos. 3 & 4 – 20 Progressive Melodies
- No. 5 – 3 Easy Sketches
- No. 6 – Sonata in A minor
- Scales and Arpeggios for the Violin through All the Major and Minor Keys, Systematically Arranged, Bowed and Fingered, 2 volumes (c.1887); also a version for viola
- 5 Songs for a soprano and piano, Op. 15 (1891); words by Thomas Campbell, Edward Oxenford and Percy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe ShelleyPercy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
- 6 Duets for soprano, mezzo-soprano and piano, Op. 16 (1891); words by Lewis Novra, Robert Haynes Cave and Joseph Freiherr von EichendorffJoseph Freiherr von EichendorffJoseph Freiherr von Eichendorff was a German poet and novelist of the later German romantic school.Eichendorff is regarded as one of the most important German Romantics and his works have sustained high popularity in Germany from production to the present day.-Life:Eichendorff was born at Schloß...
- Concerto in C minor for viola and orchestra, Op. 20 (1885)
- Trio in C major for violin, viola and piano, Op. 21 (1885)
- 20 Children's Songs with piano accompaniment (published 1892)
- 30 Melodies for violin and piano, Op. 25 (published 1894)
- Here's the Bower for voice and piano, Op. 27 No. 2 (published 1893); words by Thomas MooreThomas MooreThomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
- 4 Pieces for violin and piano, Op. 28 (1895)
- Elegy
- Scherzo
- Romance
- Tarantella
- 6 leichte Stücke (6 Easy Pieces) for violin and piano, Op. 30 (1895)
- Trio facile in C for violin, viola and piano, Op. 32 (1896)
- Progressive Studies for the Violin, Op. 34 (1895)
- 6 Easy Pieces for violin and piano, Op. 36 (1896)
- Suite for string orchestra, Op. 38 (1895)
- Prelude
- Allemande
- Gigue
- Intermezzo
- Scherzo
- Finale
- 4 Duos for violin and viola, Op. 39 (1895)
- Progressive Studies for the Viola with Accompaniment of a Second Viola, Op. 40 (1896)
- String Quartet in D minor, Op. 42 (1896)
- Capriccio for string quartet, Op. 43 (1896)
- Cavatina in E major and Chant D'Amour for violin and piano, Op. 44 (published 1896–1897)
- Suite de pièces for viola and piano, Op. 45 (1897)
- Prélude
- Nocturne
- Le rêve
- Danse rustique
- Rêverie in B major for violin and piano (1897)
- Teutonische Stücke for violin and piano (published 1898)
- Russische Tänze (Russian Dances) for violin and piano, Op. 47 (1900)
- Norwegische Tänze (Norwegian Dances) for violin and piano, Op. 48 (1900)
- Quintet "Prize Quintet" in E major for horn (or viola) and string quartet, Op. 49
- First Steps for the Violin (First Position Only), Easy and Progressive Studies and a Collection of Melodious Pieces for violin solo, and violin and piano, 2 volumes, Op. 53
- 4 Old English Country Dances for violin and piano (published 1909)
- Conversation amoureuse, Valse Caprice for violin and piano (or orchestra) (published 1914)
Literary works
- Dramatic Singing and Opera in English (1909)