Walter Niemann (composer)
Encyclopedia
Walter Rudolph Niemann was a German composer
, arranger
, and music critic.
, Niemann was the son of composer and virtuoso pianist Rudolph Niemann (1838-1898). His uncle, Gustav Adolph Niemann (1843-1881) was a violinist and important musical figure in Helsinki. Walter Niemann studied with Engelbert Humperdinck
as a youth in Leipzig. He then entered the Leipzig Conservatory where he was a pupil of Carl Reinecke
. He pursued doctoral studies in musicology at the University of Leipzig
under Hugo Riemann
and Hermann Kretzschmar
, earning a doctorate in 1901. His dissertation was on early ligatures and mensural music.
Niemann first worked as a teacher in Hamburg then served as the editor of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in Leipzig from 1904 to 1906. From 1907 through 1917 he was a writer and critic for the Neueste Nachrichten in Leipzig. He also taught during those years on the faculty of the Hamburg Conservatory. in 1927, H. Abert in the Illustriertes Musiklexikon styled Niemann "The most important composer for piano today, who understands how to make music both fine and colored, although he often strays into the salon."
, several orchestra
l works, and some chamber music
. Niemann was one of the very few German composers to explore Impressionism. His works are characterized by color and exoticism, and the titles reflect interests in the past ("From Watteau's time", "Sanssouci" "Meissen porcelain"), and exotic subject matter on poetic titles ("Old China, Op. 62," "The Orchid Garden, Op. 67" , "The Exotic Pavillon").
His book, "Masters of the Piano: past and present," published in 1919 is considered a classic. He also wrote popular biographies of composers; his biography of Brahms emphasized that composer's north German roots at the expense of his Viennese retirement and libralism.. As a reviewer he was outspoken in his criticism of "pathological" and "sensuous" composers like Richard Strauss, Mahler, and Schoenberg, and was threatened in 1910 with a libel suit by composer Max Reger
. He praised nationalists and folk-influenced composers like Pfitzner, Sibelius, and Edward MacDowell, and was influential in popularizing Scandinavian composers in Germany. Following the second world war, Niemann's artistic viewpoint and consequently his work fell out of favor.
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...
, arranger
Arranger
In investment banking, an arranger is a provider of funds in the syndication of a debt. They are entitled to syndicate the loan or bond issue, and may be referred to as the "lead underwriter". This is because this entity bears the risk of being able to sell the underlying securities/debt or the...
, and music critic.
Life
Born in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Niemann was the son of composer and virtuoso pianist Rudolph Niemann (1838-1898). His uncle, Gustav Adolph Niemann (1843-1881) was a violinist and important musical figure in Helsinki. Walter Niemann studied with 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...
as a youth in Leipzig. He then entered the Leipzig Conservatory where he was a pupil of Carl Reinecke
Carl Reinecke
Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke was a German composer, conductor, and pianist.-Biography:Reinecke was born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany; until 1864 the town was under Danish rule. He studied with his father, Johann Peter Rudolph Reinecke, a music teacher...
. He pursued doctoral studies in musicology at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
under Hugo Riemann
Hugo Riemann
Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann was a German music theorist.-Biography:Riemann was born at Grossmehlra, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen. He was educated in theory by Frankenberger, studied the piano with Barthel and Ratzenberger, studied law, and finally philosophy and history at Berlin and Tübingen...
and Hermann Kretzschmar
Hermann Kretzschmar
August Ferdinand Hermann Kretzschmar was a German musicologist and writer, and is considered a founder of interpretation in musical study.- Career :...
, earning a doctorate in 1901. His dissertation was on early ligatures and mensural music.
Niemann first worked as a teacher in Hamburg then served as the editor of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in Leipzig from 1904 to 1906. From 1907 through 1917 he was a writer and critic for the Neueste Nachrichten in Leipzig. He also taught during those years on the faculty of the Hamburg Conservatory. in 1927, H. Abert in the Illustriertes Musiklexikon styled Niemann "The most important composer for piano today, who understands how to make music both fine and colored, although he often strays into the salon."
Work
Niemann's compositions include 189 opus numbers of which more than 150 are works for solo piano, chiefly of character pieces. He also composed violin sonataViolin sonata
A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, which is nearly always accompanied by a piano or other keyboard instrument, or by figured bass in the Baroque period.-A:*Ella Adayevskaya**Sonata Greca for Violin or Clarinet and Piano...
, several orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l works, and some chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
. Niemann was one of the very few German composers to explore Impressionism. His works are characterized by color and exoticism, and the titles reflect interests in the past ("From Watteau's time", "Sanssouci" "Meissen porcelain"), and exotic subject matter on poetic titles ("Old China, Op. 62," "The Orchid Garden, Op. 67" , "The Exotic Pavillon").
His book, "Masters of the Piano: past and present," published in 1919 is considered a classic. He also wrote popular biographies of composers; his biography of Brahms emphasized that composer's north German roots at the expense of his Viennese retirement and libralism.. As a reviewer he was outspoken in his criticism of "pathological" and "sensuous" composers like Richard Strauss, Mahler, and Schoenberg, and was threatened in 1910 with a libel suit by composer Max Reger
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
. He praised nationalists and folk-influenced composers like Pfitzner, Sibelius, and Edward MacDowell, and was influential in popularizing Scandinavian composers in Germany. Following the second world war, Niemann's artistic viewpoint and consequently his work fell out of favor.
Compositions
| Opus | Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1908 | Meissner Porzellan | |
| 46 | 1926 | Im Kinderland: 19 ganz leichte Klavierstücke | |
| 59 | Masken: 20 Charakterstücke | ||
| 60 | 1919 | Piano Sonata No. 1 "Romantic" | A-minor |
| 62 | 1919 | Alt China: 5 Traumdichtungen | 1. Die Glocken der Pagode/2.Chinesiche Nacthtigall, etc. |
| 73 | Präeludium, Intermezzo und Fugue | ||
| 80 | Die Jahreszieten. 21 Charakterstücke nach Hermann Bang | ||
| 81 | 4 Balladen | F-minor, E-minor, Eb-Major, G-minor | |
| 98 | 2 kleine Sonaten | d-minor, e-minor | |
| 102 | 1925 | Kleine Suite "Suite miniature" | |
| 106 | Introduction und Toccata | ||
| 107 | 1926 | Hamburg. 13 Charakterstücke | 1. Haften/2. Spuk/3.Elternhaus/4. Disput /5. Matrosen/6. AD 1600/7. Brahms/8. Alter Michel/9. Drehorgel/10. Laterne/11. St. Paui/12. Mondnacht/13. Hymnus |
| 108 | Pavane und Gavotte | ||
| 109 | Galante Musik: 6 Stücke | 1. Präludium/2.Sarabande/3.Gavotte/4. Gigue/5. Menuett/6. Rigaudon | |
| 111 | Menuett und Bourreé | ||
| 118 | 1930 | Variationen | |
| 146 | 1936 | Kleine Variationen über eine alt-irische Volksweise |
Writings (selected)
- Die Musik Skandinaviens (Leipzig, 1906)
- Edvard Grieg: Biographie und Würdigung seiner Werke (Leipzig 1908)
- Das Nordlandbuch (Weimar, 1909)
- Die Virginalmusik (Leipzig 1919)
- Die Musik der Gegenwart und der letzten Vergangenheit bis zu den Romantikern, Klassizisten und Neudeutschen, Schuster & Loeffler (5-8 printings), Berlin 1913, 303 pages.
- Das Klavierbuch, kurze Geschichte d. Klaviermusik u. ihrer Meister, d. Klavierbaues u. d. Klavierliteratur. Mit Tab. über d. Klavierbau u. e. Übersicht über d. Klavierliteratur. Callwey, Munich 1907, 1930 (13 printings).
- Meister des Klaviers, die Pianisten der Gegenwart und der letzten Vergangenheit. Schuster & Loeffler, Berlin 1919, 1921 (14 printings).
- Brahms (Leipzig 1920, 15th edition 1933; English translation in 1929).
- Mein Leben fürs Klavier. Autobiography, Ed. Gerhard Helzel, Staccato-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2008
Sources
- "Biography of Walter Niemann", Bach Cantatas Website