Autographed
official 4” x 6” Bayreuth Festspiele double-weight photograph from the 1964
festival. The conductor-composer has
autographed the recto and then autographed and inscribed the verso, Munich,
August, 1971.
Heger (1886-1978) is a
kindred spirit with Felix Weingartner, both wished to be recognized for their
work as a composer, however, both are remembered for their work as a
conductor. One of the finest of his
generation, Heger today is best remembered for his excellent library of EMI
opera and operetta recordings. That
said, in his lifetime, he was one of the great pit and podium conductors
operating in the German speaking world.
A pupil of another conductor who wished to be remembered for his work as
a composer, Max v. Schillings, Heger made his conducting debut in the opera pit
of his home town of Strasbourg in 1907.
He remained there until he was called to Nuremburg in 1913. He remained in Nuremburg until 1921 and
decided to give his all to composing. In
1925 he was called to the Vienna Staatsoper, not able to resist, he remained
there until 1933 when he was called to the Berlin Staatsoper as a replacement
for the Jewish conductors who had been fired due to the horrendous racial
purity laws. He stayed there throughout
World War II and in 1945, he was sent to the Berlin Municipal Opera. In 1950 he was called to Munich and he spent
the rest of his career there. He guested
as both and opera and symphonic conductor through Europe, including Covent
Garden in 1926 and then again in 1936.
He conducted the Berlin Philharmonic often, he was a good friend of
Wilhelm Furtwängler.
He was on a list of favored conductors during the Nazi regime, but it does not
appear he had any political leanings in that direction other than maintaining
his workload. He conducted a Beethoven
concert in the town of Bayreuth in March of 1945 in an attempt to pick up the
mood of the townspeople and was given the Golden Ring of the Town of Bayreuth
for his efforts. That said he did not
conduct during the Festival until the run of “Die Meistersinger von Nuremburg”
performances in 1964. He spent a large
amount of time in the recording studio during the 1950’s and 1960’s making the
many EMI complete opera recordings in his catalog.
Harmonie Autographs and Music, Inc.
Music Antiquarian and
Appraiser
New York, New York
All items guaranteed authentic