You are bidding on a curious, humorous photo around 1935.
Inscribed in his own hand on the back from the Violoncellists, gamba players, conductors and music writers Christian Döbereiner (1874-1961).
Format:13x17.5cm; on agfa-Lupex photo paper (on the market from 1927 to the mid-1960s).
Motive: drawn cartoon fromChristian Döbereiner (with the body of a wagtail).
In addition to the caricature, a humorous one Dedication by Döbereiner the Hungarian soprano Felicie Hüni-Mihacsek (1891-1976): "With great respect to Ms. Felicie Hüni-Mihacsek both Nachrigall and Lerche, from the conductor of the Munich Bach Association Christian Döbereiner, to the jocus called 'Bachstelze'. 'motacilla Doebereinii'."
The caricature and the dedication are as already described photographed; the back of the photo is original handwritten by Christian Döbereiner labeled, again very humorously:
"News from Olympus, 1. April 1929. The chamber musician Christian Döbereiner was given the title 'Bach Horror' by the general music director Hans Knappertsbusch in view of the Munich Bach festivals he organized and directed in 1925 and 1934, as well as the other Bach care activities he carried out."
Why the "Message from Olympus" is dated 1929 but the Bach Festival of 1934 is mentioned remains unclear.
Mentioned is the conductor Hans Knappertsbusch (1888-1965), general music director until 1935. The inscription on the back is from 1934 or 1935.
The caricature is by M. Heiß; It is probably the Munich painter Maximilian Heiß (listed as such in the Munich address book from 1935). This can be proven to be Max Heiss (1904-1971), director of the Munich City Museum from 1954 to 1969.
Condition: Stained (more pronounced on the back); with small corner creases. bplease note the pictures too!
Internal note: Kiefer 23-08
About Döbereiner, Hüni-Mihacsek and Knappertsbusch (source: wikipedia):
Christian Döbereiner (*2. April 1874 in Wunsiedel; † 14. January 1961 in Munich) was a German cellist, viol player, conductor and music writer. He is one of the most important pioneers of historical performance practice in the early 20th century. Century.
Life: Christian Döbereiner was born as the son of the city music director and head of the city piper Johann Döbereiner on January 2nd. Born in April 1874 on the tower of the town church in Wunsiedel. After initial musical training with his father, he worked as a violinist and trumpeter in the local town band and in the Turmmusik at the age of 12. At the preparatory school he attended harmony lessons and was taught his first skills in playing the organ by the organist of the city church, main teacher Wunder. From 1889 to 1895 he studied at the Munich Royal College. Academy of Music Violoncello with Josef Werner, counterpoint and composition with Josef Gabriel Rheinberger and theory with Ludwig Thuille. After spending a year in the Kai Orchestra in 1895 and another year in the Bavarian Court Orchestra in 1896, his path took him to Greece, where he was appointed professor of cello, piano ensemble and choral singing at the Athens Conservatory in September 1897. He then went to Karlsruhe in 1898 as deputy solo cellist at the court orchestra for a year. On the 1st In January 1899 he returned to Munich and became royal there. Court musician. In 1908 he was appointed chamber musician. From 1926 to 1929 he also served as deputy solo cellist in the Munich Court Orchestra. Döbereiner worked as a musician at the National Theater in Munich until 1939. Döbereiner also wrote for the Nazi magazine Music in War.
On the 24th In May 1956 he received the Federal Cross of Merit on ribbon.
He published several textbooks, including a cello and a gamba school. As the author of numerous scientific articles in various specialist journals, he has also dealt theoretically with the problems of historical performance practice. He was active as a performing musician and conductor until the end.
With his wife Anna Barbara née. Schremmel, who died on the 31st. He married in St. Anna (Munich/Lehel) in December 1898 and lived with his three children on Thierschstrasse in Munich until his death. His grave is in the Munich East Cemetery (Gräberfeld 66, Row 8, No. 6).
Döbereiner is considered the reviver of the viol and the baryton; two historical string instruments that have been forgotten to date. He was made aware of the viol during his cello studies by his teacher Werner, who brought a valuable example by the Hamburg instrument maker Joachim Tielke from 1691, artfully decorated with tortoiseshell, ebony and silver, to his lessons at the Royal Academy of Music for study purposes . This instrument came to Munich in 1781 with Elector Karl Theodor von Mannheim and became the property of the Bavarian National Museum in 1857. The Tielke viol was a primary trigger for Christian Döbereiner to return to the viola da gamba and early music. From then on he devoted a large part of his time to intensive study of this instrument and thereby developed into a respected specialist for the viol.
Services
German Association for Early Music: One of the most important institutions for the entire early development of the revival of early music was the German Association for Early Music. As artistic and musical director, Christian Döbereiner was largely responsible for the success of this ensemble. The association was founded in Munich in 1905 by the lawyer Ernst Bodenstein with the aim of introducing the audience to the music of the 17th century. and 18. century in their original form, using the instruments commonly used at the time, such as the viola da gamba, the viola d'amore or the harpsichord. The initial line-up consisted of Johanna Bodenstein (soprano), Herma Studeny (violin), Emilie Frey (harpsichord, fortepiano), Ludwig Meister (violin, viola, viola d'amore) and Christian Döbereiner (viola da gamba, cello). After a short time, Elfriede Schunck took over the role of harpsichordist. Another name appears in a contemporary report about the group: Marie von Stubenrauch. The instruments used consisted of old and new instruments. However, the degree of originality of the old ones was sometimes significantly influenced by renovation work. The new instruments also included “new, authentic designs” such as harpsichords by the Munich piano maker Karl Maendler.
The German Association for Early Music in Rococo Costumes: The association's first concert took place on January 18th. November 1905 in the large hall of the Society Museum in the Portia Palais. The members performed in costumes from the Rococo period. This first concert received great applause. After many more successful concerts throughout Germany (Augsburg, Freiburg i. Br., Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, etc.) as well as in neighboring countries (Austria, Switzerland and Spain), a Munich orchestra for early music was created in 1907. This rarely gave concerts and only in Munich. Under the direction of academy professor Bernhard Stavenhagen, the first performances also took place with a small original cast on March 3rd. December 1906 and on the 4th January and 3. March 1907.
At the beginning of the First World War, the German Association for Early Music dissolved.
Other ensembles: After the end of the First World War, there was an association for the care of early music for several years. V., in which largely the same protagonists were active.
Christian Döbereiner, who was extremely committed and often the leader in all of these groups, was also the outstanding figure in other ensembles. After the dissolution of the German Association for Early Music, he founded the Döbereiner Trio, also called the Trio for Early Music or Döbereiner Trio for Early Music. In addition to himself on the viol, Anton Huber (violin, viola d'amore) and Johannes Hobohm (harpsichord) also played there. Nevertheless, later performances are documented under the name Munich Association for Early Chamber Music, Munich Association for Early Classical Music or Munich Association for Early Music. On these occasions, Döbereiner played in various configurations with Li Stadelmann (harpsichord), Johannes Hobohm (harpsichord), Anton Huber (violin and viola d'amore), Karl Rittner (violin) and Gustav Kaleve (flute).
Performances of early music in Munich under Döbereiner’s direction:
Döbereiner was also active in a variety of ways as a conductor and organizer of numerous early music events. In this context, Döbereiner's performances of the Brandenburg Concertos by JS Bach should be mentioned, which, after a few individual performances, he performed in Munich a total of eight times as a cycle and with the "original cast" from 1924 onwards. These, like JS Bach's Concertos in C major for two and three harpsichords and the Concerto in A minor for four harpsichords he performed, were, according to him, "reproduced in his creator's sound concept for the first time since Bach's time." In 1917 he also performed Antonio Vivaldi's concerto for four violins (Concerto grosso op. 3 No. 10 in B minor) and then Bach's arrangement for four harpsichords. However, a performance in which four harpsichords were actually used was only possible in 1922 with the help of the instrument maker Karl Maendler. Concert grand pianos were used at the first concert in 1917, as there were not that many harpsichords available in Munich at that time. The four harpsichordists in 1922 were: Elfriede Schunck, Li Stadelmann, Gabriele von Lottner and Julia Menz. Döbereiner played numerous other performances with the pianist and harpsichordist Li Stadelmann. He had a long-standing friendship with her.
Participation in further performances of early music in Munich: Through Döbereiner's participation in the first unabridged performance of the St. Matthew Passion by Johann Sebastian Bach under Felix Mottl, on Palm Sunday, December 24th. In March 1907, the viol was used again "for the first time since Bach's time"[5] in the aria for viola da gamba and bass Komm sweets Kreuz and in the tenor recitative Mein Jesus schweigt zu false lies stille. In addition to the viola da gamba, other historical instruments were used: oboe da caccia (Josef Schunck and Michael Uffinger), oboe d'amore (Karl Millé) and flauto[6] (Heinrich Scherrer).
Döbereiner also served as harpsichordist in the Concert Society for Choral Singing's performance of George Frideric Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt on January 2nd. April 1925 under Hanns Rohr. In 1936 he appeared for the first time as a baryton player in Joseph Haydn's Divertimento No. 113 for baryton, viola and cello. Döbereiner was probably the first to use the barytone in the 20th century. It was used again in early music performances in the 19th century.
Another initiative to cultivate early music was, after a single gamba course at the State Academy of Music in Munich in the 1920/1921 school year, the introduction of lessons in early chamber music in the 1921/1922 school year, which was initiated by Christian Döbereiner. The viola da gamba course, which was firmly included in the curriculum, became the main subject and Döbereiner became one of the first lecturers for early music at a German university. He was himself a student at the academy and was the leading figure in Munich at the time when it came to performing early music as faithfully as possible. He held the teaching position for viola da gamba until September 1924. His students at the academy included Fritz Seiler, Christian Klug, Hans Knörl, Elisabeth Kluge and Willi Schmid, the founder of the Munich Violen Quintet.
Nevertheless, the gamba course encouraged further major courses with old instruments to be offered in the 1921/1922 school year: Li Stadelmann took on a harpsichord course, Anton Huber took on a viola d'amore course, and Karl Millé took on a course for oboe da caccia. In these classes it was not only possible to learn playing techniques for the forgotten instruments; The ornamentation of early music was also part of the teaching program in order to impart further knowledge of historical performance practice. In 1952, Döbereiner gave guest lectures on the performance practice of early music and ornamentation at the University of Music in Munich.
Munich Bach Festival and Munich Bach Association: On the 20th In September 1925, Christian Döbereiner organized the First Munich Bach Festival, where he also served as director. The aforementioned Vivaldi Violin Concerto, Bach's arrangement of the same, the Brandenburg Concertos and various other works by Bach and his contemporaries were also heard there. A highlight was certainly the premiere of the revival of JS Bach's Actus tragicus with two recorders. The recorder parts were taken over by the Munich sculptors Heinrich Düll and Georg Pezold. They were members of the Bogenhauser Künstlerkapelle - a Munich amateur ensemble that had been playing almost exclusively with original woodwind instruments from the 17th century since the 1880s. until 20. Century played music. The ensemble continued to play the Funny Field Music by Johann Philipp Krieger. The flutes' participation was praised in numerous press articles. This Bach festival was solely Döbereiner's work. It was not an official event of the Neue Bachgesellschaft Leipzig. It was only two years later, on his initiative, that the 15th German Bach Festival of the Neue Bachgesellschaft officially held in Munich. While the first festival in 1925 was dedicated exclusively to historical performance practice, at the second in 1927 this was juxtaposed with contemporary interpretations. In 1928 he would also be put in charge of the Nuremberg Bach Festival.
In 1934 Christian Döbereiner joined the board of the Munich Bach Association. This emerged in 1918 from the Bach Association founded in 1910 by the composer and theory teacher Alfred Stern. Ludwig Landshoff, who also tried to develop historical performance practice in Munich, often together with Döbereiner, was the first conductor there for over 10 years. In 1934, the Bach Association changed its statutes, probably at the instigation of Paul Ehlers, and became affiliated with the Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur, regional management of southern Bavaria and Upper Palatinate. At that time, Ehlers was the regional director of the Kampfbund and chairman of the Bach Association. In the same year, Döbereiner took over the direction of the chamber music ensemble from Carl Orff, who left the Bachverein at the end of 1934 after initially working together as conductors. He held this position for ten years.
At the Bach Club's summer festival on the 15th. until 18. In July 1934, under Döbereiner's direction, performances of JS Bach's cantata Let us worry, let us wake up and the cantata Silence, do not chat took place in staged form at Nymphenburg Palace in Munich. The pieces just mentioned were also performed in the same form at the Munich Bach Festival in 1935. Especially during his time as conductor of the Munich Bach Society, Döbereiner was in charge of numerous events as part of Nazi cultural policy, such as the Johann Sebastian Bach celebration in 1934, the Munich Bach Festival in 1935 and many other party-related concert events.
Historical performance practice: Christian Döbereiner is one of the most important and persistent representatives of historical performance practice in the early 20th century. Century. We owe him numerous performances of early music, in which the old instruments intended for this purpose were used again for these pieces, sometimes for the first time ever. His commitment is the foundation for many further experiments and efforts in the field of historical performance practice.
Nevertheless, precisely because of his constantly proclaimed call to “preserve the musical style of the time” by performing “with the original line-up” and, above all, using the “original instruments”, his approach must be examined more closely and, ultimately, criticism must be leveled at his inconsistency with regard to some details . According to Dieter Gutknecht, “the degree of originality of the instruments is rather low”. The harpsichords used at the association, but also by Döbereiner at his own events, were mostly by Karl Maendler. He completed his first harpsichord in 1907. While he based himself on historical models with this and the following instruments, he came to the public at the beginning of the 1920s with novel-looking productions that were referred to as “Bach pianos”. These “new constructions” were also used at Döbereiner’s events, for example the Munich Bach Festival in 1925.
With regard to the “originality” of the instruments, especially the viol he played, Döbereiner unusually accepted and defended clear concessions. For example, he played the viola da gamba, which as a historical instrument actually has frets, without frets. He explains this fact as follows:
““Thorough study of the old style of playing gives me, as a connoisseur and expert, the right and duty to deviate from the usual way of playing in some technical details. […] This new technique develops naturally from the old style of playing and thus does full justice to the essence of the old violin music.”
– Döbereiner 1936, p. VII.
Elsewhere he writes that the frets are “the most essential part of the lute and not the most essential part of the viol.” would belong.
With regard to the often incorrectly claimed that violas and violins belong to the same family, he expressly emphasizes in his gamba school that this view “as typical of the incorrect view that prevailed at the time, that the violoncello emerged from the viola da gamba represents an improvement and perfection of this instrument.”
Although he did not consider the gamba to be part of the violin family, he basically acted in exactly that direction by omitting the frets. In doing so, he modified one of the most important differences that separate the instrument families. In his opinion, the frets were “merely primitive, handcrafted aids of their time, which were used as playing techniques developed over the course of the 18th century. In the 19th century, string instruments disappeared from string instruments.” He also states: “Karl Friedrich Abel was already playing without frets,” as can be seen in a picture in his school. He misunderstood the necessity of the frets for the characteristic intonation of the viol, just as he probably also underestimated the importance of the undergrip position, which is so crucial for the balance of the bowing. Döbereiner writes in summary:
““The question of whether to play with frets or without frets, whether to play with an over or under grip bow position is not an artistic one, but rather one of practicality. External aids never determine the essence of playing the viol. What is essential is: a lively, spiritual reproduction of the old gamba music while respecting all stylistic laws and other imponderabilities with the help of the new tonal tool that emerges in the sound. Persistence must not lead to rigidity. “There is no rule in art that cannot be overturned by a higher one,” says Beethoven, and in the development of art practice takes precedence over theory.”
– Döbereiner 1950, p. 61.
His activities in the name of historical loyalty must therefore be viewed with a critical eye because of such statements. A particularly telling example of this is his comment on a section on the Bünde question in a scholarly work on The Viola da Gamba.[15] This paper “polemizes that the frets have a significant influence on the sound characteristics of the viol. (We probably forgot to add that in order to preserve the 'unadulterated, old' style of playing, the viol player also had to play in the costume of the Baroque period with an allong wig.)."[16] Paradoxically, Döbereiner himself often played in a rococo costume, as photos and concert reports show prove.
When it comes to the fundamental question of casting, Döbereiner was mostly careful to stick to the original specifications as much as possible. He often emphasizes this and repeatedly highlights it as a significant difference, especially in comparison to Henri Casadesus's Parisian group Société des instruments anciens, which was active at the same time. Numerous press reports confirm and praise this fact. Nevertheless, according to the current state of research, apart from the mention of recorders at the Bach Festival in 1925, there is no explicit evidence that other historical wind instruments, such as trumpets, horns or even double reed instruments, were used at concerts. It can therefore be assumed that modern instruments were used.
Furthermore, it remains to be examined to what extent the sheet music used in Döbereiner's performances differs from the original compositions. For example, he transposed Giuseppe Tartini's gamba concerto from the original key of D major to G major for the performances.
Christian Döbereiner must nevertheless be seen as one of the most energetic protagonists and, above all, as a pioneer of historical performance practice, not just for the Munich area. His very early, substantial work in this area is - despite the shortcomings and contradictions - of enormous value for today's performance practice of early music, since attempts at performance with original instruments or reproductions were certainly still an absolute rarity at this time. To date, in principle, there has been neither a comprehensive level of scientific research nor a fully informed audience for performances of early music in small ensembles and with original instruments. In addition, musical life at the beginning of the 20th century was Century still dominated by a late romantic aesthetic of monumental sound power.
In many other contemporary ensembles, such as the Paris Société, the sheer curiosity and exoticism of the old instruments often played a greater role than the interest in the possibilities they created for attempting to reconstruct early music. Christian Döbereiner undoubtedly had this desire. His efforts must be seen in the context of the circumstances of the time and not judged by the standards of today's possibilities. His achievement was to recall and reintegrate old instruments as such (the structural condition is of secondary importance in this case), contrary to the aesthetics that prevailed at the time, into the collective memory of musical practice and to do the initial persuasion for a return to a smaller one performance practice of early music.
Felicie Hüni-Mihacsek (3. April 1891 in Fünfkirchen, Austria-Hungary – 26. March 1976 in Munich) was a Hungarian opera and concert singer with a soprano voice. She sang predominantly at the state operas in Vienna and Munich as well as at the Salzburg Festival.
Life and work: She studied at the Vienna Music Academy with Rosa Papier-Paumgartner and made her debut at the Hamburg City Theater in the 1916–17 season. On the 25th. In May 1918 she sang for the first time at the Vienna State Opera - probably as a stand-in. That evening she embodied Woglinde in Wagner's Rheingold. On the 23rd In February 1919 she appeared as a guest at the Haus am Ring. Lady in the Magic Flute. This so-called guest rehearsal also included smaller Wagner roles and was crowned with success. From 1. In September 1919 she was accepted as a member of the ensemble of the State Opera. On the 10th In October of the same year she was entrusted with a smaller role, the voice of the falcon, in the premiere of Frau ohne Schatten by Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Richard Strauss. In addition to many episodic roles, they were quickly cast in important roles, as Micaëla, Agathe and Ighino, as Dorabella in a new production of Così fan tutte under Richard Strauss and also as Elsa. In the following season Sulamith, Princess Eudoxie, Chrysothemis, Najade and Donna Elvira followed, also in a new production under the direction of Richard Strauss. Preiser Records summarizes: “As Donna Elvira, the artist proved to be predestined for stylish Mozart singing, which later became her particular preference.” Her partners in this highly praised production were Helene Wildbrunn, Elisabeth Schumann, Alfred Piccaver, Richard Mayr and Alfred Jerger. She made her debut at the Salzburg Festival in 1922 as Fiordiligi, Donna Elvira and Countess Almaviva. When her colleague Berta Kiurina said goodbye to Vienna in the same year, the majority of her roles fell to Felicie Hüni-Mihacsek - for example Margiana, the Smetana roles Marie and Jutta, Fiordiligi and the Queen of the Night. Although she originally started in the coloratura department in Vienna, she increasingly took on roles with dramatic aspects - troubadour Leonore, Amelia, the Meyerbeer roles Berta and Inés, and also Donna Anna. In Vienna she also sang Tannhäuser-Elisabeth and Elsa, Antonia in d'Albert's Tiefland and perhaps a little too early the Feldmarschallin in Rosenkavalier, always to the satisfaction of the Strauss-Schalk management. In 1924 she appeared as Donna Anna with the State Opera Ensemble in Paris. In 1925 she was appointed to the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, “whose actual prima donna she was for the next twenty years.” Coach/belt. She was presented in leading roles in several new productions, for example in 1926 as Leonore in Verdi's Power of Destiny or as Concepcion in Ravel's Spanish Hour. In 1927 she appeared as a guest at the Stadttheater Zurüch, and in 1928 she was seen and heard in Hindemith's Cardillac at the Berlin Kroll Opera. In the now forgotten, then successful opera Li-Tai-Pe, the Emperor's Poet by Clemens von Franckenstein, she embodied Yang-Gui-Fe, a girl from the people. In 1930 she was cast in a new production in Munich as Manon Lescaut, a country girl who experiences a tragic fate. In 1931 and 1932 she took part in premieres by Hans Pfitzner and Robert Heger, and in 1933 she took on the title role in Arabella by Hofmannsthal/Strauss. Over the years, Marschallin became her signature role at the Munich State Opera. Despite her recognition from the director, the press, the audience and politicians, the artist's salary was reduced by a quarter, from 27,000 to 20,000 RM, because she was a foreigner, a year after the National Socialists came to power. The German singer colleagues (and NSDAP members), on the other hand, had their salaries increased. A complaint to the ministry was unsuccessful. The following year her salary was reduced again, to 15,900 RM. In 1937 she took part in an Othmar Schoeck premiere at the Dresden Semperoper, in 1939 she appeared again at the Salzburg Festival (as Donna Anna) and for the first time at the Frankfurt Opera House (as Marschallin), and in 1941 at the Deutsches Theater Prague. She also appeared at the Vienna State Opera during the war years, in works by Mozart and Richard Strauss. In 1944 she was on the God-Given list.
In 1945 she left the stage and was only occasionally heard in concerts. In 1953 she sang the Field Marshal again at the Munich Opera. Kutsch/Riemens judge: “Excellently beautifully formed voice, whose confident mastery of technique was excellently complemented by the fullness and brilliance of the intonation as well as the finesse of the expressive art.” Harold Rosenthal described her in the Grove Book of Opera Singers as one of the outstanding Mozart voices from the interwar years.
Felicie Hüni-Mihacsek was also a concert singer and as such was invited to many concert halls. In 1919 she interpreted the Second Symphony at the Vienna State Opera. Soprano solo in Mahler's Eighth and sang songs by Debussy, Pfitzner and Webern in the association for private musical performances. In 1922 she took on the soprano part in Schönberg's String Quartet op. 10 at the International Chamber Music Performances in Salzburg. In 1929 she sang the soprano solo in Bach's St. Matthew Passion at La Scala in Milan. In 1935, according to Kutsch/Riemens, she achieved “great success as a concert soloist in London and Budapest”. At the Salzburg Festival she was only involved in seven opera evenings, but in fifteen concerts. She sang the soprano solo in Mozart's C minor Mass 13 times and once each in Mozart's Requiem (1941) and in Haydn's Creation (1949). The artist was married to the Swiss industrialist Alfred Hüni from 1922 and became a Swiss citizen through the marriage. The couple had a son, Alfred (1925–2000), who also became a musician. The marriage took place before the age of 16. Divorced in October 1940. The singer was friends with the composer Mark Lothar and the choreographer Senta Maria Schmid. After leaving the stage, she became a singing teacher; her students included Christa Ludwig, Helga Müller-Molinari and Hanna-Ulrike Vassal. She was buried in the Solln forest cemetery in Munich. Her gravesite is numbered 8-2-32.
Roles (selection)
Premieres
1919: The Woman Without a Shadow by Hofmannsthal and Strauss, Vienna State Opera (10. October) – Voice of the Falcon
1931: The Heart by Hans Mahner-Mons and Hans Pfitzner, Bavarian State Opera Munich (12. November) –
1932: The Beggar Nameless by Robert Heger, Bavarian State Opera Munich (12. November) –
1937: Massimilla Doni by Othmar Schoeck, Dresden State Opera (2. March) – title role
Hans Knappertsbusch (* 12. March 1888 in Elberfeld (today: district of Wuppertal); † 25. October 1965 in Munich) was a German conductor.
CV
Knappertsbusch's birthplace: Hans Knappertsbusch was born as the son of an Elberfeld spirits manufacturer. He showed his interest in conducting as a student by leading the orchestra at the local high school. After graduating from school, he studied - against his parents' wishes - at the conservatory in Cologne. He learned conducting there from the then famous Fritz Steinbach. From 1909 onwards, his early work as a bandmaster included Mülheim an der Ruhr, Bochum, Elberfeld and Leipzig. At the same time, from 1909 to 1912 in Bayreuth he assisted the then festival director Siegfried Wagner and, above all, the Wagner conductor Hans Richter. This was a time that had a formative influence on his musical interpretation style and initiated his development into a Wagner conductor of international stature. In 1914 he first gained attention by directing the Wagner Festival in Holland. His path then took him to Munich via the Dessau Court Opera, where he became Germany's youngest general music director in 1919. Here in 1922 he succeeded Bruno Walter as director of the Bavarian State Opera and the Academy Concerts at the Odeon, a position he held until 1935. In 1924 he was appointed professor.
The time of National Socialism: When Thomas Mann attended Richard Wagner's 50th birthday in 1933. When he gave a lecture on the day of his death in Munich under the title Suffering and Greatness of Richard Wagner, in which he, on the one hand, honored Wagner and his work, but also subjected it to complex criticism, the passionate Wagner admirer Knappertsbusch felt challenged to defend his idol and wrote with the collaboration of Hans Pfitzner launched a “Protest from the Richard Wagner City of Munich”, in which Mann’s criticism was rejected in sharp words, but above all Mann’s support for the Weimar Republic was denounced. The protest note was signed by around 40 well-known cultural figures in the city of Munich, including Richard Strauss, as well as political representatives, and published on the radio and in the Münchner Neuesten Nachrichten.
Knappertsbusch's political views were German national, but he was not a member of the NSDAP. He also had no sympathy for National Socialism and did not mince his words. His personal antipathy towards the party meant that he was soon classified as “politically unreliable” by the National Socialists. Since he did not shy away from personally offending Adolf Hitler in his blunt manner, the consequences did not last long: in 1935 he was deposed as head of the Munich Opera and banned from working. However, the ban was soon lifted because there was a lack of outstanding conductors in the Third Reich.
Because of the events in Munich, Knappertsbusch now shifted his focus to Austria. In 1936 he appeared for the first time at the Vienna State Opera, where he became a permanent guest conductor and, although without an official position, was significantly involved in the management of the State Opera until 1944. He also took part again in 1937 at the Salzburg Festival, where he made his debut in 1929. He also conducted the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra many times from 1937 until his death. After the annexation of Austria to the German Reich in 1938, Knappertsbusch gradually worked again on German territory and during the war also undertook a few tours to the countries occupied by or allied with Germany, mainly with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with concerts that Wilhelm Furtwängler declined to conduct had.
After the Second World War:
After the war, he initially took over the position of general music director of the Bavarian State Opera again in 1945, but did not hold it for very long: Due to his professional activities during the Third Reich, the Americans imposed a professional ban on him in the fall of 1945, which, however, was banned in December 1946[ 6] - recognized by them as an error - was withdrawn with appropriate excuses. However, his successor as general music director in Munich was Georg Solti in 1946. After his rehabilitation, Knappertsbusch no longer took a permanent position. From then on, the focus of his work was Munich, Vienna and, from 1951, Bayreuth. After the war, he initially chose Bayreuth and then Munich as his domicile.
From 1947 to 1950 he also worked at the Theater an der Wien, the alternative headquarters of the Vienna State Opera, and from November 1955 he again directed performances at the State Opera, which was reopened after reconstruction. However, these were his last appearances at the Haus am Ring; director Herbert von Karajan, who took office in 1956, no longer hired him. He continued his beloved collaboration with the Vienna Philharmonic from 1947, particularly as a conductor of recordings and in orchestral concerts at the Theater an der Wien and at the Salzburg Festival.
A further focal point of influence emerged in 1951: the new festival directors of Bayreuth, Wieland Wagner and Wolfgang Wagner, hired him to reopen the Bayreuth Festival after the war. With the exception of 1953, he appeared there every year until 1964 and conducted the Ring, the Flying Dutchman and the Meistersinger von Nuremberg, but especially Parsifal. He also had Parsifal on the 13th. His last appearance in August 1964.
Hans Knappertsbusch died on the 25th. October 1965 in Munich from the long-term effects of a fractured femoral neck and was buried in the Bogenhausen cemetery in Munich (grave Mauer left no. 53).
Artistic meaning
Memorial plaque at the house where he was born: Knappertsbusch became famous for his recordings of works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Anton Bruckner, Johannes Brahms and Richard Strauss, which are characterized by great inner peace and long, tense breathing. Above all, however, he is regarded as one of the most important Wagner interpreters of the last century. The works of Richard Wagner were very close to his heart, and in the post-war period he conducted at the Bayreuth Festival without a fee. He loved Parsifal most of all; of the 95 performances he performed in Bayreuth, this work was represented 55 times.
The artistic direction of Knappertsbusch, who was ideologically conservative, was oriented towards tradition; he had little use for innovation; modern post-war productions, for example, were anathema to him.[A 4] In his younger years, however, he was also quite open to contemporary works, if they Even as he got older, they were no longer the focus of his interest. During his time as Munich's general music director, he was at the podium at the premiere of seven operas: Don Gil from the Green Pants by Braunfels, The Sky Dress by Wolf-Ferrari, Samuel Pepys by Coates, The Beloved Voice by Weinberger, Lucedia by Giannini and Das Heart of Pfitzner.
Although the focus of his work was the countries of the German-speaking region, the conductor, who was also in great demand internationally, made numerous guest appearances at opera houses throughout Europe. Over the course of his career, his work spanned from Petersburg to Madrid, from Stockholm to Naples. After the war he often worked in Paris. However, he did not accept engagements outside of Europe and he also turned down an offer from the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Knappertsbusch rehearsed reluctantly and very economically, preferring to rely on intuition during the performance. Although his gestures when conducting were usually sparing, he managed to spur the orchestra to top performance thanks to his suggestive personality. Sometimes looks and facial expressions were enough to convey his wishes to the musicians. Since he loved the spontaneity of the moment when reproducing musical works, he was also not a big fan of studio recordings for the record industry, of which there are relatively few. However, numerous live recordings of his performances have survived.
Personality: Knappertsbusch had an unusual appearance for a conductor: his unpretentious, straightforward, even grumpy nature, combined with a certain imperious aura that he radiated, and his fear of people, which he developed with age, earned the man from the Bergisches Land a reputation in Munich and Vienna also achieved unusual popularity beyond opera circles; he was given “the honor of popularhood.” In common parlance he was simply called “the Kna”.
As with many artistic personalities, Knappertsbusch was united by ambivalent traits. His character was determined by strength, stubbornness and rough robustness, which were offset by a high level of sensitivity and easily disturbed. He was popular with audiences and orchestras because of his uncomplicated and comparatively modest nature. At the end of a performance, he first bowed to the orchestra, thereby documenting that they played a key role in the success. He treated the musicians not as subordinates, but as employees. It is known from the immediate post-war period, which was full of deprivation, that he used significant parts of his fees to support his musicians. Only later did it become known that Knappertsbusch supported those persecuted during National Socialist rule.
On the other hand, he was also known and feared by some for his rudeness and his uncouth and resentful nature. The maestro's anger was easily ignited at times, and quite regular verbal outbursts were not uncommon. In particular, if the singers made mistakes even during the performance, they were often greeted with loud obscenities, such as: B. the famous soprano Birgit Nilsson knew to report. His insults to the Nazi rulers are also notorious, although only because of his prominent position did he not face any life-threatening problems.
Andreas Novak describes him quite accurately as the “rough humanist”.
Private life:Knappertsbusch was married twice. In 1918 he married Ellen Selma Neuhaus from Elberfeld (1896–1987). This marriage resulted in their daughter Anita (1919–1938), who died of a brain tumor at a young age. The marriage to Ellen Knappertsbusch ended in divorce in 1925. In 1926 he married Marion von Leipzig (1898–1984), with whom he was married until the end of his life; she was a half-sister of Hans-Hasso von Veltheim.
Knappertsbusch maintained friendships with the composers Hans Pfitzner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Richard Strauss and the conductor Leo Blech.
Awards
1944: Commander of the Order of St. James of the Sword
1953: Honorary citizen of the city of Bayreuth
1958: Bavarian Order of Merit; Chevalier of the Legion of Honor
1963: Honorary citizen of the city of Munich
1963: Austrian Decoration of Honor for Science and Art