Composed: 1832 Premiered: 1833, Berlin Libretto by Eduard Devrient, after a Bohemian legend Prologue Hans Heiling, the King of the Gnomes, announces that he wishes to marry Anna, a mortal. His mother tries to dissuade him, since he would lose his powers. Act I Anna and her mother Gertrude come to Heiling’s house above ground. ...
(Hin’-rikh Marsh’-ner) 1795–1861 German composer Marschner was the most important composer of German operas during the period between Weber and Wagner. Marschner grew up in Zittau and in 1815 met Beethoven in Vienna. In 1821 he moved to Dresden before settling in Hanover in 1830 as the conductor of the Hoftheater, where many of his operas were first performed. Marschner believed ...
1795–1861, German Heinrich Marschner, the German composer, had the best possible backer for his first opera, Heinrich IV und d’Aubigné (1817–18), which was set around the turn of the seventeenth century. It featured King Henri IV of France and his follower the Huguenot poet Théodore d’Aubigné. Carl Maria von Weber, no less, staged the opera ...
(Hin’-rikh E’-zak) c. 1450–1517 Flemish composer Isaac worked in Florence from the mid-1480s until 1494, when the changing fortunes of the Medici family cost him his job. In 1497 he was hired by the Habsburg emperor Maximilian I, to the appointment of Hofkomponist (court composer). Although he remained in Maximilian’s pay for the rest of his life, he travelled ...
(Hin’-rikh Eg’-nats Frants fun Be’-ber) 1644–1704 German composer Biber was a violin virtuoso and one of the most imaginative composers of his time. He was employed at the Moravian court of Kromeriz (near Brno in today’s Czechoslovakia) during the 1660s, but from the early 1670s worked at the Salzburg court of the Prince-Archbishop, where he subsequently became Kapellmeister (‘chapel master’) ...
(Hin’-rikh Shüts) 1585–1672 German composer Schütz received his early training at the Collegium Mauritianum at Hessen-Kassel. From there he went to Marburg University to study law. In 1609, Landgrave Moritz of Hessen-Kassel, of whom Schütz was a protegé, sent the young composer to Venice, where he studied with Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1553–1612). He returned to Kassel in about 1613 ...
(Kârl Hin’-rikh Groun) 1703/4–59 German composer Graun worked in the opera at Dresden and then at Brunswick (where he wrote six operas), before becoming Kapellmeister in 1735 to Frederick, the Prussian prince. He was promoted to royal Kapellmeister when Frederick (who later acquired the title ‘the Great’) acceded in 1740. Graun was put in charge of the new Berlin court opera ...
1781–1861 American composer Heinrich was one of the most important figures in American musical life in the nineteenth century. Born in Bohemia to a German family, he tried unsuccessfully to set up business in America, and in 1817 he settled there to embark on a musical career, becoming the country’s first professional composer, and being dubbed by ...
(Al’-bârt Lôrt’-zing) 1801–51 German composer Lortzing’s youthful experience in theatres – acting, singing and conducting – was of immense value to his later vocation as a composer of operas, the largest and most important part of his output. His comic operas are his most characteristic works, portraying a homely, sentimental humour that has proved hugely popular in Germany. ...
1835–1900, German The German baritone Franz Betz made his debut in Hanover in 1856, singing the part of Heinrich in Wagner’s Lohengrin. Three years later, he was at the Hofoper in Berlin as Don Carlo in Verdi’s Ernani. He also sang Don Giovanni in Mozart’s opera, Amonasro in Verdi’s Aida and the title roles in Hans Heiling ...
1810–83, Italian The Italian tenor and one-time army officer Giovanni Mario played the title role in Meyerbeer’s Robert le diable at the Paris Opéra in 1838 and in 1843 was the first to sing Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at the Théâtre Italien. Mario Cavaliere di Candia, to use his real, aristocratic, name, had good looks ...
During the early seventeenth century a remarkable dynasty of musicians emerged, culminating in the genius of J. S. Bach. His musical forebears are too numerous to consider individually, but a handful of them were sufficiently accomplished and imaginative as composers to deserve a mention. Their music is increasingly finding a place in present-day concert programming. Their multifarious gifts and ...
By the end of the nineteenth century, or early in the twentieth, every self-respecting city in Europe or North America expected to have an orchestra of its own, playing regularly in a purpose-built concert hall or civic hall. Some, like the Vienna Philharmonic, the Dresden State Symphony or the Leipzig Gewandhaus, continued long traditions (Dresden ...
A bowed string instrument, the arpeggione was invented in Vienna by J. G. Stauffer in 1823–24. A kind of bass viol, with soundholes like a viol, it is waisted, but shaped more like a large guitar than a viol or double bass. Six-stringed and with metal frets, it was tuned E, A, d, ...
The affectionately nicknamed ‘squeeze box’ is the smallest of all conventional keyboard instuments, and the lowliest cousin of the organ (except the shirt-pocket harmonica). Strictly speaking, however, it has neither keys nor a keyboard. Nor has it a uniform shape. Playing Technique Whereas the standard English concertina is hexagonal, German and American models are square. The basic ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
CURATED
Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.