Hermann Levi

This article is about the conductor Hermann Levi. For the economist see Hermann Levy .

Hermann Levi

Hermann Levi (born November 7, 1839 in Gießen ; died May 13, 1900 in Munich ) was a German orchestra conductor and composer , initially with close ties to Johannes Brahms and later to Richard Wagner . He directed u. a. the important court orchestras (opera and concert) in Karlsruhe (1864–1872) and Munich (1872–1896). He also conducted for the Bayreuth Festival (1882-1894), in particular the world premiere of Parsifal . His career was accompanied by the greatest appreciation for his musical, organizational and editing skills, but also by anti-Semitic hostility.

family

Hermann Levi was the son of the Hessian rabbi Benedikt Levi . His father was the Worms rabbi Samuel Levi, a son of the rabbi Wolf Levi in Pfersee near Augsburg . The family can be traced back from Hermann for at least ten generations (Hermann himself spoke of 14) to the middle of the 16th century on a paternal line of rabbis.

Hermann's mother Henriette (1807–1842) came from the Mayer family of tobacco manufacturers in Mannheim: their grandfathers were the court factor Gottschalk Mayer from the Electoral Palatinate and the Mannheim bank founder Wolf Hajum Ladenburg . Henriette became an attractive figure in Giessen society with her “lively spirituality and strong musical talent”.

Hermann's older siblings were called Wilhelm and Emma. When the fourth child was born - Hermann was barely three years old - the mother died; the newborn should not live long either.

In 1884, Benedikt married Gitel Worms, a merchant's daughter from Giessen, for the second time. She too died just a year later, after the birth of their daughter Auguste. Benedict never entered into another marriage.

Hermann's brother Wilhelm also studied music and became a singer. He later embarked on a banking career and became an authorized officer of the Ladenburg bank . After converting to Catholicism , he called himself Wilhelm Lindeck . In Hermann's switching back he was for almost a decade asset managers by Johannes Brahms .

Hermann Levi himself married Mary Fiedler (1854–1919), a daughter of the art historian Julius Meyer and a widow , on November 7, 1896, at the age of 56 and his health was so bad that he could no longer conduct and had applied for his retirement of the art historian Konrad Fiedler (1841–1895). The marriage took place only in a civil registry (this was during the lifetime of his father, with whom Levi had a very close relationship). In the marriage certificate, under the heading "Religious affiliation", the note is entered without denomination . The couple had seriously considered the possibility of a Christian church blessing (“A pastor would have been willing”), but in the end felt it was “more honest” to forego one.

Life

Richard Wagner to Hermann Levi, Bayreuth, May 3, 1872

Hermann Levi first grew up in Giessen. His extraordinary musicality was evident early on; He was considered a pianistic child prodigy in his hometown and played public piano concerts from the age of six. The father encouraged his two sons to turn to the artistic profession - this is particularly noteworthy in view of the centuries-old rabbinical tradition of the family.

At the age of twelve Levi began (under the care of a great-aunt) in Mannheim, parallel to attending the Lyceum, studying music with Hofkapellmeister Vinzenz Lachner . From 1855 to 1858 he studied at the Leipzig Conservatory , from which he graduated with brilliant performances, particularly on piano, composition and conducting. After studying in Paris in the winter of 1858/59, he took over the post of music director in Saarbrücken on the recommendation of Lachner . In 1861 he moved to Mannheim. From 1862 to 1864 he was chief conductor of the Deutsche Oper in Rotterdam , then until 1872 at the Grand Ducal Court Theater in Karlsruhe . In Karlsruhe he began in 1864 with Lohengrin and conducted there in 1869 as second after the premiere in Munich, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg . In 1869 he turned down the offer to take on the world premiere of Die Walküre in Munich.

A close friendship and artistic relationship with Johannes Brahms began in Karlsruhe ; In constant contact, Levi performed numerous works by the composer, including the world premieres of Schicksalslied , Alto Rhapsody , Triumphlied , Liebeslieder-Waltz , and piano quintet . With Brahms, who was six years his senior, Levi met "the first outstanding musical personality whom he admired without reservation and to whom he could confidently submit". The intimate friendship was later to become estranged, however, and broke up in a scandal in 1875 after a heated debate in which Levi's increasing turn to Richard Wagner's music also played a decisive role. The artistic collaboration was thus ended, even if Levi continued to perform works by Brahms (to a reduced extent).

During the time in Karlsruhe, a close personal and diverse artistic relationship with Clara Schumann developed , which lasted warmly throughout her life. They knew how to keep Wagner's “hot topic” (also for Clara) largely out of their relationship; this is particularly evident in the correspondence.

From 1872 Levi served as general music director and court music director at the Royal Court and National Theater in Munich until he retired in 1896 for health reasons and settled in Partenkirchen . In 1872 he became a member of the Munich casual society , to which he belonged until his death.

In 1874 he conducted Tristan for the first time and, according to his own confession to Joseph Joachim, became a "Wagnerian", and in 1878 the complete ring . At the height of his career, Levi conducted the world premiere of Parsifal in Bayreuth in July 1882 . Although he came from important Jewish families, Levi had grown into Wagner's Christian world of myths and had been on friendly terms with the composer since 1871. Wagner himself firmly rejected criticism that his “most sacred” work would not be conducted by a Jew. However, Wagner's request to Levi to be baptized was always in the room. Levi never met this expectation, despite all the admiration for Wagner, but the external and above all internal conflict burdened him very much, as Levi's student Felix Weingartner recalled.

In February 1883 he visited Wagner in Venice , and Richard Wagner died the day after his departure. In March / April of that year Levi conducted the cycle of commemorative performances with all of Wagner's operas in Munich. Until 1894 he remained the "major" and the right hand of the widow Cosima Wagner in the direction of the Bayreuth Festival . The continued success of Richard Wagner's music after his death is closely linked to Levi's name. Anti-Semitic hostility, including from Richard Strauss , who complained in 1891 about the Jewish conduct of St. Parsifal to Cosima Wagner, also an ardent anti-Semite, weighed heavily on him.

Levi introduced the “ Mozart cycle” into the German operatic repertoire. He himself translated the libretti by Lorenzo da Ponte for Mozart's operas Le nozze di Figaro , Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte into German. He tried cleverly to preserve the vowels of the Italian original that were important for singing; For example, he did not translate the last numeral into “Cinque ... dieci .... venti ... trenta ... trentasei ... quarantatre” (Le Nozze di Figaro) (literally) as “forty-three”, but ( vowel-preserving) with "yes, yes, it works". These translations are still very popular today and have prevailed over other translation attempts; many of the formulations out of it became popular words ("Give me your hand, my life"). A circumstance that was to embarrass the National Socialists : on the one hand, operas were only to be performed in German, and on the other hand, the libretto of the converted Jew da Ponte had also been translated by another Jew, Levi.

Levi initially pursued a career as a composer at a young age: His Op. 1 was written in Paris, a Schumann-oriented piano concerto in A minor, which was premiered by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra , as well as a symphony, a violin sonata, piano and chamber music as well as various Song settings. After a harsh criticism from Brahms of his works, Levi gave up this part of his musical activity despite great success and destroyed all manuscripts. Only the works published in print, two song cycles and the solo part of the piano concerto have survived. The orchestral material from the piano concerto, believed to be lost, was rediscovered by the pianist and conductor Martin Wettges in the Zurich Central Library . From this he reconstructed the score and performed the work again on June 1, 2008 (Christian Schröder, booklet accompanying a performance of the piano concerto on February 4, 2014 in Giessen).

Honors

A street is named after him in the Giessen musicians' quarter as in the north of Munich (Freimanner Heide). In Bayreuth there is a Levistrasse in his honor. In 2007, a bust by the sculptor Detlef Kraft was set up in the theater park of the city of Giessen, with the most important stages in Levi's life displayed on a board at the base. The concert hall in the town hall of Giessen was renamed the Hermann-Levi-Saal in November 2014. The city of Karlsruhe named the square in front of the Badisches Staatstheater after him in 2017 .

Hermann Levi has also been an honorary citizen of the Partenkirchen market since 1898 ( Garmisch-Partenkirchen from 1935 ), where he had a villa built and he was buried in a mausoleum.

Controversies over keepsakes and resting places

Hermann Levi mausoleum in Partenkirchen, designed in 1900/01 by Adolf von Hildebrand ; State around 1910

In 1925 the congregation named a street that led past Levi's mausoleum in the park of his Partenkirchen villa Haus Riedberg in his honor as Hermann-Levi-Weg . In the Third Reich (1934 or 1935) the street was renamed after Theodor Fritsch , a publisher of anti-Semitic inflammatory pamphlets. And when in turn did not seem opportune that name after the war and the street should be renamed again, the market town decided against the name Levi's and a harmless Karwendel street . Plans to rededicate a street to the former patron of the community by renaming part of Hindenburgstrasse were disrupted by a referendum in 2013.

Levi was laid to rest on the property of the villa. The body was initially buried temporarily in the parents' grave of his widow Mary (née Meyer ) in Munich's Ostfriedhof before the artistically designed mausoleum by the leading sculptor and close friend Adolf von Hildebrand could be completed. The 4.80 m high, 4.50 m wide and 2.50 m deep structure with its approximately 20 m wide, oval-framed by a wall, survived the desecrations in the time of the National Socialism unscathed.

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  Plaster model of the portrait tondo on the back wall of the mausoleum hall

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  Plaster model of the relief in the central wall gable above the hall (angel playing lute)

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  Plaster model (fragment) for the inscription plaque, later grave slab

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  State of the system in 1901 before the gable relief was inserted

State of the grave in September 2018

In 1957, at the request of the then property owner, the municipality approved the (literally) “removal” of the facility. (A road widening, which is sometimes cited in the literature as a reason for the demolition, cannot be proven from the municipality documents.)

Only the edged grave slab made of red marble remained above the crypt, also made by v. Hildebrand artistically designed and since 1991 a listed building. It remained exposed to the weather (later temporarily covered) and grew in strongly. A later owner (also municipal council 2008-2014) used the area near the crypt, considerations of piety without prejudice, as a large area as a storage area for building materials, firewood and other items.

Starting in 2006, there were initiatives to restore the remains of the honorary citizen and benefactor of Partenkirchen to a dignified resting place in keeping with its importance; these failed.

Since there was no certainty whether Levi's bones were actually still in the crypt, it was opened on May 16, 2018 in the presence of a. a. of a rabbi and the mayoress Meierhofer . The investigation found a body in a sealed zinc coffin with Levi's name on it. With this, sufficient certainty was established and the crypt was closed again.

After consultation with the President of the Israelitische Kultusgemeinde München und Oberbayern Charlotte Knobloch, she decided in July 2018 to transfer Levi's body to the New Israelite Cemetery in Munich at a time to be determined : “We are a religious community and must act according to our religious laws, which say that every Jewish person must be buried in a Jewish cemetery. ”The widow of Levis had of course had her deceased husband buried without a denomination . There are no known indications that this would not have happened in accordance with her husband's wishes and were also not put forward in the discussion.

In February 2019 this decision was rejected again: Levi should not be reburied, but the Partenkirchen grave site should be placed in a "representative state" and made publicly accessible. The official reason given was that the planned Munich burial site next to the Holocaust survivor Max Mannheimer was "cramped, so that the chest with Levi's bones would not have found room".

At the end of the long-term negotiations, the market town acquired the property of the land with the Levi crypt in November 2019 through an exchange of around 50 square meters. The jury (with the participation of Ms. Knobloch among others) of an advertised artistic competition selected a winning design for the design of the tomb in April 2020.

The naming of the Partenkirchner Kurpark after Hermann Levi, which has also been discussed for many years, was rejected by the municipal council on December 11, 2019 "after an emotional debate" with a conservative majority (11:19 votes).

bibliography

• Thoughts from Goethe's works. Collected by Hermann Levi. Publishing house F. Bruckmann, Munich 1901 and more often
• How am I looking forward to the orchestra! Letters from the conductor Hermann Levi. Selected and commented by Dieter Steil. Cologne: Dohr, 2015. ISBN 978-3-86846-123-7

literature

• Dieter Steil: "... our art is a religion ..." The correspondence between Cosima Wagner and Hermann Levi. (= Collection of musicological treatises 101), Baden-Baden: Koerner 2018, ISBN 978-3-87320-601-4 .
• Dieter Steil: Hermann Levi - conductor, translator and musician from Gießen , In: Mitteilungen des Oberhessischer Geschichtsverein (MOHG), Vol. 99 (2014), pp. 9-17.
• Stephan Mösch: Consecration, workshop, reality. Wagner's “Parsifal” in Bayreuth 1882–1933, Bärenreiter, 2nd edition 2012, ISBN 978-3-7618-2326-2 .
• Frithjof Haas : Between Brahms and Wagner . Atlantis, Zurich 1995, ISBN 3-254-00194-X .
• Rolf Schneider : The journey to Richard Wagner . Novel. Paul Zsolnay, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3-552-04115-X .
• Imogen Fellinger:  Hermann Levi. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-00195-8 , p. 396 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Monika Ryll: Lukas Strauss - Baden bourgeoisie in the empire . Small writings of the Mannheim City Archives, issue no.3. Mannheim 1996.
• Josef Stern: Hermann Levi and his Jewish world . In: Journal for the History of the Jews . Issue 1/1970. Olamenu, Tel Aviv 1970, pp. 17-25 (on Levi's Judaism and Richard Wagner's anti-Semitism ).
• Wendelin Weißheimer: Experiences with Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt and many other contemporaries. Stuttgart and Leipzig 1898.
• Robert Jungwirth: A Jew as a Knight of the Grail , in: NZZ , January 9, 2016, p. 26.
• Robert and Clara Schumann's correspondence with Franz Brendel , Hermann Levi, Franz Liszt , Richard Pohl and Richard Wagner , ed. by Thomas Synofzik , Axel Schröter and Klaus Döge (= Schumann-Briefedition , Series II, Volume 5), Cologne: Dohr 2014.

Documents

Letters from Hermann Levi are in the holdings of the Leipzig music publisher CF Peters in the Leipzig State Archives .

Web links

Commons : Hermann Levi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Hermann Levi in the catalog of the German National Library
• Hermann Levi in the Stadtwiki Karlsruhe
• Hermann Levi in ​​the online catalog of the Berlin State Library
• Frithjof Haas: Those who have suffered have the right to be free, Hermann Levi on the 100th anniversary of his death Lecture Richard Strauss Institute Garmisch-Partenkirchen 2000.
• Hermann Levi in ​​the Saarland biographies
• Stephen Tree: Wagner's Jewish conductor Berliner Tagesspiegel from January 10, 2013
• The estate is in the Bavarian State Library
• Hermann Levi's autographs in the digital collections of the Badische Landesbibliothek

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Frithjof Haas: Between Brahms and Wagner. The conductor Hermann Levi . Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, Zurich / Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-254-00194-X .
2. ↑ Frithjof Haas: Between Brahms and Wagner. The conductor Hermann Levi . Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, Zurich / Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-254-00194-X , p. 12 f .
3. ↑ ^{a b} Frithjof Haas: Between Brahms and Wagner. The conductor Hermann Levi . Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, Zurich / Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-254-00194-X , p. 16 .
4. ↑ Dieter Steil (Ed.): “How am I looking forward to the orchestra!”. Letters from the conductor Hermann Levi . Dohr, Cologne 2015, ISBN 978-3-86846-123-7 , pp. 151 .
5. ↑ Dieter Steil (Ed.): “How am I looking forward to the orchestra!”. Letters from the conductor Hermann Levi . Dohr, Cologne 2015, ISBN 978-3-86846-123-7 , pp. 12 .
6. ↑ Messages . In: Allgemeine Zeitung . Munich November 7, 1896.
7. ↑ Dieter Steil (Ed.): “How am I looking forward to the orchestra!”. Letters from the conductor Hermann Levi . Dohr, Cologne 2015, ISBN 978-3-86846-123-7 , pp. 384 .
8. ^ Letter from Hermann Levi to Cosima Wagner dated November 2, 1896, in: Dieter Steil (Ed.): "How am I looking forward to the orchestra!" Letters from the conductor Hermann Levi . Dohr, Cologne 2015, ISBN 978-3-86846-123-7 , pp. 382 .
9. ↑ Frithjof Haas: Between Brahms and Wagner. The conductor Hermann Levi . Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, Zurich / Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-254-00194-X , p. 17 .
10. ↑ Frithjof Haas: Between Brahms and Wagner. The conductor Hermann Levi . Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, Zurich / Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-254-00194-X , p. 18-65 .
11. ↑ Frithjof Haas: “Those who have suffered have the right to be free.” Hermann Levi on the 100th anniversary of his death on May 13, 2000. Lecture given on the occasion of the memorial event at the Richard Strauss Institute in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. (No longer available online.) Richard Strauss Institute, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on September 12, 2018 . 
12. ↑ Frithjof Haas: Between Brahms and Wagner. The conductor Hermann Levi . Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, Zurich / Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-254-00194-X , p. 90 .
13. ↑ Frithjof Haas: Between Brahms and Wagner. The conductor Hermann Levi . Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, Zurich / Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-254-00194-X , p. 199 .
14. ↑ Frank Piontek ( review ): Book review on Dieter Steil (Ed.): “'How am I looking forward to the orchestra?' Letters from the conductor Hermann Levi ”, Cologne, Dohr, 2015 . In: Udo Bermbach u. a. (Ed.): Wagner Spectrum . No. 2 . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2016, ISBN 978-3-8260-6078-6 , p. 175 ff .
15. ↑ Informal Society: One Hundred and Fifty Years Informal Society Munich 1837–1987 , University Printing and Publishing House Dr. C. Wolf and Son KG, Munich 1987, 159 pages
16. ↑ See the list of street names of Bayreuth , the list Munich street names / H .
17. ↑ Article concert hall named after musician Hermann Levi by the Gießener Allgemeine from November 26, 2014, accessed on May 1, 2015.
18. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Alois Schwarzmüller (former teacher, local councilor, local historian): Hermann Levi - conductor, composer and translator in Partenkirchen. In: Contributions to the history of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen market in the 20th century. gapgeschichte.de, 2018, accessed on May 30, 2019 . 
19. ^ ^{A b c d e} Matthias Köpf: The dishonorable grave of Partenkirchen. In: sueddeutsche.de. Süddeutscher Verlag, July 15, 2018, accessed on July 17, 2018 . 
20. ↑ Hermann Levi. (No longer available online.) Citizens' Service Garmisch-Partenkirchen, archived from the original on May 1, 2015 ; accessed on July 17, 2018 . 
21. ↑ Article A continuous emotional bowing of the Tagesspiegel from January 10, 2013 or new places wanted for Schumpp and Levi and Embarrassing Panne from merkur.de from April 22, 2013 and July 8, 2013. All articles accessed on May 1 2015.
22. ↑ Frithjof Haas: Between Brahms and Wagner. The conductor Hermann Levi . Atlantis Musikbuch-Verlag, Zurich / Mainz 1995, ISBN 3-254-00194-X , p. 363 f .
23. ↑ ^{a b c} Sigrid Esche-Braunfels: Adolf von Hildebrand (1847–1921) . Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-87157-144-X , p. 397 ff .
24. ↑ »It is not correct that the mausoleum was destroyed in the Third Reich. […] It stood at least until the 1950s and at that time looked exactly as the picture in the daily newspaper showed [status around 1910]. Only the grave slab that closed the crypt was moved to the side so that one could see into the crypt. […] Otherwise this facility was completely intact, only the green area within the wall ring, which was closed with a wrought iron gate, was overgrown and overgrown for lack of care. «Hans Renner (former local council): Levi mausoleum was a playground in the 1950s . Letter to the editor. In: Münchner Merkur, Garmisch-Partenkirchner Tagblatt edition . July 25, 2018, p. 4 .
25. ↑ Minutes of the closed building committee meeting of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen municipal council on November 4, 1957, item “ Outside the agenda: 17) Removal of the former mausoleum of General Music Director Levi, at the current property of Consul General Dr. Lerch, Dr. Wigger Str. 12 "
26. ↑ Photos from the state of 1984: Peter Pinnau: Gruft, Mausoleum, Grabkapelle: Studies on sepulchral architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries with a special focus on Adolf von Hildebrand . Mäander-Verlag, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-88219-366-2 , p. 639 .
27. ↑ Photos of the condition on November 2, 2012: Corinna Strebert, Joachim Sproll: Scandal about the Jewish honorary citizen Hermann Levi. Initiative Pro Hindenburgstrasse, November 2012, archived from the original on August 15, 2018 ; accessed on March 10, 2019 . 
28. ↑ Christof Schnürer: Freeman grave - an eyesore. In: merkur.de. Münchener Zeitungs-Verlag, November 12, 2012, accessed on August 14, 2018 . 
29. ↑ ^{a b c} Peter Reinbold: The corpse of an honorary citizen is reburied: This will be Levi's final resting place. In: merkur.de. Münchener Zeitungs-Verlag, July 9, 2018, accessed on July 17, 2018 . 
30. ^ ^{A b} Lui Knoll, Thomas Schulz: The German-Jewish conductor Hermann Levi: Grave provides for discussions. In: BR Classic. Bayerischer Rundfunk, August 28, 2018, accessed on September 12, 2018 . 
31. ↑ Peter Reinbold: The forgotten honorary citizen: Finally a proper resting place for the famous conductor Hermann Levi? In: merkur.de. Münchener Zeitungs-Verlag, June 24, 2018, accessed on August 14, 2018 . 
32. ↑ Reports: Munich, May 14th . In: Loisachbote . May 17, 1900: “The general music director Levi is buried without a denomination. [...] "
33. ↑ Peter Reinbold: Levi-Grab remains in Garmisch-Partenkirchen . In: Münchner Merkur, Garmisch-Partenkirchner Tagblatt edition . February 16, 2019, p. 1 .
34. ↑ Peter Reinbold: Milestone for Levi grave . In: Münchner Merkur, Garmisch-Partenkirchner Tagblatt edition . November 26, 2019, p. 1 .
35. ↑ Peter Reinbold: Milestone for Levi Commemoration. Art competition completed . In: Münchner Merkur, Garmisch-Partenkirchner Tagblatt edition . May 2, 2020, p. 3 .
36. ↑ Matthias Köpf: An honorary citizen who is honored very late. In: sueddeutsche.de. Süddeutscher Verlag, May 4, 2020, accessed on May 14, 2020 . 
37. ↑ Peter Reinbold: Levi and the Alliance of Conservatives. Kurpark Partenkirchen will not become Hermann Levi Park. In: merkur.de. Münchener Zeitungs-Verlag, December 19, 2019, accessed on May 13, 2020 . 
38. ↑ Markt Garmisch-Partenkirchen: Minutes of the public / non-public meeting of the market council of the Markt Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Wednesday, December 11, 2019 in the large meeting room. (PDF; 708 KB) In: https://buergerservice.gapa.de/ . Municipal administration Garmisch-Partenkirchen, December 11, 2019, accessed on May 13, 2020 .