August Pott

August Friedrich Pott (born November 7, 1806 in Northeim , † August 27, 1883 in Graz ) was a German chamber musician , violinist and court conductor of the Oldenburg Orchestra .

Life

Pott was the son of the Northeim town musician Johann Ferdinand Pott and, like his father, was originally supposed to be a French horn player. His talent for the violin, which was recognized at an early stage, led to his taking violin lessons from the age of 13 in Hanover and then in Kassel , there from the famous composer, violinist and court conductor Louis Spohr . At the age of 17 Pott got his first job as a chamber musician in the Hannoversche Hofkapelle . He was considered one of the best German violin virtuosos of his time and soon undertook extensive concert tours, including to Paris and Copenhagen . The Danish King Frederick VI. awarded him the title of professor at the Universities of Copenhagen and Kiel . However , he was denied the coveted position of concert master in the Hanoverian court orchestra.

Therefore, Pott applied for the newly created position of court conductor in Oldenburg in 1832. A solo concert he gave in Oldenburg in February 1832 seems to have tipped the balance for his appointment. According to the employment instructions, Pott became Kapellmeister at the Grand Ducal Court with the duty not only of directing the court concerts and what goes with them. . but also for solo or concert playing on the violin in the same, as well as for playing a quartet at court. In addition, he was obliged to accompany the Grand Duchess playing the piano and was appointed music director at the Oldenburg teacher training college and head of the singing club. It was only in the twelfth paragraph of his employment instructions that he was given the opportunity, rather casually, to perform public concerts in the city with the help of the court orchestra , in compliance with other police regulations. This paragraph conceals the beginning of public, middle-class musical life in Oldenburg, to which Pott, as the first long-time conductor of the court orchestra, gave important impulses. Under his leadership a regular concert business developed in the city of Oldenburg, which despite all the shortcomings and starting difficulties could compete with that of other smaller residences, as it succeeded in attracting leading concert and vocal soloists of the time, such as Louis Spohr, Clara Schumann , Joseph Joachim and Jenny Meyer to bring them to Oldenburg.

As a violin virtuoso, Pott was not yet a conductor in the modern sense, which did not develop until the late 19th century. As the director of the court orchestra, he was often harsh and authoritarian, which caused many conflicts between him and the musicians, who at the time could not form a modern, professional orchestra. Nevertheless, Pott was able to hand over an intact court orchestra and a city audience to his successor Albert Dietrich in 1861, who had accepted the offer of a middle-class concert life in the city of Oldenburg.

In addition to his importance as a violin virtuoso, Pott, like almost all conductors of the early and mid-19th century, distinguished himself as a composer. The autographs of his works, which are largely forgotten today, are partly kept in Oldenburg. The Oldenburg folk hymn Heil dir, o Oldenburg was incorporated by Pott into one of his symphonic attempts.

Pott was also the initiator of the Salzburg Mozart Monument in Salzburg, for which he partly donated his concert fees and organized collections from contemporary composers. When this monument was unveiled in 1842, he conducted the ceremony.

Pott retired on January 1, 1861 at his own request. He spent his retirement in Graz.

literature

• Ernst Hinrichs : Pott, August. In: Hans Friedl u. a. (Ed.): Biographical manual for the history of the state of Oldenburg . Edited on behalf of the Oldenburg landscape. Isensee, Oldenburg 1992, ISBN 3-89442-135-5 , pp. 557-558 ( online ).