August Reinhard

August Reinhard (born November 27, 1831 in Ballenstedt ; † November 27, 1912 there ) was a German composer and writer of a harmonium school.

biography

August Reinhard's cultural environment was shaped by the court holding of the Duke of Anhalt-Bernburg in Ballenstedt Castle. Court concerts and opera performances in the palace theater as well as contacts with orchestral musicians influenced his musical development.

But he decided first to become a teacher. In 1850 he got a job at the institute of Carl Brinckmeier in Ballenstedt. In 1854 the Prince of Wittgenstein appointed him as a private tutor for his son. In 1868 Reinhard finally returned to Ballenstedt.

In 1888 Reinhard had to give up the teaching profession for health reasons and from then on devoted himself to music, in particular he advocated the harmonium .

In 1901 he was appointed professor hc.

August Reinhard lived in Ballenstedt, Allee No. 27.

Reinhard and the harmonium

On his study trips with the Prince of Wittgenstein, Reinhard visited the acoustic cabinet of F. Kaufmann & Sohn in Dresden. There he played a pressure wind harmonium for the first time, which became a key experience for him.

Reinhard saw the Druckwindharmonium not as a cheap organ substitute, but as a keyboard instrument that was able to perform expressive orchestral music. He paid special attention to the technical training for playing the harmonium, which he considered to be essentially different from playing the piano or organ. "Harmonium Pope" Reinhard distanced himself from the suction wind harmonium, which was later widely used.

In 1877 the Berlin publishing house Carl Simon published his Harmoniumschule op. 16 , the circulation of which had already exceeded 40,000 copies by Reinhard's death. This school was still available from Edition Peters in Leipzig until 1989 at least.

Reinhard appeared in public in harmonium concerts and also taught harmonium playing. One of his students was Paula Simon-Herlitz, who later became the daughter-in-law of his publisher. Reinhard has been almost completely forgotten due to the decline of the harmonium during the 20th century. More recently, there has been a renewed interest in Reinhard's work.

Works

• 24 preludes for use in church services for harmonium (also for organ) op.12
• Twenty Harmonium Studies (a supplement for each harmonium school) op.13
• Harmonium School op.16
• Three duos. Pieces for harmonium and pianoforte. (Appendix to the Harmonium School) op. 16a
• Six little duos for harmonium and piano op.26
• First trio for cello (violin), harmonium and piano, F major op.28
• Second trio for cello (violin), harmonium and piano, F minor op.30
• 50 short and easy chorale preludes for harmonium op.34
• Three Sonatinas for Harmonium, Op. 38
• Small harmonium school. (Excerpt from op.16) op.45
• Third trio for cello (violin), harmonium and piano, G major op.46
• 24 chorale preludes for organ or harmonium for worship use op.51
• 60 five-part chorales with interludes and finals op.52
• Caecilia. Collection of 253 chorale preludes from old and new times for organ or harmonium for church service, edited by AR (including 35 pieces by AR) op.54
• Ten epilogues for organ or harmonium for use in worship, op.72
• Studies. 50 practice and performance pieces for harmonium. Book I and II op.74
• Serious studies for harmonium. 44 pieces in strict style op.83
• First Sonata for Harmonium and Piano, C major op.84
• Second Sonata for Harmonium and Piano, D minor op.85
• Instructions for ecclesiastical harmonium playing for beginners op.105
• For the funeral. Fantasy on well-known funeral chants for harmonium op.109
• also numerous transcriptions of opera, oratorio and symphonic music for chamber music ensembles with harmonium
• Works for piano (also four hands)

Fonts

• Harmonium School op.16 . Berlin: Carl Simon Musikverlag 1877
• Something from the harmonium (from letters from A. Reinhard to concertmaster S. in D.). A contribution to the explanation of the nature of the harmonium . Berlin: Carl Simon Musikverlag 1895

literature

• Vox humana, Volume 15 (2004), No. 4, Kwartaalblad van de Harmonium Vereniging Nederland

Web links

• Works by and about August Reinhard in the catalog of the German National Library

grades

• Sheet music and audio files from August Reinhard in the International Music Score Library Project