Bernhard Sekles

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bernhard Sekles, ca.1913

Bernhard Sekles (born March 20, 1872 in Frankfurt am Main ; † December 8, 1934 there ) was a German composer, conductor, pianist and music teacher.

Life

Bernhard Sekles was born as the son of Maximilian Seckele and Anna (née Bischheim) on March 20, 1872 (but always celebrated his birthday on June 20). The name was changed to Bernhard Sekles. After private instruction from the composer Wilhelm Hill, Sekles studied from 1888 at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main with Engelbert Humperdinck (instrumentation), Iwan Knorr (composition) and Lazzaro Uzielli (piano). After graduating, he became conductor at the theaters in Heidelberg (1893/94) and Mainz (1895/96). In 1896 he returned as a teacher at the Hoch Conservatory, where he initially taught music theory and from 1906 also composition. In 1923 he became director of the conservatory, which under his leadership was significantly expanded by the establishment of new subjects (new subjects were: conducting class, opera school, private music teacher seminar, institute for church music, courses for early musical education and adult education). In 1928 he also founded the first ever jazz class - against fierce resistance from conservative circles - and appointed the young Mátyás Seiber to direct it. Because of his Jewish descent, Sekles was dismissed by the National Socialists in April 1933 and his music was banned. Sekles died of pulmonary tuberculosis on December 8, 1934 .

music

Sekles began as a song composer in the footsteps of Brahms. Chamber music, orchestral and stage works followed, with which he moved in the direction of Impressionism and which brought him increasing popularity. In addition, elements from non-European musical cultures and the contrapuntal linearity of the New Objectivity flowed into his work. This shows an unusually wide range of styles, ranging from late romantic tonality, exotic modality and moderately modern harmony to the limit of atonality. His musical exoticism, which identifies him as a pioneer of transculturalism, is particularly characteristic and typical. His student Adorno , who portrayed him on his 50th birthday in 1922, emphasizes Sekles' lyrical talent and mentions the operas Scheherazade and Marriage of the Faun as well as the 15 stories for small orchestra as particularly successful. On this occasion, Adorno also praised Sekles for his "warm humanity, which fills everything technical with life and responsibility; also for the sake of his clever methodology and factual rigor against everything faded, inorganic and made". Adorno later expressed himself more critically about Sekles, who “tried to drive out the atonal mosquitoes” . Sekles reacted to the rise of militant anti-Semitism towards the end of the Weimar Republic with an increasing turn to his Jewish roots, which found its musical expression in the orchestral work Der Dybuk and the male choir Vater Noah . After his release by the Nazis in 1933, he found in the psalm composition At the waters of Babylon we sat and wept (Psalm 137) to a sacred simplicity of great forcefulness. Sekles' music disappeared from musical life after it was banned in 1933 and was forgotten. Their rediscovery is still pending.

Works (selection)

Compositions

Publishers: Schott, Eulenburg, Leuckart, Brockhaus, Oehler, Rahter and others

stage

  • The dwarf and the infanta , ballet, op. 22, 1913
  • Schahrazade , Opera, op. 26, 1917 - poetry by Gerdt von Bassewitz
  • The Wedding of the Faun , comic opera, 1921
  • The ten kisses , comic opera, 1926

orchestra

  • From the Gardens of Semiramis , symphonic poem, op.19
  • Small suite, in memory of ETA Hoffmann , op.21
  • The Temperaments , 4 symphonic movements for large orchestra, op. 29, 1916
  • Passacaglia and Fugue for large orchestra and organ, op.17, 1922
  • Visited , fantastic miniatures for small orchestra, op.29, 1923
  • Der Dybuk , Prelude for Orchestra, op.35, 1928
  • Symphony No. 1 , op.37, 1930

Chamber music

  • Trio for clarinet, violoncello and piano, op.9
  • Sketches for piano, op.10
  • Serenade for 11 solo instruments, op.14, 1907
  • Divertimento for string quartet, op.20, 1911
  • Passacaglia and Fugue in fourfold counterpoint for string quartet, op.23, 1914
  • Sonata in D minor for violoncello and piano, op.28, 1919
  • String Quartet , op. 31, 1923
  • Suite No. 1 for piano, op.34
  • The music construction kit for 3 or 4-handed piano, 1930
  • Chaconne on an eight-bar marching theme for viola and piano, Op. 38, 1931
  • Sonata for violin and piano, op.44

Vocal music

  • Songs, op.6
  • Folk poetry from Romanian , for baritone and piano, op.7, 1900
  • From> Hafis < , 4 songs for baritone and piano, op.11, 1902
  • From the Schi-King (Friedrich Rückert), 18 songs for high voice and piano, op.15, 1907
  • 4 songs based on poems by Friedrich Rückert for baritone and piano, op.18, 1911
  • 4 songs for female choir and piano, op. 6, 1899
  • 6 popular chants for soprano, male choir and piano, op.12, 1904
  • Variations on> Prinz Eugen < for male choir, wind and percussion instruments, op.32, 1926
  • Father Noah for male choir, op.36
  • Psalm 137 for mixed choir, soprano and organ, 1933/1934

Music theory and teaching practice works

  • Music dictation , exercise material in 30 sections, textbook, Mainz 1901
  • Instrumentation examples , Mainz 1912
  • Musical puzzles - elementary school of improvisation , Mainz 1931
  • Basics of the theory of forms
  • Harmony

student

See also

literature

  • Hans Rectanus :  Sekles, Bernhard. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 15 (Schoof - Stranz). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2006, ISBN 3-7618-1135-7  ( online edition , subscription required for full access)
  • Giselher Schubert :  Sekles, Bernhard. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  • Peter Cahn : The Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main (1878–1978). Kramer, Frankfurt am Main 1979, ISBN 978-3-7829-0214-4 , pp. 257-270, 295-297.
  • Timo Jouko Herrmann : Late Romanticism, Orientalism and Modernism - Considerations on the musical language of the opera "Schahrazade" by Bernhard Sekles. In: mr-Mitteilungen No. 82, 2013.
  • Joachim Tschiedel: The "Jewish mock director" Bernhard Sekles and the founding of the first European jazz class in 1928. In: mr-Mitteilungen No. 20, September 1996.
  • Joachim Tschiedel: Bernhard Sekles 1872–1934. Life and work of the Frankfurt composer and educator. Verlag for music books Wagner, Schneverdingen 2005, ISBN 978-3-88979-109-2 .
  • Theodor W. Adorno: Bernhard Sekles on his 50th birthday. In: Collected Writings. Volume 18. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1984, ISBN 3-518-57696-8 , p. 269 f.
  • Theodor W. Adorno: Minima Moralia. Suhrkamp, ​​Berlin a. a. 1951, p. 291ff.

Discography

  • Chamber Music: Rhapsody, Sonata op.44, Sonata op.28, Capriccio; Zuk Records 334, 2011.

Documents

Letters from Bernhard Sekles are in the holdings of the Leipzig music publisher CFPeters in the Leipzig State Archives .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Theodor W. Adorno: Bernhard Sekles for his 50th birthday. In: Collected Writings. Volume 18. Frankfurt am Main 1984, pp. 269f.
  2. ^ Theodor W. Adorno: Minima Moralia. Frankfurt am Main 1951, p. 291.
personal data
SURNAME Sekles, Bernhard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer, conductor, pianist and music teacher
DATE OF BIRTH March 20, 1872
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH December 8, 1934
Place of death Frankfurt am Main