Dorette Spohr

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dorette Spohr, painted by Caroline von der Malsburg
Dorette Spohr, painted by Karl Gottlob Schmeidler
Birthplace in Gotha, Neumarkt 26

Dorette (Dorothea Henriette) Spohr , née Scheidler (* July 2 (December?) 1787 in Gotha ; † November 20 (?) November 1834 in Kassel ), was a German pianist and the most important harpist of the early 19th century.

Life

Dorette was the daughter of the Gothic cellist and chamber musician Johann David Scheidler (1748–1802) and his wife Sophie Elisabeth Susanne nee Preysing († 1821). Her mother had been a ducal chamber singer since 1776, and her voice was considered incomparable.

Dorette Scheidler learned the harp from Johann Georg Heinrich Ofen , who was also famous as a clarinetist and had lived in Gotha since 1802. On February 2, 1806, she married Louis Spohr here , who in 1805 had received the position of concert master at the court of Duke August of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg . Spohr, who had already written numerous works for harp and violin since 1805, continued her education and went on concert tours with her in Germany.

From 1810 to 1812 Scheidler was the principal harpist at the Gotha court, where she also taught the duke's daughter, Princess Luise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg .

In 1812 she gave concerts with her husband a. a. in Vienna, where the couple settled in 1813, as Louis had got a job at the Theater an der Wien . Dorette followed her husband to his other professional positions and performed in several European countries. Bad health from the double burden as a harpist and mother of three children, she gave up playing the harp after a concert in London in 1820. She switched to playing the piano and in 1821 Spohr wrote his piano quintet op. 52 for her.

Hans Michel Schletterer characterized them: “An old music lover who thought back to those days once said about the game of the two: 'You could hear the angels singing in heaven!' The lady, distinguished by high beauty and grace, on whose lovely countenance sat enthroned delight and angelic mildness, clung to her husband and her children (3 daughters) with the most intimate love, followed their ingenious work with understanding and always proved a splendid, for her high one Art enthusiastic mind and a rare kindness of heart. It was probably the hardest blow that Spohr could hit, to lose this adorable woman who had overexerted herself while playing a new, large pedal harp à double mouvement, as she had done with her piano studies and thereby damaged her already delicate health. Even in Paris, the home of famous harpists, she achieved great success. The harp, like most wind instruments, has only a subordinate, rather worthless literature. As with many concert pieces, unsurpassed and unique in their kind, only too difficult for our sorcerers of violinists, S. has enriched the violin, so also the clarinet and harp. He tirelessly familiarized himself with the mechanism of this latter difficult instrument and created a number of excellent compositions, which he and his wife wonderfully practiced and performed together, masterpieces for this instrument. So the talent of the beautiful Dorette was completely developed by him, her taste refined, her technique perfected, her lectures truly blissful and gorgeous. Combined with her, Spohr enchanted all listeners by performing his duets and caused a sensation everywhere in the truest sense of the word. "

progeny

The marriage to Louis Spohr came from the three daughters Emilie (1807–1895, Zahn married from 1828), Johanna Sophia Louise called Ida (1808–1881, Wolff married from 1825) and “Schnoddel” Therese (1818–1838).

Others

In Dorette Spohr's hometown Gotha, a plaque on the former parents' house at Neumarkt 26 / corner Waisengasse has been commemorating the musician since 2014.

literature

  • Louis Spohr : Memoirs of life [in the original Cassel edition 1860/61: autobiography ], published for the first time in full based on the autograph notes by Folker Göthel. 2 volumes. Schneider, Tutzing 1968 ( e-text at Zeno.org .).
  • Louis Spohr: Correspondence with his wife Dorette , ed. by Folker Göthel, Kassel: Bärenreiter-Verlag 1957. 104 pp. [26 letters 1822–1833, 18 from Louis, 8 from Dorette] archive.org

Secondary literature

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Biographical data according to SL:  Scheidler, Dorette. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 14 (Riccati - Schönstein). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2005, ISBN 3-7618-1134-9 , Sp. 1215–1216 ( online edition , subscription required for full access).
  2. ↑ See on this and in general the autobiography of Louis Spohr.
  3. ↑ Hans Michel Schletterer :  Spohr, Dorette . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 35, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, p. 258 f.
  4. ^ Commemorative plaque for Dorette Spohr. In: Oscar on Friday. April 3, 2014, accessed April 5, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Spohr, Dorette
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Scheidler, Dorothea Henriette (maiden name); Spohr, Dorothea Henriette (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German harpist and pianist
DATE OF BIRTH uncertain: July 3, 1787
PLACE OF BIRTH Gotha
DATE OF DEATH uncertain: November 20, 1834
Place of death kassel