Edward German
Sir Edward German , actually German Edward Jones, (born February 17, 1862 in Whitchurch (Shropshire) , † November 11, 1936 in London ) was an English composer and conductor .
life and work
German grew up in a musical household. After private studies, he went to the Royal Academy of Music in 1880 , where he first studied organ and violin, then later composition with Ebenezer Prout and also took on his stage name. Several of his works were premiered at the Royal Academy, a Te Deum earned him the Lucas Medal in 1885, the operetta The Two Poets played in 1886, and Joseph Barnby conducted his Symphony in E minor in 1887 . German meanwhile taught violin himself at the Royal Academy and participated in various theater orchestras. At the end of the 1880s he traveled to Germany several times, including the Bayreuth Festival .
In 1888 Edward German became music director at London's Globe Theater on Newcastle Street, where he composed music for Shakespeare's dramas. A 2nd symphony in A minor was written in 1893, followed by the two symphonic suites The Leeds Suite and The Seasons in 1895 and 1899 respectively . In addition to parts of his stage music, some song compositions also became better known. Furthermore, several instrumental works for the flutist friend Frederic Griffith as well as piano compositions were created.
Beginning with the completion of the operetta The Emerald Isle, left unfinished by Arthur Sullivan, in 1901, this musical genre developed into German's compositional focus. He was able to celebrate successes in particular with Merrie England (1902) and Tom Jones (1907), but without being able to build on the great successes of Gilbert & Sullivan . After the operetta Fallen Fairies , which was not very successful in 1909, despite collaboration with William Schwenck Gilbert , hardly any new works were created, apart from two late orchestral works, Theme and Six Diversions (1919) and The Willow Song (1922).
As a conductor of his own works, German remained active until the late 1920s. In 1928 he received the accolade as a Knight Bachelor , in 1934 the gold medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society . German's musical language is often compared with that of Arthur Sullivan, but shows, especially in the instrumental works, an affinity to the earlier work of Edward Elgar , who himself valued German very much. With his orchestral compositions - including the Welsh Rhapsody (1904) as the most frequently performed work - Edward German is considered to be the pioneer of “British Light Music”, as it was practiced by composers like Eric Coates and Haydn Wood after him .
literature
- David Russell Hulme: German, Sir Edward . Grove Music Online, 2001 (accessed September 11, 2018, subscription required, limited preview )
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | German, Edward |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Jones, Edward German (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | English composer and conductor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 17, 1862 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Whitchurch (Shropshire) |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 11, 1936 |
| Place of death | London |