Egon Wellesz

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Egon Wellesz 1924, drawing by Rudolf Großmann from the Vossische Zeitung

Egon Joseph Wellesz (born October 21, 1885 in Vienna , † November 9, 1974 in Oxford ) was an Austro-British composer and musicologist .

Life

Wellesz's parents came from the Hungarian part of the Danube Monarchy . He began studying law at the University of Vienna in 1904 , but only one year later he switched to Guido Adler's Institute for Musicology . In addition, he studied counterpoint for two years as one of Arnold Schönberg's first private students .

In 1908 he received his doctorate under Guido Adler with a thesis on the Viennese composer Giuseppe Bonno (1711–1788). As part of the project Monuments of Music in Austria , he re- edited the opera Costanza e fortezza by Johann Joseph Fux . Wellesz himself quickly became a respected expert on baroque opera , but soon after turned to research into oriental, especially Byzantine music, and for the first time deciphered a medieval Byzantine musical notation . In 1920 he also wrote the first biography about Arnold Schönberg . In 1922 he founded the International Society for New Music (IGNM) together with Rudolf Réti .

In addition to these activities, he was able to teach as a lecturer at the Institute for Musicology and from 1911 to 1915 as a teacher for music history at the Vienna Music Conservatory. From 1929 he was also an associate professor for musicology at the University of Vienna.

As the son of Hungarian Jews, Wellesz was of the Jewish denomination until 1908. In that year he resigned from Judaism, but returned that same year to be able to marry Emilie (Emmy) Stross (1889–1987). Their two daughters, Magda (1909–2006) and Elisabeth (1912–1995), were born Jewish. In 1917 Wellesz finally turned his back on the Jewish denomination. As a monarchist and author of “degenerate” music, Wellesz had to emigrate to England via Amsterdam in 1938 . Here he found the opportunity to work on the renowned Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , gave lectures in Cambridge and was appointed a Fellow at Lincoln College at Oxford University on January 1, 1939 , receiving an honorary doctorate in 1932 - as the first Austrian composer after Joseph Haydn - had become. In 1940 he was interned with other Austrian and German exiles as an enemy alien for a few months and taken to the Hutchinson Internment Camp on the Isle of Man , but was then able to continue his work in Oxford.

After receiving British citizenship in 1946, he was honored with several awards from the City of Vienna and the Republic of Austria. Nevertheless, he never received an offer to take up his former post at the Vienna University of Music .

Grave of Egon Wellesz

A stroke on January 18, 1972 put an end to his creative activities at the age of 87. He died on the night of November 8th to 9th 1974 in Oxford, his honor grave is in the Vienna Central Cemetery (Group 32 C, number 38).

Oskar Kokoschka made a portrait painting of Wellesz in 1911, his younger brother Bohuslav Kokoschka drew a portrait of Wellesz in 1911.

Awards

Works

Wellesz's oeuvre as a composer comprises 112 works with opus numbers and around 20 without opus numbers. He dealt with almost all genres and composed for the stage as well as for the concert hall in the form of orchestral works, solo concerts, chamber music, piano music, songs and choral works.

Stage works

Choral works

  • Three mixed choirs, op.43 (1930), text: Angelus Silesius
  • Five small male choirs, op. 46 (1932) from the Franconian Koran by Ludwig Derleth
  • Three sacred choirs, op. 47 (1932) for male voices to poems from the middle of the life of Rudolf Alexander Schröder
  • Two songs, op. 48 (1932) based on poems from mid-life by Rudolf Alexander Schröder
  • Quant'è bella Giovinezza, op.59 (1937), Frottola for female choir
  • Carol, 62a (1944) for women's choir
  • Proprium Missae, Laetare , op.71 (1953) for choir and organ
  • Small Mass in G major, op. 80a (1958) for three equal voices a cappella
  • Alleluia, op.80b (1958) for soprano or tenor solo
  • Laus Nocturna, op.88 (1962)
  • Missa brevis, op.89 (1963) for choir
  • To Sleep, op.94 (1965) for choir
  • Festive Prelude, op. 100 (1966) on a Byzantine Magnificat for choir and organ

Orchestral works

  • Heldensang, op. 2 (1905), symphonic prologue for large orchestra
  • Early spring, op. 12 (1912), symphonic mood for orchestra
  • Suite for orchestra, op.16 (1913)
  • Mitte des Lebens, op. 45 (1931–1932), cantata for soprano, choir and orchestra
  • Piano Concerto, op.49 (1933)
  • Amor Timido, op.50 (1933), aria for soprano and small orchestra. Text: Pietro Metastasio
  • Prospero's evocations, op. 53 (1934–1936), five symphonic pieces based on William Shakespeare's The Tempest
  • Lied der Welt for soprano and orchestra, op. 54 (1936–1938), text: Hugo von Hofmannsthal
  • Life, Dream and Death for alto and orchestra, op. 55 (1936–1937), text: Hugo von Hofmannsthal
  • Schönbühel Mass in C major, op. 58 (1937) for choir, orchestra and organ
  • Symphony No. 1, op.62 (1945)
  • Symphony No. 2, op. 65 (1947–1948), The English
  • Symphony No. 3, op. 68 (1949–1951)
  • Symphony No. 4, op. 70 (1951–1953), Austriaca
  • Symphony No. 5, op.75 (1955–1956)
  • Violin Concerto, op. 84 (1961) Dedicated to the violinist Eduard Melkus . Recorded as CD in 2010 by David Frühwirth.
  • Four Songs of Return for soprano and chamber orchestra, op. 85 (1961) based on texts by Elizabeth Mackenzie
  • Duinese Elegy, op. 90 (1963) for soprano, choir and orchestra after Rainer Maria Rilke
  • Ode to music, op. 92 (1965) for baritone or alto and chamber orchestra, text: Pindar , in a free adaptation by Friedrich Hölderlin
  • Symphony No. 6, op.95 (1965)
  • Vision for soprano and orchestra, op.99, (1966), text: Georg Trakl
  • Mirabile Mysterium, op. 101 (1967) for solos, choir and orchestra
  • Symphony No. 7, op. 102 (1967–1968), Contra torrentem
  • Canticum Sapientiae, op. 104 (1968) for baritone, choir and orchestra based on texts from the Old Testament
  • Divertimento for small orchestra, op.107 (1969)
  • Symphonic Epilogue, op.108 (1969)
  • Symphony No. 8, op.110 (1970)
  • Symphony No. 9, op. 111 (1970–1971)

Chamber music

  • String Quartet No. 1, op.14 (1912)
  • String Quartet No. 2, Op. 20 (1915–1916)
  • Geistliches Lied, op. 23 (1918–1919) for voice, violin, viola and piano
  • String Quartet No. 3, op.25 (1918)
  • String Quartet No. 4, op.28 (1920)
  • Sonata for solo cello, op.31 (1920)
  • Two pieces for clarinet and piano, op.34 (1922)
  • Sonata for violin solo, op.36 (1923)
  • Suite for violin and chamber orchestra, op.38 (1924)
  • Sonnets by Elizabeth Barrett-Browning for soprano and string quartet or string orchestra, op.52 (1934)
  • Suite for violoncello solo, op.39 (1924)
  • Suite for violin and piano, op.56 (1937/1957)
  • Suite for flute solo, op.57 (1937)
  • String Quartet No. 5, Op. 60 (1943)
  • The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo. Song for soprano, clarinet, violoncello and piano, op.61 (1944). Text: Gerard Manley Hopkins
  • String Quartet No. 6, op.64 (1946)
  • String Quartet No. 7, op.66 (1948)
  • Octet, op. 67 (1948–1949) for clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello and double bass
  • Sonata for violin solo, op.72 (1953/59)
  • Suite, op. 73 (1954) for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon
  • Suite for clarinet solo, op.74 (1954)
  • Suite for oboe solo, op.76 (1956)
  • Suite for bassoon solo, op.77 (1957)
  • Fanfares for horn solo, op.78 (1957)
  • String Quartet No. 8, op.79 (1957)
  • Quintet, op. 81 (1959) for clarinet, 2 violins, viola and violoncello
  • String trio, op.86 (1962)
  • Rhapsody for viola solo, op.87 (1962)
  • Music for string orchestra in one movement, op.91 (1964)
  • Five miniatures for violins and piano, op.93 (1965)
  • Partita in Honorem Johann Sebastian Bach , op. 96 (1965) for organ
  • String Quartet No. 9, op.97 (1966)
  • Four pieces for string quartet, op.103 (1968)
  • Four pieces for string trio, op.105 (1969, 2nd version 1971)
  • Four pieces for string quintet, op.109 (1970)
  • Prelude for viola solo, op.112 (1971)

Plaque

Kaasgrabengasse 38, 1190 Vienna - Döbling

literature

  • Caroline Cepin-Benser, Egon Wellesz (1885–1974). Chronicle of a Twentieth-Century Musician , New York, Peter Lang 1985 ("American University Studies", vol. IX, 8).
  • Robert Schollum: Egon Wellesz . Verlag Lafite, Vienna 1985, ISBN 978-3-85151-039-3 , pp. 80 .
  • Otto Kolleritsch (Ed.): Egon Wellesz , "Studies on Valuation Research", vol. 17, Graz / Vienna, UE 1986.
  • Lorenz Wedl: "The Bacchantes" by Egon Wellesz or the divine miracle , Vienna / Cologne / Weimar, Böhlau 1992.
  • Harald Kaufmann : Conversation with Egon Wellesz, in: H. Kaufmann From inside and outside. Writings on music, musical life and aesthetics , ed. by Werner Grünzweig and Gottfried Krieger, Wolke, Hofheim 1993, pp. 181–182.
  • Knut Eckhardt: The relationship between timbre and form in Egon Wellesz , Göttingen, Edition Re 1994.
  • David Symons: Egon Wellesz. Composer , Wilhelmshaven, Florian Noetzel 1996.
  • Marcus G. Patka , Michael Haas (eds.): Hans Gál and Egon Wellesz: Continental britons. Exhibition "Continental Britons - Hans Gál and Egon Wellesz of the Jewish Museum of the City of Vienna from February 25th - May 2nd, 2004 (= music of departure ). On behalf of the Jewish Museum Vienna, Mandelbaum-Verlag, Vienna 2004, ISBN 3-85476 -116-3 .
  • Jürgen Maehder : The Quiché drama "Rabinal Achí", Brasseur de Bourbourg and the dance drama "The Sacrifice of the Prisoner" by Egon Wellesz , in: Peter Csobádi, Ulrich Müller et al. (Ed.), The (music) theater in exile and dictatorship and its reception. Lectures and discussions at the Salzburg Symposium 2003 , Anif / Salzburg, Müller-Speiser 2005, pp. 628–644.
  • Pietro Massa: Reception of antiquity and musical dramaturgy in »Die Bakchantinnen« by Egon Wellesz , in: Peter Csobádi, Ulrich Müller et al. (Ed.), The (music) theater in exile and dictatorship and its reception. Lectures and discussions at the Salzburg Symposium 2003 , Anif / Salzburg, Müller-Speiser 2005, pp. 418–435.
  • Stefan Schmidl: Wellesz, Egon. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-7001-3067-8 .
  • Jörg Bierhance: The Observation of Form : The form analysis method of Constantin Bugeanu in reference to the 1st and 5th Symphonies of Egon Wellesz , Academia, 2018
  • Walter Oakeshott: Egon Wellesz, 1885–1974 . In: Proceedings of the British Academy . tape 61 , 1976, p. 567-587 ( thebritishacademy.ac.uk [PDF]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Egon Wellesz: Miscellanea on oriental music history. Musicology journal. 1 (1918), pp. 505-515, and 2 (1919), pp. 240 ff.
  2. ↑ Jewish Museum Vienna 2004: "Music of New beginnings" ( memento from September 17, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ), start of the exhibition series with "Continental Britons" (Hans Gál and Egon Wellesz)
  3. ↑ Entry in the catalog raisonné .
personal data
SURNAME Wellesz, Egon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wellesz, Egon Joseph (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austro-British composer and musicologist
DATE OF BIRTH October 21, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH November 9, 1974
Place of death Oxford