Ernst Rudorff

August Weger : Ernst Rudorff (before 1892)

signature

Ernst Rudorff postage stamp, 1990

Ernst Friedrich Karl Rudorff (born January 18, 1840 in Berlin ; died December 31, 1916 in Lichterfelde near Berlin) was a German composer , music teacher, and conservationist .

Live and act

Ernst Rudorff was a child from the marriage of the law professor Adolf August Friedrich Rudorff (1803–1873) with Friederike Dorothea Elisabeth Rudorff born. Pistor (1808-1887), called Betty. He received his first piano lessons from his godmother Marie Lichtenstein (1817–1890), a daughter of Martin Hinrich Lichtenstein and friend of Clara Schumann .

music

Rudorff was a pupil of Woldemar Bargiel from 1852 to 1857 and, through his agency, received some piano lessons from Clara Schumann, with whom he has had a lifelong friendship ever since. From 1859 he studied at the Leipzig Conservatory , where he was a student of Ignaz Moscheles , Louis Plaidy and Julius Rietz . He also received lessons from Moritz Hauptmann and Carl Reinecke . In 1865 he became a piano teacher at the Cologne Conservatory , where in 1867 he founded the Cologne Bach Society .

In autumn 1869 he became professor for piano and organ at the Royal University of Music in Berlin-Charlottenburg , where he worked until his retirement in 1910. In addition, he headed the Stern'schen Gesangverein from 1880 to 1890 as the successor to Max Bruch .

In November 1871 he bought a villa built by the architect Johannes Otzen at Wilhelmstraße 26 (today Königsberger Straße) in Lichterfelde near Berlin , where he lived until his death.

Rudorff's compositional work is committed to the music of the Romantic era and shows, among other things, a. the influence of Robert Schumann . He is assigned to the group of so-called "Berlin academics", which included Friedrich Kiel , Max Bruch and Heinrich von Herzogenberg , among others .

He was editor of Carl Maria von Weber's Euryanthe , the piano concertos and piano sonatas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Weber's letters to Hinrich Lichtenstein.

natural reserve

Ernst Rudorff grew up in Berlin, where he also spent most of his life. He regularly withdrew from city life to his parents' estate Knabenburg in Lauenstein am Ith, a village in the Weser-Leine-Bergland in Lower Saxony. There he acquired the ruins of Lauenstein Castle with the castle hill, on which a beer pub was to be built in order to preserve them and keep them generally accessible.

By Rudorff before deforestation rescued oaks - Allee behind the boys Castle in Weserbergland ;
Colored postcard around 1900

Rudorff saw the "new times" break into his youthful idyll; Coupling and community division in the Dorfmark also affected parental property. He saved old oaks on a footpath in Lauenstein , prevented paddocks from being set up in a meadow valley and created forest edges, hedges, and gallery forests along the stream. This enabled him to create meadow grounds rich in species. He enforced that trees and hedges were planted in the land that had already been broken up.

From the Siebengebirge he brought impressions of the landscape back to his Brandenburg homeland. Around 1886 he requested in a petition the preservation of landscape peculiarities and in his diaries at that time there are thoughts about the establishment of an "association for the protection of nature". Many formative landscape elements in and around Lauenstein would no longer exist today without his work.

In 1897 Rudorff coined the word " Heimatschutz " in a detailed description of his thoughts and demands. Together with the two articles in the Grenzbote , this was the reason for the establishment of the German Federal Homeland Security on March 30, 1904. Rudorff was against the idea that Germans of the Jewish faith and women should also sign the appeal. In his writings, too, he made use of Volkish arguments. With his idea of ​​nature conservation as "homeland protection", he wanted to fight the "materialism" and the "ideas of the red international " that he hated .

family

Ernst Rudorff married Gertrud Charlotte Maria Rietschel (1853–1937), a daughter of the sculptor Ernst Rietschel , in 1876 . From the marriage he had three children:

• Hermann Rudorff (born December 2, 1877 in Lichterfelde near Berlin; † February 1, 1916 there),
• Elisabeth Rudorff (born May 13, 1879 in Lichterfelde near Berlin; † May 27, 1963 in Hameln),
• Melusine Rudorff (1881-1959).

Works

Fonts

Writings on nature conservation

• About the relation of modern life to nature. Berlin 1880.
• The protection of the natural landscape and the historical monuments of Germany. Lecture given in Berlin at the General German Association on March 30, 1892. Berlin 1892.
• Homeland security. 1897 (reprint: Reichl, St. Goar 1994, ISBN 3-87667-139-6 )

Life memories

• From the days of romance. Portrait of a German Family , ed. by Elisabeth Rudorff, Leipzig 1938 (greatly abridged edition in one volume) - Complete edition in 3 volumes, ed. by Katja Schmidt-Wistoff: Campus, Frankfurt a. M. 2006, ISBN 978-3-593-38162-6

Letters

• Johannes Brahms in correspondence with Karl Reinthaler, Max Bruch, Hermann Deiters, Friedrich Heimsoeth, Carl Reinecke, Ernst Rudorff, Bernhard and Luise Scholz (= Johannes Brahms. Correspondence Vol. 3), ed. by Wilhelm Altmann , Berlin 1908 (extended edition 1912).
• Letters from and to Joseph Joachim , ed. by Johannes Joachim and Andreas Moser , 3 vols., Berlin 1911–1913. (Correspondence with Rudorff in Vol. 2 and 3)

Editing

• Carl Maria von Weber, letters to Hinrich Lichtenstein , ed. by Ernst Rudorff, Braunschweig 1900
• Moritz Hauptmann , tasks for single and double counterpoint by Moritz Hauptmann. Compiled by Ernst Rudorff , Leipzig 1870 for use during lessons from his students' study books .

Compositional work

(List of the works of Ernst Rudorff, compiled by Stephanie Twiehaus, in: From the days of romanticism , Vol. 3, Frankfurt / New York 2006, pp. 336–345.)

Orchestral works

• Romance for violoncello and orchestra op.7
• Overture to Ludwig Tieck fairy tale Blond Eckbert op. 8
• Overture to Otto the Schütz op.12
• Ballade (Introduction, Scherzo and Finale) op.15
• Serenade No. 1 in A major, Op. 20
• Serenade No. 2 in G major, Op. 21
• Variations on an own theme in D minor, Op. 24
• Symphony No. 1 in B flat major op.31
• Symphony No. 2 in G minor, Op. 40
• Romance for violin and orchestra op.41
• Romantic overture op.45
• Symphony No. 3 in B minor, Op. 50
• Intermezzo in the form of Variations in E major, Op. 59 (after Variations for two pianos, Op. 1, unpublished)

Chamber music

• String sextet for three violins, viola and two cellos in A major op.5 (1865)

Piano music

• Variations in E major for two pianos op. 1, dedicated to “Frau Dr. Clara Schumann with deepest admiration "(1863)
• Six four-hand piano pieces op.4
• Eight Fantasy Pieces, Op. 10
• Fantasia in three movements op. 14, "Dedicated to Herr Johannes Brahms in admiration"
• Two concert studies op.29
• 18 Children's Waltz for piano four hands, op.38
• Three romances op.48
• Capriccio Appassionato , Op. 49
• Impromptu op.51
• Six piano pieces, op.52
• Four piano pieces for four hands, op.54
• Variazioni Capricciose op. 55
• Two ballads op.56 (unpublished)

Choral music

• Four songs for mixed choir op.6
• Six songs for three- and four-part female choir op.9
• Four songs for mixed choir op.11
• Four songs for mixed choir op.13
• The elevator of romance. A spring celebration for solos, choir and orchestra op.18 (based on Ludwig Tieck)
• Two chants for soprano, alto, female choir and orchestra op.19
• Six songs for women's choir op.22
• Six songs for women's choir op.23
• Four songs for six-part choir op.25
• Gesang an die Sterne for six-part choir and orchestra op.26 (after Friedrich Rückert )
• Six songs for four-part choir op.27
• Four songs for mixed choir op.30
• Four songs for mixed choir op.36 (An den Mond; An der Bergeshalde; Es stalscht a hunter; Spring net)
• Herbstlied for six-part choir and orchestra op.43 (after Klaus Groth )
• Songs for mixed choir op.53 (unpublished)
• Ave Maria am Rhein for soprano, female choir and orchestra op.58 (after Emanuel Geibel , unpublished)
• Ten songs for three- and four-part female choir and piano op. 60 (arrangements of own a cappella choirs, unpublished)

Works for voice and piano

• Six songs op.2
• Six poems by Joseph von Eichendorff op.3
• Four songs op.16
• Four songs op.17
• Three poems op.28
• Three songs, op.32
• Four songs op.33
• Three duets for two female voices and piano op.34
• Three duets for two female voices and piano op.35
• Five songs by Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben op.37
• Eight Tuscan Songs by Ferdinand Gregorovius, Op. 39
• Three Songs of Robert Reinick op. 42
• Three songs, op.44
• Three songs op.46
• Four songs op.47
• Four songs op.57 (unpublished)

Edits

• Franz Schubert : Fantasia in F minor for two pianos D 940, arrangement for orchestra
• Robert Schumann : Gartenmelodie op. 85/3 and Am Springbrunnen op. 85/9 for piano four hands, arrangement for violin and orchestra or piano

Rudorff Collection

Rudorff inherited an important collection of music autographs from his maternal grandfather, Carl Philipp Heinrich Pistor , which he had arranged by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy . Rudorff enlarged this collection. In 1917 it was acquired by the Peters Music Library in Leipzig and came with it to the Music Library within the Leipzig City Library. Her significant unique pieces include seven chorale preludes assigned to Johann Sebastian Bach , which were only published by Franz Haselböck in 1985 .

literature

• Philipp Spitta : Rudorff, Ernst , in: A Dictionary of Music and Musicians , Vol. 3, ed. by George Grove, London, 1900, pp. 201-203.
• Stephanie Twiehaus:  Rudorff, Ernst. 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. 624-625
• Else Alpers : Ernst Rudorff - Originator of the Heimatschutzidee - On the History of Environmental Research Reprint from Lower Saxony Life Pictures Third Volume, 1977, August Lax Hildesheim, 1977
• Walther Schoenichen : Nature conservation, homeland protection. Their justification by Ernst Rudorff, Hugo Conwentz and their predecessors. (Great Naturalists, Volume 16). Knowledge Publishing company, Stuttgart 1954, DNB 454450001 .
• Nancy B. Reich: The Rudorff Collection. In: Notes. 2nd Ser., Vol. 2, 1974, pp. 247-261.
• Andreas Knaut: Ernst Rudorf and the beginnings of the German homeland security movement. In: Edeltraut Klueting (ed.): Antimodernismus und Reform. On the history of the German homeland movement. Knowledge Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 1991, ISBN 3-534-11528-7 , pp. 20-49.
• Stephanie Twiehaus: Ernst Rudorf and the Schumann family. In: Schumann Studies. 6, 1997, ISSN  0863-2340 , pp. 165-178.
• Hermann Franck : "If you read this ..." Diary for Hugo. Hanser, Munich 1997, ISBN 3-446-18930-0 . (via Ernst Rudorff as a child)
• Rudorff, Ernst Friedrich Karl . In: Walther Killy , Rudolf Vierhaus (Hrsg.): Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie . Saur, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-423-59053-X , p. 443.
• Gert Gröning: The "genuine, living piety for nature" as a means to secure one's own privileged situation - the musician Ernst Rudorff as nature and homeland protector. In: Cordula Heymann-Wentzel, Johannes Laas (ed.): Music and biography. Festschrift for Rainer Cadenbach . Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2004, ISBN 3-8260-2804-X , pp. 328–343.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ernst Rudorff, From the days of romanticism. Portrait of a German Family , ed. by Katja Schmidt-Wistoff, Frankfurt am Main 2008, Volume 3, p. 251
2. ↑ EO Rasser: Professor Dr. Ernst Rudorff the intellectual founder of the federal 'Heimatschutz'. In: Lower Saxony. Low German magazine for people and homeland security in words and pictures. 22nd year, No. 10, Bremen February 15, 1917, p. 152.
3. ↑ Ecology from the right. Brown environmentalists to catch votes. oekom-Verlag, Munich 2012, p. 34; Hans-Werner Frohn: "Nature conservation, strong men and völkisch ideology." (End-frohn-_Rechtsextremismus_13_03_19 (1) .pdf); Peter Bierl : Green browns. Environmental, animal and homeland protection from the right. Unrast Verlag, Münster 2014, p. 35

Web links

• Works by and about Ernst Rudorff in the catalog of the German National Library
• Sheet music and audio files by Ernst Rudorff in the International Music Score Library Project
• Rudorff. In: Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon. Vol. 17. 1905, p. 236. (online at: zeno.org )
• On the history of the Rudorff Collection