Eugen d'Albert

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Eugen d'Albert (1900)

Eugène Francis Charles d'Albert , Eugen d'Albert for short (born April 10, 1864 in Glasgow , † March 3, 1932 in Riga ) was a British-Swiss composer and pianist of French-English descent.

Life

Eugen d'Albert in the Hupfeld recording room for the DEA masterpiece piano, Leipzig 1909
d'Albert plays Chopin: Polonaise in A flat major op.53 (historical Welte Mignon recording from 1905)
Autograph by d'Albert from October 29, 1900
Villa Teresa in Kötitz (Coswig)

D'Albert was the son of the ballet composer Charles d'Albert (1809-1886), who was born in Germany to a French father and an English mother. Among his ancestors are the Italian composers Giuseppe Matteo Alberti (1685–1751) and Domenico Alberti (around 1710–1740). Eugen D'Albert had British citizenship until 1918 and then took Swiss citizenship . At times he lived in Lugano . However, he felt a connection to Germany, mastered the German language, set only German texts to music and preferred the German form of his first name.

He received music lessons from his father, and when he was ten he went to the New Music School in London , where he was a piano student of Ernst Pauer , who was impressed by the pianistic abilities of this student.

In 1881 d'Albert met Franz Liszt , whose pupil he became in Weimar . Numerous concert tours followed this training, and d'Albert became particularly famous as an interpreter of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven . His style of interpretation was still fully rooted in the virtuoso tradition of the 19th century. This also applies to his Bach arrangements.

In 1884 he settled in Eisenach with his first wife Luise, née Salingré , where their son Wolfgang was born. At the age of 22 (1886/87) d'Albert had an eccentric garden house - the Villa d'Albert - built on his property (Bornstrasse 9). He used the tower house, built together with the Coburg architect Julius Martinet under the influence of the Hanover School , consisting of only three splendid rooms arranged one above the other and connected by a spiral staircase, for undisturbed composing, for example for the opera Der Rubin .

“In his youth he had flowing hair and usually wore tight-fitting trousers made of green hunter fabric. He is an avid tricycle driver. The health-conscious only eats vegetarian food. He likes to enjoy a glass of wine. He is seldom seen in the city, because the shy d'Albert only has a closer relationship with Lord Mayor Dr. Georg Eucken . He is romantic and dreamy, which is evident not least in the construction of the garden house ... "

The first own compositions appeared in this period, including the piano suite d minor , Op. 1 (1883), his First Piano Concerto (1884), the Symphony F Major (1886) and the first string quartet (1887). During this time, d'Albert was considered the most important contemporary pianist. He appeared regularly as a guest lecturer and soloist at concerts at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory in Berlin . Even after his departure from Eisenach in 1889, he also came to concerts in Eisenach, with the Eisenach Daily Mail in 1914 praising the “magic hands of a gifted person”.

In 1893, d'Albert turned to vocal music for the first time with the choral work Man and Life after Otto Ludwig . In the same year his first opera Der Rubin after Friedrich Hebbel premiered. Like her successors Ghismonda (1895) and Gernot (1897), she was under the influence of Richard Wagner . The cheerful one-act play The Departure (1898) already showed its own musical language, but the breakthrough as an opera composer came with Tiefland (1903), his most-performed opera. With this work, d'Albert created a German variant of Italian verism , which also determined his further operatic work.

D'Albert wrote 21 operas and more and more neglected his piano playing for this work, but he was unable to repeat the lowland success. Among the later works, Die toten Augen (1916) and Der Golem (1926) stand out.

D'Albert was married six times, including the singer Hermine Finck and the pianist and composer Teresa Carreño , with whom he lived from 1891 to 1895 in the Villa Teresa in Kötitz , (now part of Coswig ) near Dresden . For legal reasons, d'Albert traveled to Riga to divorce his sixth wife, where he died in 1932. His grave is in the Morcote cemetery (Switzerland).

Grave of d'Albert in the Morcote cemetery

Works

Operas

  • The ruby , opera 2 acts. Libretto: E. d'Albert, after Friedrich Hebbel .
    • World premiere: October 12, 1893, Karlsruhe, Court Theater
  • Ghismonda , opera 3 acts. Libretto: E. d'Albert, based on Karl Immermann The victims of silence .
    • World premiere: November 28, 1895 Dresden, Hoftheater
  • Gernot , opera 3 acts. Libretto: Gustav Kastropp.
    • World premiere: April 11, 1897 Mannheim, Hoftheater
  • The departure , musical comedy 1 act (50 min.). Libretto: Ferdinand Graf von Sporck, based on August Ernst von Steigentesch .
    • World premiere: October 28, 1898 Frankfurt, Opera House. Dutch: February 1902 Amsterdam. Croatian: October 29, 1915 Zagreb. English: London 3rd September 1925. French: November 7, 1932 Brussels
  • Cain , Oper 1 act. Libretto: Heinrich Bulthaupt .
    • World premiere: February 17, 1900 Berlin, Königl. Opera house
  • The improviser , opera 3 acts. Gustav Kastropp, after Victor Hugo Angelo, the tyrant of Padua .
    • First performance: February 26, 1902 Berlin, Königl. Opera house
  • Tiefland , musical drama 2 acts and prologue (135 min.). Libretto: Rudolf Lothar , based on Àngel Guimerà Terra baixa .
    • World premiere: November 15, 1903 Prague, New German Theater. Flemish: December 1, 1906 Antwerp. Swedish: October 9, 1908, Stockholm. Hungarian: November 17, 1908 Budapest. Slovenian: 1909 Ljubljana. Danish: October 21, 1909, Copenhagen. Italian: January 18, 1910 Barcelona. English: October 5, 1910 London. Croatian: November 18, 1910 Zagreb. Polish: March 1911 Warsaw. French: March 21, 1911 Nice. Norwegian: December 12, 1913 Oslo. Russian: December 14, 1915 Petrograd. Latvian: November 2, 1920 Riga. Romanian: 1924 Clausenburg.
  • Flauto solo , musical comedy 1 act (60 min.). Libretto: Hans von Wolzüge .
    • World premiere: November 12, 1905, Prague, New German Theater
  • Tragaldabas , the borrowed husband , comic opera 4 acts. Libretto: Rudolf Lothar, after Auguste Vacquerie.
    • First performance: December 3, 1907 Hamburg, Stadttheater
  • Izeÿl , opera 3 acts. Libretto: Rudolf Lothar , based on Paul Armand Silvestre and Eugène Morand.
    • World premiere: November 6, 1909 Hamburg, Stadttheater
  • The woman given away , opera 3 acts. Libretto: Rudolf Lothar, after E. Antony.
    • First performance: February 6, 1912 Vienna, Court Opera
  • Love chains , opera 3 acts. Libretto: Rudolf Lothar based on Àngel Guimerà La hija del mar .
    • World premiere: November 12, 1912 Vienna, Volksoper Vienna . New version: March 8, 1918 Berlin, Dt. Opera house
  • The dead eyes , a stage poem 1 act and prologue (120 min.). Libretto: Hanns Heinz Ewers and Marc Henry , based on Marc Henry Les yeux morts . Composed in 1912/13.
    • First performance: March 5, 1916 Dresden, Court Opera. Danish: March 17, 1918 Copenhagen. Swedish: September 27, 1920 Stockholm. Polish: Autumn 1920 Warsaw. Hungarian: November 12, 1921 Budapest.
  • The bull by Olivera , opera 3 acts. Libretto: Richard Batka , based on Heinrich Lilienfein .
    • First performance: March 10, 1918 Leipzig, Stadttheater
  • Revolution wedding , opera 3 acts. Libretto: Ferdinand Lion, based on Sophus Michaëlis .
    • First performance: October 26, 1919 Leipzig, Neues Stadttheater
  • Scirocco , opera 3 acts. Libretto: Karl Michael von Levetzow and Leo Feld.
    • First performance: May 16, 1921 Darmstadt, Landestheater
  • Mareike von Nymwegen , legend game 3 acts. Libretto: Herbert Alberti.
    • First performance: October 31, 1923 Hamburg, Stadttheater
  • The Golem , musical drama 3 acts (120 min.). Libretto: Ferdinand Lion, after Arthur Holitscher .
    • First performance: December 14, 1926 Frankfurt, Opera House
  • The black orchid , opera 3 acts. Libretto: Karl Michael von Levetzow .
    • First performance: December 1, 1928 Leipzig, Neues Theater
  • The widow of Ephesus , opera 3 acts. Libretto: Karl Michael von Levetzow, based on Gaius Petronius Arbiter's widow of Ephesus . Composed in 1930.
    • Not listed
  • Mister Wu , opera 3 acts, completed by Leo Blech . Libretto: Karl Michael von Levetzow , based on Harry M. Vernon and Harold Owen.
    • First performance: September 29, 1932 Dresden, State Opera

Orchestral works

  • Piano Concerto No. 1 in B minor, Op. 2 (1884)
  • Symphony in F major op.4 (1886)
  • Esther . Overture to Franz Grillparzer op.8 (1888)
  • Piano Concerto No. 2 in E major op.12 (1893)
  • Cello Concerto in C major op.20 (1899)
  • Cinderella . Suite op.33 (1924)
  • Symphonic Prelude to Tiefland op.34 (1924)

Chamber music

  • String Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 7 (1887)
  • String Quartet No. 2 in E flat major op.11 (1893)

Piano music

  • Suite in D minor for piano op.1 (1883)
  • Piano Sonata in F sharp minor op.10 (1893)
  • further piano pieces

Vocal music

  • Man and Life for Choir op.14 (1893)
  • Mermaids . Scene for voice and orchestra op.15 (1897)
  • How we experience nature for soprano or tenor and orchestra op.24 (1903)
  • 2 songs for soprano or tenor and orchestra op.25 (1904)
  • Medieval Venus hymn for tenor, male choir and orchestra op.26 (1904)
  • To the Genius of Germany for solo voices and choir op. 30 (1904)
  • 58 songs

literature

Web links

Commons : Eugen d'Albert  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ musikmph.de  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.musikmph.de  
  2. ↑ Volker Michels (Ed.): Hermann Hesse: Music. Reflections, poems, reviews and letters. With an essay by Hermann Kasack ( Hermann Hesse's relationship to music ). Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1976; extended edition ibid 1986, ISBN 3-518-37717-5 , p. 204-
  3. ↑ compatriot, Wolter, Zlotowicz: Villas in Eisenach. Weimar 1997, pp. 184-189 (Stefan Wolter).
  4. ↑ compatriot / Wolter / Zlotowicz: Villas in Eisenach. Weimar 1997, p. 186 (Stefan Wolter based on the contemporary witness Oskar Schumm, senior teacher in Eisenach).
  5. ^ Wilhelm Spemann : Spemann's golden book of music . W. Spemann, Berlin and Stuttgart 1916, p. 625
personal data
SURNAME Albert, Eugene d '
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Albert, Eugène Francis Charles d '
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer and pianist
DATE OF BIRTH April 10, 1864
PLACE OF BIRTH Glasgow
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 1932
Place of death Riga