Fidelio F. Finke

Fidelio Friedrich Finke

Fidelio (Fidelis) Friedrich Finke (born October 22, 1891 in Josefsthal , Austria-Hungary , † June 12, 1968 in Dresden ) was a Bohemian-German composer .

Life

Finke was born as the son of the teacher Josef Fidelis Finke and his wife Bertha Paulina Finke in 1891 in Josefsthal in North Bohemia and was baptized Catholic. From 1906 to 1908 he attended a teacher training college in Reichenberg . He received organ , piano and violin lessons and attended the Prague Conservatory from 1908 to 1911 , where he studied piano and composition. From 1911 he worked as a private music teacher and from 1915 as a teacher of music theory at the Prague Conservatory. In 1920 he moved to the German Academy for Music and Performing Arts in Prague and initially worked as a teacher of music theory and composition. In 1926 he became a professor there and was rector from 1927 to 1945 .

After his impeachment and expropriation as a result of the Beneš decrees and a suicide attempt in 1945, Finke was brought to Dresden by members of the Soviet occupying power via Moscow. There he was rector of the State Academy for Music and Theater until 1951 . Until 1958 he worked as a professor of composition at the Leipzig Music Academy . His oeuvre includes around 170 compositions.

During the German occupation of Czechoslovakia he composed works of National Socialist sympathy music , including the hymn O Herzland Böhmen (1942). His opportunistic application for membership in the NSDAP expired in 1942 due to political unreliability.

Fidelio F. Finkes grave in the Heidefriedhof in Dresden

Finke was a member of the SED from 1946 until his death . He died in Dresden in 1968 and was buried in the local heathland cemetery. His signature adorns his gravestone. Finke's estate is kept by the German Academy of the Arts (Berlin) .

Compositions

Stage works

The sunken bell . Opera in 4 acts (1915–1918, not performed). Libretto:? (after Gerhart Hauptmann )
The Jacob's ride . Opera in 3 acts (1932–1936). Libretto:? (based on the legendary game by Anton Dietzenschmidt ). Premiere October 17, 1936 in Prague
Lied der Zeit dance pantomime in 2 parts (1946/47). Premiere March 20, 1947 Bühlau
The quick-witted lover . Cheerful opera in 3 acts (1950–1954; only piano reduction completed). Libretto:? (after Karl Zuchardt )
The magic fish . Fairy tale ballad (opera) in 2 acts (1956–1959). Libretto: Wilhelm Hübner . Premiere 1978 Dresden

Vocal compositions

Cantatas
Choirs
Song I am a house . Text: Emil Merker (1888–?)

Instrumental works

eight orchestral suites
five string quartets
Works for piano and organ

Honors, memberships

1910 Brahm Prize from the Vienna Tonkünstlerverein
1919 Choir Prize of the World Music Association in Vienna
1928 and 1937 Czechoslovak State Prize for Music
1956 National Prize of the GDR
Member of the German Academy of the Arts in Berlin (East)
Honorary senator of the music academies in Dresden and Leipzig
1961 Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze

literature

Dieter Härtwig : Fidelio F. Finke: Life and Work. Habilitation thesis, mach. multiply Leipzig 1970. German Library Frankfurt am Main U.70.3699
Fred K. Prieberg : Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, pp. 1565–1569.
Short biography for: Finke, Fidelio F. (Friedrich) . In: Who was who in the GDR? 5th edition. Volume 1. Ch. Links, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-86153-561-4 .
Wilhelm Hübner: Fidelio F. Finke - Thoughts on my teacher , in: Dresden and advanced music in the 20th century. Part II: 1933-1966 , ed. by Matthias Herrmann and Hanns-Werner Heister, Laaber 2002, pp. 397–404 (Musik in Dresden 5), ISBN 3-89007-510-X
Thorsten Fuchs: Finke, Fidelio F .. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 6 (Eames - Franco). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2001, ISBN 3-7618-1116-0 , Sp. 1193–1197 ( online edition , subscription required for full access)

Web links

Commons : Fidelio F. Finke - collection of images, videos and audio files

Works by and about Fidelio F. Finke in the catalog of the German National Library
Fidelio F. Finke archive in the archive of the Academy of Arts, Berlin
Fidelio F. Finke in the archive of contemporary composers of the Saxon State Library - Dresden State and University Library

Remarks

↑ ^a ^b Josefův Důl parish: Entry of Fidelis Friedrich Finke in the birth and baptismal register of the Josefův Důl parish . on www.soalitomerice.cz (Czech)
^ Advertisement by his publisher N. Simrock Leipzig in: Musik im Kriege , 1st year 1943, p. 200: "New publication: The hymn to the liberation of Bohemia by Fidelio F. Finke: O Herzland Böhmen , hymn based on the poem by Herbert Hiebsch , Head of the NSDAP Cultural Office in Prague. Organ, mass choir, strong wind orchestra. In the organ introduction, the composer expresses the German idea as it was always noticeable in Bohemia from the mystical darkness of prehistory to the heyday of the German Empire. In the 1st stanza this German thought comes to consciousness. In the 2nd stanza one experiences the world historical act of the Führer, the raising of the imperial flag on the Prague Castle; the 3rd stanza is proud, exuberant joy and an eternal vow of loyalty. "
↑ Thorsten Fuchs: Finke, Fidelio F .. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 6 (Eames - Franco). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2001, ISBN 3-7618-1116-0 , Sp. 1193–1197, here: Sp. 1194 ( online edition , subscription required for full access)

personal data
SURNAME	Finke, Fidelio F.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Finke, Fidelio Friedrich (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German composer
DATE OF BIRTH	October 22, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH	Josefsthal
DATE OF DEATH	June 12, 1968
Place of death	Dresden

[Pfarrei_Josefsthal-1] Josefův Důl parish: Entry of Fidelis Friedrich Finke in the birth and baptismal register of the Josefův Důl parish . on www.soalitomerice.cz (Czech)

[2] Advertisement by his publisher N. Simrock Leipzig in: Musik im Kriege , 1st year 1943, p. 200: "New publication: The hymn to the liberation of Bohemia by Fidelio F. Finke: O Herzland Böhmen , hymn based on the poem by Herbert Hiebsch , Head of the NSDAP Cultural Office in Prague. Organ, mass choir, strong wind orchestra. In the organ introduction, the composer expresses the German idea as it was always noticeable in Bohemia from the mystical darkness of prehistory to the heyday of the German Empire. In the 1st stanza this German thought comes to consciousness. In the 2nd stanza one experiences the world historical act of the Führer, the raising of the imperial flag on the Prague Castle; the 3rd stanza is proud, exuberant joy and an eternal vow of loyalty. "

[3] Thorsten Fuchs: Finke, Fidelio F .. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 6 (Eames - Franco). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2001, ISBN 3-7618-1116-0 , Sp. 1193–1197, here: Sp. 1194 ( online edition , subscription required for full access)