Franz Sauer (organist)

Franz Sauer (born March 11, 1894 in Bielitz ( Upper Silesia ) in what is now Poland , † October 28, 1962 in Salzburg ) was an Austrian organist and music teacher . For more than four decades he was the first cathedral organist at Salzburg Cathedral .

Life and professional career

Born in the spring of 1894 in the Bielitz-Bialaer language island in Austrian Silesia as the son of the landowner Josef Sauer and his wife Maria (née Schwope), Sauer received his first musical training very early on from his father. He played the violin and piano when he was a child and the organ when he was ten . After finishing school he attended the teacher training college in Ziegenhals (Głuchołazy / PL). He then studied at the Royal Music Institute in Berlin with Bernhard Irrgang and Joseph Renner jun. at the church music school in Regensburg .

Sauer had his first job as a choir director and organist in Heinrichsau near Breslau (today: Strumianki, Lebus Voivodeship , Poland ). In 1914 he applied for the position of the first cathedral organist in Salzburg. During his one-year probationary period there, he began to teach at the Mozarteum in 1915 . On January 1, 1916, he officially became the Salzburg Cathedral organist . He held this office for almost 46 years until his death in 1962.

Grave of the Sauer family in the Salzburg municipal cemetery

In 1925 Sauer became a full professor at the Mozarteum , where he taught the subjects of organ, theory (theory of harmony) and choral singing. His well-known students include Herbert von Karajan , Leopold M. Kantner and Konstantin Mach , among others . After the Nazis shortly after the annexation of Austria the longtime director of the Mozarteum, Bernhard Paumgartner had relieved of the office, they put on 13 March 1938 Franz Sauer, the NSDAP -member was interim as Paumgartners successor one. Sauer held this position until June 13, 1939. At that time he was also the regional director of the Salzburg Reich Chamber of Music .

From 1920 onwards, Sauer also served as the choir director of the Salzburg men's choir for almost two decades (until 1939) . After its merger with the traditional concert choir Salzburger Liedertafel , he was artistic director of the Salzburger Liedertafel from April 1, 1939 to May 29, 1946 and again from December 15, 1948 to June 12, 1952.

As an organist, Sauer himself went on concert tours to Germany and Italy.

Franz Sauer died on October 28, 1962 at the age of 66 in Salzburg and found his final resting place in the local municipal cemetery, where his family grave has been preserved. His successor in the office of cathedral organist was Gerhard Zukriegel (1928–2015).

Honors

Franz-Sauer-Strasse in Salzburg-Liefering (1975)
Honorary chorister of the Salzburg Liedertafel
Large Silver Mozart Medal from the City of Salzburg

Fonts

Handbook of Organ Literature (1923)

literature

Sauer, Franz . In: Wilibald Gurlitt (Ed.): Riemann Musiklexikon . 12th, completely revised edition. Persons part: L-Z . Schott, Mainz 1961, p. 578 .
Sauer, Franz . In: Carl Dahlhaus (Ed.): Riemann Musiklexikon . 12th, completely revised edition. Personal section: L – Z , supplementary volume. Schott, Mainz 1975, p. 555 .
Ernst Hintermaier: The organists at Salzburg Cathedral from the beginning to the present. In: Metropolitan Chapter of Salzburg (ed.): Festschrift for the consecration of the new large organ in Salzburg Cathedral in 1988. Salzburg 1988.

Web links

Christian Fastl: Sauer, Franz. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 4, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-7001-3046-5 .
Franz Sauer's media in the catalog of the German National Library
Photo by Erika Groth-Schmachtenberger : Prof. Franz Sauer at the organ of the Mozarteum (1941)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b The city of Salzburg under National Socialism. Street names: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Paumgartner. In: stadt-salzburg.at. City of Salzburg, July 26, 2017, accessed on April 2, 2020 .
^ Artistic director since 1847. In: salzburger-iederafel.at. Retrieved April 2, 2020 .
^ Franz Martin: Salzburg street names. List of streets, alleys, squares, paths, bridges, gates and parks with an explanation of their names. 5th, substantially revised edition by Willa Leitner-Martin and Andreas Martin. Announcements of the Society for Salzburg Regional Studies, 25th supplement, self-published by the Society, Salzburg 2006.

personal data
SURNAME	Sauer, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Austrian organist and music teacher
DATE OF BIRTH	March 11, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH	Bielitz in today's Poland
DATE OF DEATH	October 28, 1962
Place of death	Salzburg

[Stadt-1] The city of Salzburg under National Socialism. Street names: Prof. Dr. Bernhard Paumgartner. In: stadt-salzburg.at. City of Salzburg, July 26, 2017, accessed on April 2, 2020 .

[2] Artistic director since 1847. In: salzburger-iederafel.at. Retrieved April 2, 2020 .

[3] Franz Martin: Salzburg street names. List of streets, alleys, squares, paths, bridges, gates and parks with an explanation of their names. 5th, substantially revised edition by Willa Leitner-Martin and Andreas Martin. Announcements of the Society for Salzburg Regional Studies, 25th supplement, self-published by the Society, Salzburg 2006.