Friedrich Gernsheim

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Friedrich Gernsheim
(steel engraving by August Weger, 1875)

Friedrich Gernsheim (born July 17, 1839 in Worms ; † September 10, 1916 in Berlin ) was a German pianist , conductor , composer and music teacher of the late Romantic period .

Life

As the son of a doctor, Friedrich Gernsheim came from a respected Jewish family in Worms, which can be traced back for centuries. He received his first musical instruction in Worms from his mother, who was a pianist. Later he received lessons from the Spohr student Louis Liebe. Because of the unrest in the revolutionary year of 1848, he moved to Mainz, where he received piano lessons from Ernst Pauer .

In 1849 Gernsheim settled in Frankfurt am Main, where he received regular and systematic lessons in piano and violin. At the age of eleven he performed there for the first time publicly as a pianist, violinist and as a composer of a concert overture. From 1852 Gernsheim studied in Leipzig with Ignaz Moscheles and Ferdinand David . From 1855 to 1860 he stayed in Paris , where he made the acquaintance of Theodor Gouvys , Édouard Lalos and Camille Saint-Saëns '. He found his first job in Saarbrücken as a music director.

From 1865 he was a teacher at the conservatory in Cologne and head of the city choir and the music society. He also held the position of Kapellmeister at the City Theater. One of his students was Engelbert Humperdinck . In 1874 he was appointed to Rotterdam as director of the "Society for the Promotion of Music" ( Maatschappij tot Bevordering der Toonkunst ). He had a close friendship with Brahms . Gernsheim was appointed to the Stern Conservatory in Berlin in 1890. In October 1910, he began to perform three of his own compositions for Welte-Mignon .

Friedrich Gernsheim
(photo in the magazine "Berliner Leben", 07/1906)

Gernsheim married on May 1, 1877 in Worms Helene Herrnsheim (* 1851 in Karlsruhe, † October 26, 1927 in Berlin); the couple had two daughters. Descendants now live abroad.

He was a member of the Academy of Arts . The city of Dortmund honored the 75-year-old composer in 1914 with a two-day “Gernsheim Festival”, where he could be seen as a conductor and pianist.

In 1872 Gernsheim became a Freemason in the Lodge for the rebuilt Temple of Brotherly Love in Worms, then in 1897 in the Berlin Lodge Friedrich for Justice .

His grave is in the Weissensee Jewish Cemetery in Berlin.

During the Nazi era , Gernsheim's music was not played; the first edition of his name appeared in Herbert Gerigk's and Theophil Stengel's Lexicon of Jews in Music in 1940.

Works (selection)

Gernsheim wrote four symphonies and chamber music works.

  • Orchestral works and concerts
    • Symphony No. 1 in G minor, Op. 32 (1874)
    • Symphony No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 46 (1880)
    • Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 54 (1887)
    • Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, op.62 (1895)
    • Waldmeister's Bridal Trip , Overture op.13 (first performance 1868)
    • To a drama , tone poem for large orchestra op.82 (1902)
    • In Memoriam , Ein Klagegesang for string orchestra and organ op.91 (1915)
    • Piano Concerto in C minor, Op. 16 (1868)
    • Violin Concerto No. 1 in D major, op.42 (1879)
    • Violin Concerto No. 2 in F major, op.86 (1912)
    • Fantasy piece for violin and orchestra in D major op.33 (publ. 1876)
    • Violoncello Concerto in E minor, Op. 78 (1903)
    • Divertimento for flute, two violins, viola, cello and double bass (or flute and string orchestra) in E major op.53 (1887)
  • Chamber music
    • String Quintet No. 1 in D major, Op. 9 (first performed in 1867)
    • String Quintet No. 2 in E flat major op.89 (1915/16)
    • Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor op.35 (1875/76)
    • Piano Quintet No. 2 in B minor, Op. 63 (1896)
    • String Quartet No. 1 in C minor op.25 (publ. 1872)
    • String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 31 (first performed in 1874)
    • String Quartet No. 3 in F major op.51 (1885)
    • String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 66 (1899?)
    • String Quartet No. 5 in A major, Op. 83 (1911?)
    • Piano Quartet No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 6 (publ. 1865)
    • Piano Quartet No. 2 in C minor, Op. 20 (published around 1870)
    • Piano Quartet No. 3 in F major op.47 (publ. 1883)
    • Piano Trio No. 1 in F major op.28 (publ. 1873)
    • Piano Trio No. 2 in B major op.37 (1877)
    • Violin Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 4 (publ. 1865)
    • Violin Sonata No. 2 in C major op.50 (publ. 1885)
    • Violin Sonata No. 3 in F major, Op. 64 (publ. 1898)
    • Violin Sonata No. 4 in G major op.85 (publ. 1912)
    • Violoncello Sonata No. 1 in D minor op.12 (1868)
    • Violoncello Sonata No. 2 in E minor, Op. 79 (1902-06)
    • Violoncello Sonata No. 3 in E minor, Op. 87 (1914)

Web links

Commons : Friedrich Gernsheim  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bruno Peters: Berlin Freemasons. a contribution to the cultural history of Berlin. Luisenstadt Educational Association, Berlin 1994 (Edition Luisenstadt), p. 24.
  2. ↑ Eva Weissweiler eliminated! The Lexicon of the Jews in Music and its Murderous Consequences. Dittrich, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-920862-25-2 , p. 227
personal data
SURNAME Gernsheim, Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German pianist, conductor and composer of the late Romantic period
DATE OF BIRTH July 17, 1839
PLACE OF BIRTH Worms
DATE OF DEATH September 10, 1916
Place of death Berlin