Fritz Neumeyer (musician)

Fritz Neumeyer (born July 2, 1900 in Saarbrücken , † January 16, 1983 in Freiburg im Breisgau ) was a German harpsichordist , pianist , musicologist and composer .

Life

Born as the son of a wine merchant in Saarbrücken, Fritz Neumeyer studied music theory with Franz Bölsche and piano with Lonny Epstein in Cologne from 1919 to 1921 , then from 1921 to 1924 in Berlin orchestral direction with Alexander von Fielitz , music theory with Wilhelm Klatte and piano with James Kwast . At the same time he studied musicology at the universities of Cologne and Berlin . From 1924 to 1927 he worked as a répétiteur , Kapellmeister and choirmaster at the Stadttheater in Saarbrücken . The meeting with the music researcher Curt Sachs in 1928 was decisive for his further career . Sachs was director of the Berlin instrument collection and aroused Neumeyer's interest in historical instruments and source-oriented performance practice . Neumeyer's long career as a harpsichordist began in the late 1920s . From 1930 on he also collected historical keyboard instruments himself. In 1933 he founded the "Saarbrücken Association for Early Music". He often appeared together with Gustav Scheck and August Wenzinger in the Chamber Trio for Early Music , a formation that existed from 1935 to 1965. From 1939 to 1944 he was professor at the Berlin Conservatory , then from 1946 to 1968 professor for historical keyboard instruments at the Conservatory in Freiburg im Breisgau . Since 1954 he was a member of the Cappella Coloniensis , one of the first chamber orchestras to play period instruments. From 1960 to 1965 he was also a member of the Vienna Soloists . From 1968 until his death he formed a successful harpsichord duo with his student Rolf Junghanns . Another important student of his was Hugo Ruf .

meaning

Today Neumeyer is considered to be one of the fathers of "historically informed" performance practice . As a harpsichordist, his starting point was the fundamental criticism of the construction and playing style of the so-called concert harpsichords , which were not historical instruments, but rather the attempt of the late 19th century to create a large, assertive harpsichord (which was later recognized as unsuitable). To produce a sound that was also sonically equal to a larger orchestra . Such large-format harpsichords with steel frames are not suitable for depicting the differentiated, typically "silvery" sound world of the baroque harpsichords.

As early as the 1920s, Neumeyer therefore turned to attempts to reproduce the original sound of old music with historical instruments or replicas. In 1933 he founded the "Association for Early Music" in Saarbrücken,

Neumeyer's playing is documented by numerous recordings. In 1960 he recorded six dances from Michael Praetorius ' Terpsichore for the first time with the ensemble "Collegium Terpsichore" . He collected numerous historical keyboard instruments, which are now summarized in the "Collection of historical keyboard instruments Fritz Neumeyer" in Bad Krozingen .

His importance as a composer is less. He leaves behind songs, choral compositions and chamber music.

Since 1993 is in Saarbrücken Fritz Neumeyer Academy of Ancient Music in the Saarland , which (together with the Saarland Radio regularly) Fritz Neumeyer Award for Early Music awards and since 2001, the days of Ancient Music in Saarland (TAMIS) organized .

literature

• Susanne Berkemer, Markus Zepf (Ed.): Fritz Neumeyer and his collection. Rombach, Freiburg i.Br./Berlin/Wien 2014, ISBN 978-3-7930-5103-9 .

Web links

• Works by and about Fritz Neumeyer in the catalog of the German National Library
• Fritz Neumeyer Academy for Early Music in Saarland
• Fritz Neumeyer in the German Broadcasting Archive