Georg Göhler

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Georg Göhler

Karl Georg Göhler (born June 29, 1874 in Zwickau , † March 4, 1954 in Lübeck ) was a German composer , conductor , music educator and critic.

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Karl Georg Göhler was born on June 29, 1874 as the son of the cantor and organist at the Zwickau Katharinenkirche. From 1893 he studied theory, composition, piano and organ at the Leipzig Conservatory with Hermann Kretzschmar and received his doctorate there in 1896. As early as 1897, he was able to gain experience as a conductor as a choir director of the Riedel Association in Leipzig. In 1903 he became court conductor at the Landestheater Altenburg , where, among other things, he led the first performances of operas on this stage. These included Offenbach's " Hoffmanns Erzählungen " in 1903 , Puccini's " Madame Butterfly " in 1910 , Smetana's " Bartered Bride " and Wagner's " Ring des Nibelungen " in 1909 .

From 1907 to 1909 he was court conductor at the Grand Ducal Badischer Hofkapelle in Karlsruhe. From 1909 he again conducted the Riedel Association and the Orchestra of the Musical Society in Leipzig.

Between 1913 and 1915 he was director of the Neue Oper Hamburg and the Hamburg teachers' choir. There he arranged, among other things, Verdi's opera " La forza del destino ". In 1915 he succeeded Wilhelm Furtwängler as conductor of the orchestra of the Verein der Musikfreunde in Lübeck. He coordinated the symphony concerts, the Philharmonic Choir and the popular concerts in Lübeck. He held this post until 1919. When the founder and director of the first Lübeck Conservatory became seriously ill and had to withdraw, Georg Göhler took on the second director's position alongside Prof. Andreas Hofmeier and held it until 1922, due to inflation.

In 1922 he returned to the Landestheater Altenburg as Kapellmeister and was appointed general music director there in 1925 . During this time he also made a significant contribution to the Verdi renaissance in Germany in the 1920s: in 1928 he conducted Verdi's Macbeth at the Dresden State Opera, 81 years after its premiere on a German stage for the first time. In addition, he directed the Philharmonic Concerts in Halle and was a guest conductor with several orchestras. In 1932 he withdrew from public musical life and devoted himself to his work as a composer and musicologist.

Göhler was a patron of the music of Anton Bruckner and especially of Gustav Mahler . On January 9, 1914, in Leipzig, he conducted the new version of the 5th Symphony, which Mahler himself had completed shortly before his death, as the "world premiere of the new version " (Bucholtz: 142ff).

Göhler has left an extensive work, including over 200 songs in traditional style. He wrote simple verse songs as well as romantic miniatures and well-developed art songs. In addition, he composed five symphonies, piano, violin and cello concertos, an opera and numerous chamber music works. He was an opponent of all modern music that went beyond the classical and romantic tradition of style development, which ultimately led to the fact that his numerous compositions are practically forgotten today, despite all the compositional subtleties.

He wrote numerous articles in newspapers and magazines, including Der Kunstwart , Die Zukunft (edited by Maximilian Harden ) and in the magazine for music .

His estate, including over 23,000 letters attesting to his contacts with many artistic personalities of his time, is kept by the Zwickau Council School Library.

Literature and Sources

Recordings

  • Georg Göhler: songs and duets. Antje Perscholka, soprano, Henryk Böhm, baritone, Hendrik Bräunlich, piano. Genuin, LC 12029.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑

    “The association appointed the concert conductor and from then on Lübeck became a springboard for young talents . On Ugo Afferni followed Hermann Abendroth , Wilhelm Furtwängler , who with Gustav Mahler befriended George Göhler and afterwards became Bayreuth -Dirigent Franz von Hoesslin , Karl Mannstaedt, Edwin Fischer , Eugen Jochum , Ludwig Leschetitzki and Heinz Dressel . "

    - Moving orchestral history by Günter Zschacke , In: Die Tonkunst , October 2013, No. 4, vol. 7 (2013), ISSN  1863-3536 , p. 498
personal data
SURNAME Göhler, Georg
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Göhler, Karl Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer, conductor, music educator and critic
DATE OF BIRTH June 29, 1874
PLACE OF BIRTH Zwickau
DATE OF DEATH March 4th 1954
Place of death Lübeck