Gerhard Frommel

Gerhard Frommel (born August 7, 1906 in Karlsruhe , † June 22, 1984 in Filderstadt ) was a German composer , music teacher and music writer.

Life

Gerhard Frommel's ancestors included the composer Nicolaus Bruhns , the copper engraver Carl Ludwig Frommel and the Berlin court preacher Emil Frommel . The theologian and poet Otto Frommel was his father, the president of the Baden regional church Albert Helbing was his grandfather. Gerhard Frommel grew up in Heidelberg and learned to play the violin and piano at an early age. Through his older brother Wolfgang Frommel he came into contact with the mind of Stefan George . In 1922, Gerhard Frommel began studying composition and composition with Hermann Grabner in Heidelberg, which he continued at the Leipzig Conservatory from 1924–26. 1926-29 he was a master student of Hans Pfitzner at the Prussian Academy of the Arts . At the same time he studied conducting with Karl Böhm and piano with Sigfrid Grundis . In 1929 he passed the composition and theory teacher exam.

From 1929 to 1932 Gerhard Frommel taught at the Folkwang University in Essen , and from the summer of 1933 at the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt am Main. After the " seizure of power " by the National Socialists , he became a member of the NSDAP and registered under the number 3,141,599. In 1935 he was a co-founder of the Frankfurt Working Group for New Music , where he also presented works by officially "undesirable" composers such as Igor Stravinsky and Béla Bartók, as well as Günter Raphael, who was discriminated against as a " half-Jew " . In 1937 he published the text Neue Klassik in der Musik , for which he was denounced in the 1938 exhibition Degenerate Music in the group Theorists of Atonal Music . In his opening address, however , Hans Severus Ziegler expressly emphasized with regard to the aforementioned German composers that the exhibition “did not want to destroy any existence, but only to call for reflection”. According to other sources, Frommel's rector, Hermann Reutter , who himself was denounced in the exhibition, and others protested and were able to have Frommel's writing removed from the exhibition. The denunciation did not in fact harm Frommel, because his works continued to be performed.

After the beginning of the Second World War , Gerhard Frommel was drafted into the Wehrmacht and took part in the French campaign in 1940 . His war experiences led him to a renewed engagement with Baudelaire and the composer Fauré , which was expressed soon after in his 3rd piano sonata and the Baudelaire-Lieder, Op. 16. In August 1940 Frommel was discharged from the Wehrmacht, but drafted again in autumn 1941 and transferred to the Army Music School in Frankfurt. Here he taught composition and wrote various compositions for military musicians. In addition to a woodwind octet ( Suite op.18) and a concertino for brass ensemble, two works for wind orchestra and choir based on texts by Otto Frommel, a short hymn ( ceremonial wind music ) and a more extensive celebratory music performed in a major concert at the Army Music School in Frankfurt am Main , sponsored by the NSDAP's district propaganda agency, premiered and received positive reviews in the magazine Die Musik : "which ends with a powerful array of organ, choir and orchestra with symphonic means in a sparkling victory hymn ...". While Gerhard Frommel later rejected the hymn, the ceremonial music found its way into his catalog raisonné in a purely instrumental version as Symphonic Wind Music Op. 19 . Frommel had his greatest success when Wilhelm Furtwängler premiered Frommel's Symphony in E major, op. 13, in a concert by the Berlin Philharmonic on November 8, 1942 .

In the final phase of World War II , he was, not least, on the recommendation of former music speakers of the High Command of the Wehrmacht and later head of the Army Music School Frankfurt, Ernst-Lothar von Knorr in August 1944 by Adolf Hitler approved gottbegnadeten list included, making him by a Front-line deployment, also preserved on the home front .

From 1945 Frommel was a composition teacher at the universities in Trossingen and Heidelberg, from 1956 at the Stuttgart University of Music and, as part of a professorship, finally from 1960 to 1971 at the Frankfurt am Main University of Music . His students include Hugo Puetter , Helmut Sadler , Anton Biersack , Hermann Schäfer and Sigrid Ernst . From the end of the 1950s he was also chairman of the Baden-Württemberg section of the German Composers' Association, delegate in the Broadcasting Council of the Süddeutscher Rundfunk and conductor of the Stuttgart Orchestra Association. Parallel to his compositional work, he published essays on Bellini , Wagner , Bruckner , Fauré , Puccini and the classical period of Igor Stravinsky .

Frommel was married to Gertrud Neuhaus (1906–2001) since 1929. The couple lived in Heidelberg from 1945 and had three children: Christoph Luitpold (* 1933) , Melchior (* 1937) and Veronika (* 1944).

Relationship to the Nazi state

Frommel's role in the time of National Socialism is assessed differently in literature.

Wolfgang Osthoff wrote: "In 1933 Gerhard Frommel [...] was also caught by the 'national wave". "According to Osthoff, Frommel revised his attitude after the murders of 1934 and a visit to Switzerland, where in 1935" he spoke about the situation for the first time found out more in the German concentration camps "(G. Frommel). Osthoff:" After that, he emphatically represented the rejection of the regime, particularly in the educational field. "

Fred K. Prieberg and Ernst Klee, on the other hand, who rely mainly on sources from the Nazi era, come to different conclusions than Osthoff's view based on Frommel's own statements.

Musical classification

Frommel's music is rooted in the classical- romantic tradition. Through the influence of Igor Stravinsky ( Oedipus Rex ) it was sharpened in terms of subject matter, harmony and rhythm. Frommel asserted himself as a composer, especially before 1945 in the time of National Socialism , when Hans Pfitzner performed Frommel's orchestral variations (op. 7) in 1934 and Wilhelm Furtwängler conducted the world premiere of Frommel's 1st Symphony in 1942 . In the piano sonatas (Nos. 5-7) composed after 1950, Frommel developed a differentiated harmony rich in dissonance, which prompted him to revise earlier works.

Frommel, who wrote tonal works all his life , could no longer assert himself as a composer since the 1950s. His opera Der Technokrat, completed in 1962, based on a libretto by Dieter Wyss , has not been premiered to this day. In 1962 Frommel gave up composing - with the exception of his seventh piano sonata from 1970. He justified his decision with the following words: "I would rather fall silent than adapt to a trend that does not suit me".

Works (selection)

The complete works are in the Bavarian State Library in Munich. (Works without a publisher's notice are manuscripts)

Stage works

• The God and the Bajadere ( op.12 ; 1936). Ballet (Schott)
• Meeting on the Railroad (1952). Everyday scene for soprano, tenor, chamber choir and 8 instruments. Libretto: D. Wyss (New)
• The moon on the curtain (1956/57). Ballet chanté. Libretto: Dieter Wyss
• The Technocrat (1957/62). Opera. Libretto: Dieter Wyss

Choral works

• Autumn celebration (op. 8; 1932/33). Cantata for choir and orchestra. Text: Ludwig Derleth (SMV)
• Missa in e (1948) for 4-part mixed choir a cappella (SMV)
• Two choirs a cappella (1951). Texts: Otto Frommel

Songs

(2-volume complete edition: Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter], 2004/2008)

• Amorosissima (1924) for voice and piano. Text: Friedrich Nietzsche
• Nine songs (op. 1; 1925, revised and expanded in 1970) for voice and chamber orchestra. Texts: Stefan George , from the songs of a traveling minstrel . Premiere October 20, 1927 Berlin (Cida Lau; Berlin Symphony Orchestra, conductor: Hans Pfitzner )
• Tag-Gesang I-III (op. 3; 1929) for low voice and piano. Texts: Stefan George, from The Carpet of Life . Premiere 1957 Tübingen ( Barry McDaniel [baritone], Hermann Reutter [piano])
• Songs of Silence (op. 4; 1928/29) for low voice and piano. Texts: Stefan George, Charles Baudelaire
• Vier Gesänge (op. 5; 1929) for low voice and piano. Texts: Stefan George
• Four songs (op. 16; 1941) for voice and piano. Texts: Stefan George (after Charles Baudelaire)
• 3 songs (1949/53) for low voice and piano. Texts: Rainer Maria Rilke , Stefan George, Otto Frommel

Orchestral works

• Variations on an own theme (op.7; 1931) (Ries & Erler)
• Concerto in B minor (op. 9; 1934, revised 1964) for piano, clarinet and string orchestra (Ries & Erler)
• Suite (op.11; 1935) for small orchestra (Schott)
• Symphony No. 1 in E major (op.13; 1937/39) (Schott)
• Symphonic Prelude (op. 23; 1943) (Schott)
• Symphony No. 2 in G minor (op. 25; 1944/48) (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• Rhapsodic string music (op. 26; 1945/46) (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• Concert piece (op. 25 [recte 27]; 1945) for violin and string orchestra (or accordion orchestra) (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• Sinfonietta in D major (op. 29; 1946) (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• 9 piano fugues by Anton Reicha . Arrangement for string orchestra (1950) (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])

Music for wind instruments

• Suite in C major (op. 18; 1942) for 8 wind instruments (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• Symphonic wind music ( op.19 ; 1943)
• Concertino (op. 24; 1944) for trombone and 6 wind instruments

Chamber music

• Sonata in D minor (1926/27) for violin and piano
• String Quartet (1929)
• 3 pieces (1942/45) for violin and piano
• Movimento (1945) for viola and violoncello (Amadeus Winterthur)
• Sonata No. 1 in G major (op. 30; 1947, revised 1964) for violin and piano (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• Sonata No. 2 in A minor (op. 32; 1950, revised 1971) for violin and piano (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• Trio in C minor (1958) for clarinet, cor anglais and bassoon

Music for keyboard instruments

• Piano Sonata No. 1 in F sharp minor (op. 6; 1930, revised 1975). Süddeutscher Musikverlag, Heidelberg. First performance in 1934 in Heidelberg by Rudolf Müller-Chappuis .
• Piano book for Hans Christian (1931, revised 1971)
• Piano Sonata No. 2 in F major (op.10; 1935) (Schott)
• Caprichos (op. 14; 1940) (Schott)
• Piano Sonata No. 3 in E major (Op. 15; 1940, revised 1962) (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• 12 concert pieces (op.17; 1942, revised until 1975) (Tonger)
• Impromptu in C minor (1942) for 4-handed piano
• Piano Sonata No. 4 in F major (op. 21; 1943) (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• Piano Sonata No. 5 in E flat major (1951, revised until 1976) (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• 5 bagatelles (1952, revised until 1975)
• 2 pieces for organ (1953, revised until 1975)
• Piano Sonata No. 6 in B flat major (1956/57, revised until 1975) (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])
• Piano Sonata No. 7 in C major (1966/70) (Süddeutscher Musikverlag [Bärenreiter])

Fonts

• New classics in music . Darmstadt 1937
• Tradition and originality . Writings, ed. by M. Albrecht. Peter Lang, Frankfurt 1988

Literature (selection)

• Article in the MGG music dictionary (German) and in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (English)
• Peter Cahn , Wolfgang Osthoff , Johann Peter Vogel (eds.): Gerhard Frommel. The composer and his work (with contributions by G. Frommel, W. Fortner, HW Zimmermann, D. Wyss, H. Schäfer, S. Ernst and the editors). Tutzing 1979, ISBN 978-3-7952-0299-6
• Egbert Kahlke: The symphonic work of Gerhard Frommel . Dr. Hans Schneider Verlag, Tutzing 2006, ISBN 3-7952-1209-X
• Wolfgang Osthoff: My friendship with Gerhard Frommel . Osthoff, Würzburg 2006, ISBN 3-935998-07-4
• Gerhard Frommel. A Heidelberg composer , exhibition catalog of the Heidelberg City Archives 1987 (with numerous illustrations)
• Gerhard Frommel. Music from a poetic impulse , exhibition Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich 1994 (exhibition catalog 64)
• Wolfgang Osthoff: Gerhard Frommel and 'France dulce terre'. A German composer during the war years . In: International Journal of Musicology , 3, 1994, pp. 291-308
• Martin Torp: Authentic composing beyond avant-garde fashions. Leo Spies and Gerhard Frommel . In: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik (NZfM), Schott-Verlag Mainz, 2005/5 (Sept./Oct.), Pp. 24–33.
• Johann Peter Vogel: Dialectical loner . In: Musica , 25, 1971, p. 399 ff.
• Peter Cahn: Gerhard Frommel's “Nachtstück I” from “Caprichos. 6 piano pieces op. 14 “ . In: Musica , 47, 1993, p. 182 f.
• Wolfgang Osthoff: Symphonies at the end of the Second World War. Stravinsky-Frommel-Shostakovich . In: Acta Musicologica , 60, 1988, pp. 62-104.
• Wolfgang Osthoff: "Dancing in Chains" - symphonic jokes in the totalitarian state . In: Yearbook of the State Institute for Music Research Prussian Cultural Heritage , 1994, pp. 158–198.
• Wilhelm Furtwängler : Letters. Edited by Frank Thiess, Wiesbaden 1964 (letters to Frommel on pp. 183 f., 197 ff., 213 f., 214 ff. And 240).

Discography

• Piano sonatas No. 3 and 4, violin sonata No. 2 and songs (portrait Gerhard Frommel) with Daniel Sepec, Lars Jonsson, Karl-Heinz Lautner a. a., Musicaphon Records (M 55708), Kassel 1998
• Caprichos op.14 with Gisela Sott, FSM Schallplatten D-48366 Laer, 1998
• Piano sonatas II to VII. Caprichos. Bagatelles with Klauspeter Bungert , MK-Produktion (MK 97-98-8 / 9), Musikkreis Springiersbach, D-54538 Bengel, 2000
• Concerto for piano, clarinet and string orchestra op. 9 in B minor with Tatjana Blome and the Kammersymphonie Berlin under Jürgen Bruns , Deutsche Grammophon “Club 100”, 2006
• Sonata No. 6 in B flat major with Tatjana Blome, Deutsche Grammophon "Club 100", 2006 (same CD)

Web links

• Literature by and about Gerhard Frommel in the catalog of the German National Library
• Works by and about Gerhard Frommel  in the German Digital Library
• www.gerhard-frommel.de
• Catalog of works on Klassika
• Author portrait by Gerhard Frommel

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Fred K. Prieberg : Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, p. 1.713.
2. ^ Wolfgang Osthoff in: Exhibition catalog Gerhard Frommel. A Heidelberg composer , Heidelberg 1987, p. 25 f .; Deutsche Tonkünstlerzeitung XXXIII / 3, December 1936, p. 85 f. (reprinted in Fred K. Prieberg's CD-ROM Handbook German Musicians 1933-1945 , Kiel 2004, p. 4662).
3. ↑ Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , pp. 1.714 and 7.974.
4. ^ Wolfgang Osthoff in: Exhibition catalog Gerhard Frommel , Heidelberg 1987, p. 28; Wolfgang Steinecke in: DAZ from May 15, 1938; cited in Fred K. Prieberg's CD-ROM Handbook German Musicians 1933-1945 , Kiel 2004, p. 6845.
5. ^ Quotation from Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , p. 7.974.
6. ^ Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , p. 7.974.
7. ↑ Fred K. Prieberg in: The suspicious saxophone. "Degenerate Music" in the Nazi State (Ed. Albrecht Dümling), Berlin 2007, p. 191; Gerhard Frommel: Autobiographical sketch (1975), p. 42, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Ms. Ana 558.
8. ↑ Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , p. 1.714.
9. ↑ Gottfried Schweizer in: Die Musik XXX / 5, February 1943, p. 143 (excerpts from Fred K. Prieberg's CD-ROM Handbook German Musicians 1933-1945 , Kiel 2004, p. 1714).
10. ↑ Quotation from the magazine Die Musik from Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , p. 1.714.
11. ↑ Ernst-Lothar von Knorr: Memoirs of life . Experienced musical events in Germany , Tonger Musikverlag, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-920950-25-9 , p. 83.
12. ↑ Fred K. Prieberg: Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, p. 3.784.
13. ↑ Oliver Rathkolb : Loyal to the Führer and God-Grace. Artist elite in the Third Reich . Österreichischer Bundesverlag, Vienna 1991, ISBN 3-215-07490-7 . P. 176, see also Ernst Klee : Das Kulturlexikon zum Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945 . S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-10-039326-5 , p. 167.
14. ↑ gerhard-frommel.de website Gerhard Frommel
15. ↑ ^{a b} Quotes from the Gerhard Frommel exhibition catalog . Heidelberg 1987, p. 24.
16. ^ Quote from Gerhard Frommel. In: Peter Cahn u. a. (Ed.): Gerhard Frommel . Tutzing 1979, p. 40
17. ↑ Martin Torp, in: Supplement to the CD Deutsche Grammophon "Club 100", 2006.
18. ^ Quote from Martin Torp, in: Supplement to the CD Deutsche Grammophon "Club 100" . 2006.