Heinrich XXIV. Reuss zu Köstritz

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Heinrich XXIV. Prince Reuss zu Köstritz

Prince (from 1894 Prince ) Heinrich XXIV. Reuss zu Köstritz , also Heinrich XXIV. Prince Reuss younger line , (born December 8, 1855 in Trebschen ; † October 2, 1910 in Ernstbrunn , Lower Austria ) was a German composer and became the seventh in 1894 Paraglider of Reuss-Köstritz .

Life

Heinrich XXIV, born in Trebschen in the province of Brandenburg , came from the non-ruling branch line Reuss-Köstritz from the younger line of the old, widely ramified German noble family of the Reuss . He spent his youth in Vienna , where he was decisively influenced by the artistic atmosphere of his parents' house. His first music lessons ( piano , organ , basso he received) from his father, Prince Henry IV. (1821-1894), himself a composing amateur and student Carl Gottlieb Reissiger had been. In Dresden , Heinrich XXIV was given regular music lessons as a high school student, which he later continued in Leipzig and Bonn . Despite his apparent musical talent, Heinrich XXIV decided to start studying law first. After becoming a Dr. jur. After receiving his doctorate, however, from then on he devoted himself almost exclusively to his musical interests. Heinrich XXIV found a capable teacher in the composer Heinrich von Herzogenberg , who was in contact with Johannes Brahms , even though he once said personally about his meetings with Brahms that he “ ... often taught him more in ten minutes than he did Herzogenberg had succeeded in months. "

family

Heinrich XXIV. Was the son of Prince Heinrich IV. Reuss zu Köstritz (1821-1894), the owner of the Paragium Reuss-Köstritz, and his wife Louise Karoline Countess Reuss a.L. On May 27, 1884, Heinrich XXIV married his cousin Elisabeth Princess Reuss zu Köstritz (1860–1931). The marriage had five children, including Paragium's heir, Heinrich XXXIX. Reuss to Köstritz (1891-1946).

On July 25, 1894, Heinrich XXIV took over the Paragium from his father and thus also the title of prince. Associated with this was a virile vote in the Reuss younger line of parliament : from March 8, 1897 to October 2, 1910, he was a member of the parliament. He was also the owner of the family entails Ernstbrunn and Hagenberg in Lower Austria.

Heinrich XXIV. Prince Reuss-Köstritz died two months before his 55th birthday in October 1910 at Ernstbrunn Palace , where his family's ancestral home had been since 1828.

style

Heinrich XXIV. Prince / Prince Reuss-Köstritz saw himself as a composer particularly influenced by Johannes Brahms, whom he greatly admired. Accordingly, his music is strongly influenced by Brahms' style, but differs from this in that it is by and large a lighter tone and thus more resembles that of his teacher Heinrich von Herzogenberg. A stylistic similarity to the works of Antonín Dvořák can also be discerned. What is particularly striking about the compositions of Heinrich XXIV is a masterly mastery of form and compositional techniques, especially in the contrapuntal voice leading. As with Brahms, Dvořák and Herzogenberg, his main area of ​​creativity was chamber music , which he enriched with numerous works of various genres. His six symphonies stand out from the rest of his oeuvre.

During his lifetime, the works of the composing prince were not only highly valued by experts. Even Max Reger was one of her admirers. Even years after Heinrich's death, his compositions were warmly recommended in various concert guides. B. the musicologist Wilhelm Altmann in the third volume of his handbook for string quartet players published in 1929 on the string sextet No. 2 in B minor : “ [It] is a work that comes close to the artistic value of the two Brahms sextets. Every chamber music fan should know it. “From around 1930 onwards, it became increasingly quiet about the composer, whose work would definitely be worth rediscovering.

Works (selection)

Chamber music

  • Viola Sonata in G major op.22 (1904)
  • Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 7 (1895)
  • Trio for violin, viola and piano op.25
  • String Quartet No. 1 in F major, Op. 11
  • String Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 23/1 (1904)
  • String Quartet No. 3 in E flat major, Op. 23/2 (1904)
  • String Quintet in F major op.4 (1887)
  • String Quintet A major (2 cellos, lost)
  • String Sextet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 12 (1899)
  • String Sextet No. 2 in B minor, Op. 17 (1902)

Orchestral works

  • Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 10 (1888)
  • Symphony No. 2 in A major or op.
  • Symphony No. 3 in E minor, Op. 28 (1907)
  • Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 30 (1907)
  • Symphony No. 5 in F minor, Op. 34 (1907)
  • Symphony No. 6 in E minor, Op. 36 (1909)

Awards

literature

  • Reyk Seela : Diets and regional representations in the Russian states 1848 / 67–1923. Biographical handbook (= Parliaments in Thuringia 1809–1952. Part 2). G. Fischer, Jena et al. 1996, ISBN 3-437-35046-3 , p. 246.
  • Gothaisches Genealogisches Handbuch der Princely Houses Volume I, Marburg 2015, ISBN 978-3-9817243-0-1 , pp. 226–247.
  • Michael Stolle: The composer Heinrich XXIV. Reuss-Köstritz: a master of strict beauty , Hildesheim; Zurich; New York: Georg Olms Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3-487-08577-7 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michael Stolle: The composer Heinrich XXIV. Reuss-Köstritz: a master of strict beauty , Hildesheim; Zurich; New York: Georg Olms Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3-487-08577-7 , p. 72 and p. 215.
  2. ^ Wilhelm Altmann: Heinrich von Herzogenberg. His life and work. In: Die Musik , 2/1903, issue 19, pp. 28–47.
  3. ↑ Riehmann Musiklexikon 1919, pp. 971–972.
predecessor Office successor
Henry IV. Paraglider of Reuss-Köstritz
1894–1910 		Heinrich XXXIX.
personal data
SURNAME Reuss zu Köstritz, Heinrich XXIV.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Reuss zu Köstritz, Heinrich XXIV. Prince
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer
DATE OF BIRTH December 8, 1855
PLACE OF BIRTH Trebschen
DATE OF DEATH October 2, 1910
Place of death Ernstbrunn , Austria