Hubertus Kilian

Hubertus Kilian (born March 9, 1827 in Jettenbach ; † October 14, 1899 in Eßweiler ) was a traveling musician. He played the flute and trombone and is considered one of the pioneers of the West Palatinate touring musicians , since he was one of the first touring musicians to travel to foreign continents.

biography

Hubertus Kilian was the son of Daniel and Margarethe Kilian, nee Wenz. His father was a cooper . His first journey as a musician took him to France in 1836 at the age of 9. In 1839 and 1845/46 he traveled through Spain with Michael Gilcher . From 1846 to 1852 he toured England and Scotland , including Liverpool and Edinburgh . In 1852 he served in the infantry battalion in Kaiserslautern .

In 1858 he put together a chapel for a trip to Australia . After an 86-day voyage from Liverpool via the Cape of Good Hope, Kilian and his chapel reached Melbourne on August 3, 1858 . Australia experienced an economic boom at this time and the Kilian Chapel achieved high income, which was lost again due to a bank failure . Kilian's losses alone amounted to 8,000 marks - at that time you could have a house built in the West Palatinate for 3,000–5,000 marks! Kilian's wife Phillipine Diehl (born April 5, 1838 in Eßweiler) was also there in Australia, and two of her seven children were born during the trip.

The Kilian Chapel in China

At the end of 1863 he met the English General Charles George Gordon , who was traveling to China with an auxiliary corps and who signed him and his chapel. He sent his wife and children, whom he no longer wanted to put up with the further exertions, back to Essweiler. In Shanghai , Kilian met the Chinese Commander-in-Chief Li Hung Tschang and was appointed "Imperial Chinese Military Bandmaster". He gave concerts with his band in the Hotel Europa and played on festive occasions. According to his travel diary, the chapel had revenues of $ 12,453.75 between October 1863 and September 1864. On May 6, 1865, the band started their journey home. With the ship Aden , the route led from Shanghai via Hong Kong, Singapore, Benang, Ceylon, through the Red Sea to Suez, then by train to Cairo and Alexandria, and again with the ship Ceylon via Malta, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica to Marseille , where he arrived on July 4th, and then to Eßweiler.

Kilian opened an inn in Eßweiler and made a short trip to Spain and France. In 1870/71 he made a trip to the USA, stops in Boston , New York , Chicago , St. Louis , New Orleans and Houston . In 1875 Kilian then moved to Russia, to the cities of Saint Petersburg , Hapsal , Vilnius and Warsaw .

Hubertus and Phillipine Kilian

On June 12, 1880, Kilian and his sons Eduard and Rudolph set off again for Australia, they reached Adelaide on July 19 and traveled on to Melbourne to witness the opening of the World's Fair . He gave concerts as part of the world exhibition and serenaded the violin virtuoso August Wilhelmj . In 1884 his son Eugen also came to Australia. In 1887, Kilian's Chapel in Australia disbanded because some members were caught in the gold rush and wanted to try their luck in Australia. His son Eduard also stayed in Australia and worked there as a theater musician. After returning, Kilian did not undertake any further trips and ran the inn together with his wife until his death in 1899.

Hubertus Kilian, who was also called "Bertes", composed pieces of music himself that he played with his bands. Among other things, the “Pan Kin Pang Polka”, which goes back to his stay in China, has been preserved. He spoke French and English and understood Spanish and Italian. Kilian and his wife Phillipine had seven children:

• August Kilian (born September 3, 1859 in Melbourne, † February 21, 1934 in Offenburg )
• Marie Kilian (born August 10, 1861 in Melbourne, † April 13, 1894 in Eßweiler)
• Eduard Kilian (born May 7, 1866 in Eßweiler; † unknown), stayed in Australia in 1887 and worked at the Melbourne Theater.
• Rudolf Kilian (born September 26, 1867 in Eßweiler, † April 26, 1940 in Brooklyn )
• Eugen Kilian (born July 27, 1872 in Eßweiler, † June 1, 1920 in Elmhurst, USA)
• Hermine Kilian (born October 19, 1874 in Eßweiler; † April 26, 1937 in Eßweiler)
• Adolph Kilian (born July 29, 1877 in Eßweiler; † July 23, 1959 in Hampstead)

literature

• Marliese Fuhrmann: Cuckoo Call and Nightingale . Gollenstein Verlag, ISBN 3-933389-27-5
• Paul Engel: Palatinate Musikantenland Museum at Lichtenberg Castle . Görres-Verlag, Koblenz, ISBN 3-920388-99-2