Hugo Staehle

Johann Christoph Ludwig Hugo Hercules Staehle (* 21st June 1826 in Fulda , † 29. March 1848 in Kassel ) was a German composer of the Romantic .

Life

Staehle was the son of an officer in the Hessian army . In Kassel he first received piano lessons from Wilhelm Deichert , a student of Louis Spohr . From 1839 Moritz Hauptmann taught him (until he moved to Leipzig in 1842 when he took over the Thomaskantorat ) in music theory and composition, while Louis Spohr gave him violin lessons. From 1842 he also became a student of Spohr in composition, with whom he also lived temporarily. Spohr supported him in the following years by performing various compositions. Staehle also stayed in Leipzig in the autumn and winter months of 1843/44 and 1844/45, where, in addition to Hauptmann, he also took lessons from Ferdinand David and the pianist Louis Plaidy . Among other things, he heard an opera there under the direction of Richard Wagner and made the acquaintance of Clara and Robert Schumann as well as Niels Gade . Back in Kassel he completed his great three-act opera Arria , which was also successfully performed at the Kassel Court Theater in 1847 under Spohr's direction. Staehle died in 1848 at the age of 22 from meningitis .

His most important works are his symphony in C minor (1844) and his piano quartet in A major (1847).

plant

Due to the composer's short life span, Staehle's catalog of works is not very extensive, but it shows a high level of talent.

Opera

• Arria (1845/46), premiered in 1847 at the Kassel Court Theater. From it published so far: Overture . Berlin: Ries & Erler 2018. Choir of Warriors . March from the opera Arria . Kraichtal: HeBu 2018.

Church music

• The 24th Psalm for soloists, choir and orchestra (1842/43). Bonn: Dr. J. Butz 2019.
• Miserere for four-part double choir with figured bass (1842).
• The 130th Psalm for soloists, choir and piano accompaniment (1841).

Secular vocal works

• Six songs op. 2. Hamburg, Leipzig, New-York: Schuberth et Comp. [1850].
• Six songs for baritone or bass op. 5. Kassel: Carl Luckhardt [1849].

Orchestral works

• Overture in E minor (1842), premiered in 1844 by the Kassel court orchestra under the direction of Louis Spohr. Berlin: Ries & Erler 2015.
• Symphony in C minor (1844), premiered in 1844 by the Kassel court orchestra under the direction of Louis Spohr.

Marches for military orchestra

• Festival March in E flat major (1843). Kraichtal: HeBu 2018.
• Marcia in A flat major.
• Speed ​​March No. 1 in E flat major (1840). Kraichtal: HeBu 2019.
• Geschwindmarsch No. 2 in E flat major ("Großer Geschwindmarsch", 1843). Kraichtal: HeBu 2019.
• Speed ​​March No. 3 in B flat major (1844). Kraichtal: HeBu 2019.
• Speed ​​March No. 4 in F major (1844). Kraichtal: HeBu 2018.

Chamber music

• Piano quartet in A major op. 1. Leipzig: J. Schuberth & Co. [1849].
• Scherzo for string quintet in A minor (ca.1847). For 2 violins, 2 violas & violoncello. Kassel: Kammermusikverlag 2002.
• String quartet in G major (ca.1842). For 2 violins, viola & violoncello. Kassel: Kammermusikverlag 2002.

Piano music

• Tre Scherzi op. 4. Cassel: Carlo Luckhardt [1848].
• Album leaves Op. 3 (lost).
• Military marches for piano. Kassel: Louis Spohr Foundation 2015.
• Marche . Kassel: Merseburger 2008.
• Romance sans paroles . Kassel: Merseburger 2008.

literature

• Hartmut Broszinski:  Staehle, Hugo. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 15 (Schoof - Stranz). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2006, ISBN 3-7618-1135-7  ( online edition , subscription required for full access)
• Folker Göthel:  Staehle, Johann Hugo Christoph Ludwig Herkules. In: Friedrich Blume (Hrsg.): The music in past and present (MGG). First edition, Volume 12 (Schoberlechner - Symphonic Poetry). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 1965, DNB 550439609 , Sp. 1134 (= Digital Library Volume 60, pp. 70775–70776)
• CD booklet Sterling CDS-1046-2, text by Cornelius Grube, 2001 (with Staehle's C minor symphony, Orch. Staatstheater Kassel, conducted by Marc Piollet)
• Hans Michael Schletterer:  Steels, Hugo . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 35, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, p. 786.
• Johannes Volker Schmidt (Ed.): Hugo Staehle. Documents on the life, work and impact of the Hessian composer. Olms, Hildesheim, Zurich, New York 2019, ISBN 978-3-487-15803-7 .

Web links

• Works by and about Hugo Staehle in the catalog of the German National Library
• 4 letters from Hugo Staehle to Louis Spohr