John Paul Thilman

Johannes Paul Thilman (born January 11, 1906 in Dresden ; † January 29, 1973 there ) was a German composer .

Life

Johannes Paul Thilman's grave in the Heidefriedhof in Dresden

Thilman pursued interests other than music in his youth. Originally he wanted to become a teacher and attended the teachers' seminar in Dresden from 1919 to 1926. It was only at the age of 18 that he found his way to music and initially trained as an autodidact . Paul Hindemith became aware of his compositions. Hindemith and Hermann Scherchen were Thilman's first teachers and performed some of his works at the Donaueschinger Musiktage, among others . From 1929 he studied composition at the Leipzig Conservatory with Hermann Grabner , before that he had studied at the Technical University of DresdenStudied cultural studies. Thilman completed his studies in 1931. From 1930 to 1939 Thilman worked as a teacher.

After the transfer of power to the National Socialists , he joined the NSDAP and was registered on May 1, 1933 under the party number 1.912.107. In 1935 he composed the music for the festival A people stood up , with the exception of this piece he found little recognition as a composer during the Third Reich. In the Second World War he did military service. He then returned to his hometown and initially worked as a lecturer at several educational institutions. In 1953 he became a lecturer and in 1956 professor of composition at the Carl Maria von Weber Academy of Music in Dresden . In 1968 he retired. His students include Jörg Herchet , Friedrich Goldmann , Wilfried Krätzschmar , Thomas Müller and Udo Zimmermann . From 1970 Thilman was a corresponding member at the Akademie der Künste Berlin (East) . In addition to his university activities, he was also involved in the musical life of Dresden, he particularly supported amateur music making . He also appeared as a music writer.

Thilman received the National Prize of the GDR III in 1960 . Class of Art and Literature and 1966 and 1972 the Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze and silver. In 1968 he became an honorary senator of the Dresden University of Music. He died in Dresden in 1973 and was buried in the local heathland cemetery.

Audio language

Thilman's work must be divided into several periods. His first works are expressionistic and are close to the Hindemith of the early 1920s. As a result of his studies, he changed his tonal language, returned to tonality and placed emphasis on polyphonic design methods. He was also stylistically close to Hindemith and Stravinsky . Many of his early works, however, have not survived as they were lost in World War II. After 1945 Thilman looked for new ways and gradually separated himself from Hindemith. In the 1950s, when his most famous works were created, he composed very conservatively. Works from this period, such as the 4th Symphony, which was highly regarded at the time, are based on the music of the Romantic era in terms of form and harmony . The melody is always catchy, often inspired by folk music. This can be clearly heard not least in the modal impact of many works. Without a doubt, Thilman oriented himself towards the aesthetics of socialist realism . In his later works, he often chose unusual instrumentation and freer forms of associative titles. Here he composed more modern again and again dealt with the idols of his youth. Thilman's works are generally rather brief. The focus of his oeuvre is on orchestral works. It celebrated its greatest successes in the GDR , but today it is almost forgotten.

Works (selection)

Symphonies

• Little Symphony No. 1 in G major op. 56/2 (1951)
• Little Symphony No. 2 in F major, Op. 60 (1952)
• Little Symphony No. 3 in D major, Op. 63 (1953)
• Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 64 (1954)
• Symphony No. 5, Op. 79 Symphony in one movement (1956)
• Symphony No. 6 in E op.92 (1959)
• Symphony No. 7 in A op.101 (1961)
• Sinfonietta op.56 (1951)
• Game symphony for amateur orchestra (1961)
• Youth Symphony for Amateur Orchestra (1962)

other orchestral works

• Prelude and little concert for orchestra op.5 (1935)
• I want me to be at home , theme, variations and finale for orchestra op.21 (1940, on the song by Heinrich Laufenberg )
• Partita piccola op.43 (1948)
• The seven dances for large orchestra op.52 (1951)
• Symphonic Inventions op.77 (1955)
• Symphonic prologue op.94 (1960)
• Symphonic Prelude (Homage to Robert Schumann ) op.100 (1961)
• Episodes for large orchestra (1967)
• Ode for large orchestra (1966–68)
• Impulse for large orchestra (1971)
• numerous smaller orchestral works

Concerts

• Concerto for two pianos and orchestra (1968)
• Concerto for piano and chamber orchestra (1928)
• Concertino for piano (left hand) and orchestra in B flat major op.65 (1954)
• Double concerto for bass clarinet and piano with string orchestra and percussion (1968)
• Concerto piccolo for harpsichord and small orchestra (1968)
• Violin Concerto op.59 (1952)
• Concerto for violin and chamber orchestra (1972)
• Lichtenberg Concerto for Violin and Strings (1958)
• Orpheus , Concerto for English Horn and Small Orchestra (1969)
• Concertino for trumpet and chamber orchestra op.66 (1954)
• Concertino giocoso for trombone and small orchestra op.47 (1949)

Stage works

• Peter Schlemihl , Opera (1957/58)
• Peter Schlemihl , ballet (1965)

Vocal music

• Das deutsche Tagewerk , cantata based on words by Hans Lorbeer op.53 (1951)
• A song for the party , cantata (1961)
• Dresden cantata
• Immortal Sacrifice for bass and orchestra (1960)
• Songs, etc. a. Lieder der Zeit , Three lyrical chants based on Max Zimmering for baritone and piano (1958), Romanian songs for mezzo-soprano and piano (1961)

Chamber music

• Sextet for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, viola, viola and double bass op.74 (1955)
• Quintet for clarinet and string quartet op.73 (1955)
• Ostinati for flute, viola, violoncello, harp and percussion (1961)
• Sonatina for string quartet op.49 (= string quartet No. 1 ?; 1950)
• String Quartet No. 2 Op. 62 (1954)
• String Quartet No. 3 in D major, Op. 81 (1956)
• String Quartet No. 4 op.84 in one movement (1958)
• Dramatic scenes for string quartet (1969)
• Chamber play for string quartet (1970)
• Concertino for string quartet (1971)
• Piano quartets (No. 2 op. 70)
• Piano Trio (1963)
• Four Conversations for flute, bass clarinet and piano (1965)
• Concerti espressivi for trombone, timpani and piano (1965)
• Violin Sonatas (D minor, Op. 6, 1932; Op. 80, 1956)
• Little Sonata for Violoncello and Piano op.96 (1960)
• Little Sonata for English horn and piano op.34 (1946)

Piano music

• 2 sonatas (D minor, F minor) op. 30 (1946)
• Sonatina patetica op.39 (1947)
• Handel Variations, Op. 1 (1932)
• Ten New Inventions op.86 (1958)
• Summer Evening on the Black Sea (1970)
• more small pieces

estate

The extensive estate of Johannes Paul Thilman is kept in the Saxon State Library - State and University Library Dresden .

literature

• Dieter Uhrig: Johannes Paul Thilman . In: Dietrich Brennecke, Hannelore Gerlach, Mathias Hansen (eds.): Musicians in our time. Members of the music section of the GDR Academy of the Arts . Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1979, p. 237 ff.
• Clemens Kühn: Between Music and Ideology. On the music-theoretical writings of Johannes Paul Thilman , in: Dresden and the advanced music in the 20th century. Part II: 1933–1966 , ed. by Matthias Herrmann and Hanns-Werner Heister, Laaber 2002, pp. 405-410 (Musik in Dresden 5), ISBN 3-89007-510-X .

Web links

• Works by Johannes Paul Thilman in the catalog of the German National Library
• Johannes Paul Thiman's estate in the Saxon State Library - Dresden State and University Library
• Special catalog for the written part of the Johannes Paul Thilman estate in the Saxon State Library - Dresden State and University Library

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Fred K. Prieberg : Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, pp. 7.175–7.176.
2. ↑ Calliope | Union catalog for archival and archive-like stocks and national documentation instrument for personal papers and autographs. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .