Martin Stephani

Martin Stephani (born November 2, 1915 in Eisleben ; † June 9, 1983 ) was a German conductor and professor. He was director of the Northwest German Music Academy in Detmold.

Life

Stephani studied from 1937 to 1940 at the Hochschule für Musik Berlin with Walther Gmeindl , Fritz Stein and Kurt Thomas , where he became comradeship leader in the National Socialist Student Union .

In 1941, Stephani was first assigned to the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler , before he was transferred to the main command office of the Waffen-SS at his own request . In 1942 he received the rank of Untersturmführer, in 1943 that of Obersturmführer. Stephani took part in the development of the Waffen-SS's own music system, including a symphony orchestra, and in 1942 probably played a major role in the disposition of “works by 1. Jewish, 2. undesirable, 3. composers suitable for the Waffen-SS”. For his marriage to the singer Hanne-Lies Küpper on December 28, 1944, a ceremony designed by Stephani himself took place according to the SS rite. From 1945 to 1947 he was held in various British internment camps. In the denazification process, he was initially sentenced to a fine, but in 1948 he was classified in category V (unencumbered). In 1948 he became the conductor of the Marburg Kantorei Marburg . His application for the post of municipal music director in Bielefeld in 1949 failed due to Stephani's SS past. In 1951 he became conductor of the Konzertgesellschaft Wuppertal, and in 1955 he was appointed head of the Bergisches Landeskonservatorium .

In 1957 he was appointed lecturer for conducting at the Northwest German Music Academy (today: University of Music) in Detmold. In 1959 he became general music director of the city of Wuppertal (predecessor: Hans Weisbach ), in the same year he became director of the music academy as successor to Wilhelm Maler . He remained in this position until 1982. During his term of office, the introduction of a cooperation with the University of Paderborn and thus the introduction of a musicology course in Detmold. As musical director, he was in charge of the Bielefeld Music Association and made outstanding contributions to the State Youth Orchestra of North Rhine-Westphalia . In 1968, a proposal by the North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Education to award Stephani the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany was rejected because of Stephani's previous position in the SS. In 1980 he was awarded the City of Bielefeld Culture Prize.

Martin Stephani died on June 9, 1983 after a long illness.

In 1987 a double LP was released with the title Homage for Martin Stephani . On the initiative of the Hochschule für Musik Detmold , Stephani's activities during National Socialism and in the post-war period were reviewed historically in 2015–2018.

literature

• Hans-Walter Schmuhl : Between gods and demons. Martin Stephani and National Socialism (= contributions to the cultural history of music, edited by Rebecca Grotjahn, vol. 12), Munich: Allitera 2019.

Scores

• Robert Stolz : In front of my father's house . Hamburg: Simrock 1952.
• Carl Bohm : Quiet as the night . Hamburg: Zumsteeg 1952.
• Choir practice . Together with Eberhard Schwickerath . Hamburg: Sikorski 1953.
• Carl Bohm : Lacrimae Christi . Hamburg: Simrock 1956.

Discography

• 1976: Anton Bruckner Te Deum and Giuseppe Verdi Te Deum (with the Philharmonia Hungarica and the choir from the Musikverein Bielefeld - Teldec and Apex respectively
• 1978: Paul Hindemith - Voorspeel for a Requiem (with the State Youth Orchestra of North Rhine-Westphalia, Da Camera)
• 1978: Franz Liszt - Orpheus (with the State Youth Orchestra of North Rhine-Westphalia, Da Camera)
• 1982: Johann Sebastian Bach - Five Symphonies (with the German Bach Soloists, Bärenreiter-Verlag )
• 1982: Georg Friedrich Händel - Fireworks Music (with the German Bach Soloists, Bärenreiter-Verlag)
• 1983: Max Reger - To Hope. A romantic suite (with the State Youth Orchestra of North Rhine-Westphalia, Da Camera)
• 1990: Symphony No. 9 (with the Bielefeld Musikverein, recordings from 1960 and 1976, Teldec)
• 2008: Hugo Distler - Concerto for harpsichord and string orchestra (with the German Bach Soloists, archive recording, Klassik-Center Kassel)
• Unknown: Georg Friedrich Händel - Saul The Instrumental Movements (with the German Bach Soloists, Bärenreiter-Verlag)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hans-Walther Schmuhl: Between gods and demons. Martin Stephani and National Socialism , Munich 2019, p. 88f. and p. 291.
2. ↑ Schmuhl, p. 125
3. ↑ Schmuhl, pp. 171f.
4. ↑ Schmuhl, pp. 201-211.
5. ↑ Schmuhl, pp. 241-257.
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Eberhard Schallenberg: Obituary for the death of Martin Stephani . In: 40 Years of the State Youth Orchestra of North Rhine-Westphalia. Facts - memories - perspectives . S. 26–27 ( ljo-nrw.de [PDF]). Obituary on the death of Martin Stephani ( memento of the original from July 6, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
7. ↑ Rebecca Grotjahn: Thirty Years of Musicology in Detmold , in: ad notam, yearbook of the Hochschule für Musik Detmold 06/07, publisher: Hochschule für Musik Detmold in conjunction with the Society of Friends and Supporters of the Hochschule für Musik Detmold eV, Detmold 2007 , Pp. 78-81. Online: PDF (1.1 MB) ( Memento of the original dated August 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
8. ↑ Schmuhl, pp. 286f.
9. ↑ History of the Musikverein. Bielefeld City Music Association, accessed on July 5, 2015 . 
10. ↑ Homage for Martin Stephani. German National Library , accessed on July 5, 2015 .