Otto Goldschmidt

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Otto Moritz David Goldschmidt (born August 21, 1829 in Hamburg ; † February 24, 1907 in London ) was a German composer , conductor and pianist .

Photo from the 1860s by Emilie Bieber
Bust of Joseph Durham

Life

His parents were the Jewish businessman Moritz David Goldschmidt and his wife Johanna Goldschmidt . The couple had eight children who grew up in the sheltered space of their wealthy and educated parents. The family belonged to the circle of liberal Reform Judaism. Since the mother was very musically gifted, she was an excellent singer, piano, violin and harp player, great emphasis was placed on the children's musical education. Otto Goldschmidt attended the Conservatory in Leipzig from 1843 to 1846 . His teacher there was Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy . He gave his student the following certificate: Mr. Goldschmidt has developed a wonderful talent for playing the piano in a pleasing way, u. Also shown in the composition for his instrument are not insignificant (quoted in Marx 2003, p. 158). In addition, he took private piano lessons from Clara Schumann , where he also met the young Hans von Bülow .

On February 5, 1852, the highly talented musician married the world-famous singer Jenny Lind, eight years older than him, in Boston (Mass.) . For her sake Otto Goldschmidt converted to the Protestant faith. Three children were born to the couple. After the death of his wife in 1887, the widower arranged for her biography to be published (German, 2 vols. Leipzig 1891).

The Goldschmidt-Linds had lived in London since 1858, where Otto Goldschmidt became professor and later viceprincipal at the Royal Academy of Music in 1863 . In 1876 he founded the Bach Choir , which he directed until 1886. In London, the couple belonged to a group of German-English intellectuals. These included, for example, the composer and musicologist Arthur Sullivan , the painter Rudolf Lehmann and the writer Charles Dickens .

Otto Goldschmidt mainly created piano concertos and other piano pieces, songs , trios and the oratorio Ruth , in which Jenny Lind sang the soprano solo at the Niederrheinischer Musikfest in Düsseldorf in 1870 and ended her singing career.

Works

  • Jenny Lind. Your career as an artist . Leipzig 1891

literature

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