Otto Schmidtgen (musician)

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Otto Schmidtgen (born April 16, 1911 in Mainz , † April 22, 1964 there ) was a German musician , conductor , music director and professor .

Life

Otto Schmidtgen was born on April 16, 1911 in Mainz, Rhineland-Hesse . His parents were Otto Schmidtgen , who was director of the Natural History Museum in Mainz from 1914 to 1938 , and the housewife Hilde Schmidtgen. After finishing school he attended the Mainz University of Music from 1925 to 1931 . In 1929 he received his secondary school leaving certificate . A year later he passed the examination as a music teacher , in 1932 he became a conductor . His lecturers at the university included Hans Gál and Hans Rosbaud . His affection for both was not only pedagogical but also amicable. He left the Mainz University of Music with two doctorates .

Shortly before the seizure of power by the Nazis, he was as musical assistant in 1931 at the Semper Opera in Dresden called, where he worked until the 1936th Here he assisted the conductors Fritz Busch and Karl Böhm, among others . In 1938 he finally went to the Hessian State Theater in Wiesbaden . Here he was musical assistant and opera conductor . Five years later he became music director of the Wiesbaden symphony orchestra and choir . His task was to design the Wiesbaden musical program. This included chamber music and music for symphonies , choirs and to lighten the mood. His preferred music were the Bach cantatas and works by Peter Cornelius , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Hans Gál. This work has made him known nationally. After nine years in this activity, Otto Schmidtgen worked on rebuilding the music and its infrastructure in Wiesbaden in the post-war period . To crown his work, he received his habilitation .

In 1952 Schmidtgen went to the neighboring city of Mainz and became Kapellmeister . He also took over the management of the important Mainz Liedertafel . Nine years later, the Mainz city ​​council appointed him the new director of the Peter Cornelius Conservatory in Mainz in 1961 . He replaced Günter Kehr . He held this office for three years. On April 22, 1964, Schmidtgen died surprisingly shortly after his 53rd birthday in Mainz. He was buried in the main cemetery in Mainz .

literature

  • Wolfgang Balzer: Mainz - personalities of the city's history. Volume II: Persons of religious life, persons of political life, persons of general cultural life, scientists, writers, artists, musicians. Printing and publishing house Gebr. Kügler, Mainz 1989, ISBN 3-924124-03-9 , pp. 366-367.
  • Wilhelm Huber: The Mainz Lexicon: 3600 keywords on the city, history, culture, personalities Publisher: Schmidt, Mainz 2002, ISBN 3-87439-600-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d e f g h i Wolfgang Balzer: Mainz - personalities of city history. Volume II: Persons of religious life, persons of political life, persons of general cultural life, scientists, writers, artists, musicians. Printing and publishing house Gebr. Kügler, Mainz 1989, ISBN 3-924124-03-9 , pp. 196–197.
  2. ↑ a b c d e biography in the Rhineland-Palatinate personal database
personal data
SURNAME Schmidtgen, Otto
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmidtgen Junior, Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German musician, conductor, music director and professor
DATE OF BIRTH April 16, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH Mainz
DATE OF DEATH April 22, 1964
Place of death Mainz