Paul Colberg

Paul Colberg, ca.1893

Paul Colberg with his wife Frieda, wedding photo, ca.1898

Concert program on December 14, 1902 in the Salon Bertrand Roth

Paul Colberg, around 1905

Advertisement for the opening of the Musiksalon Colberg, 1908

Concert program on December 2, 1910 in the club hall in Dresden with own works (front)

Concert program on December 2, 1910 in the club hall in Dresden with own works (back)

Paul Colberg (born February 9, 1863 in Halle (Saale) ; † November 16, 1926 in Berlin-Schöneberg ) was a German pianist and composer .

Life

Paul Colberg was the first of three children of insurance director Carl Otto Paul Colberg (1837–1906) and his wife Emilie, nee Keerl (1839–1905). He spent his youth in Halle with his grandfather Franz Colberg to work in the family pension. After a short, unfinished apprenticeship as a mechanic in Dresden, he began studying at the local conservatory in Wilhelm Rischbieter's class , which he broke off without completing to emigrate to America.

Colberg reached New York on October 1, 1888, to earn his living as a musician in Los Angeles . In 1889 he became a founding member of the local "Lodge of the Red Men". He returned to Europe as early as 1892 and initially lived with his parents' house in Dresden for a few years. From autumn 1896 he lived with his first wife Frieda, née Schmidt (1874–1946) in London, where several of his works were also published.

In the summer of 1901 he returned to Dresden and lived with his wife from 1902 to 1913 at Hohe Straße 38, whose house they had previously bought. The composer and pianist Paul Zuleger lived on the ground floor of the same house from 1913 until his death in 1916 . In 1913 Colberg left his wife, 11 years his junior, and their two children, Helene (1901–1986) and Henrik (1904–1982), but initially stayed in Dresden. In 1914 he married his second wife Elisabeth, b. Paasch (1890–1919), and then moved to Berlin in 1917. With his third wife Lina, geb. Loschke (1878–1963), he lived in Schöneberg, Bahnstrasse 40 (today Crellestrasse) and worked again as a teacher and composer until his death in 1926.

Like his wife, he was buried in the Wilmersdorf cemetery in Berlin.

Musical career

Around 1889 Colberg founded the 'German Conservatory of Music' in Los Angeles together with the baritone WR Stoll, the cellist Bernhart Bierlich and the violinist Georg Seemann, of which he became the first director. He taught and gave concerts with his colleagues and other artists, such as the violinist L. Tomaszewicz. The time was marked by a lack of money, so that Colberg also appeared as an actor and singer.

After his return to Europe in 1892, the Forlivesi publishing house in Florence published several of his works in 1894, including a. the aforementioned violin sonata. The newspaper reported in 1895 about a meeting with Carl Goldmark and Alberto Franchetti in Vienna. Colberg appeared again as a pianist in Dresden and organized the performance of his works there. It was here that he met the violinist August Wilhelmj , who was then living in Blasewitz , and later followed him to London, where Wilhelmj gave him a position as professor at the London Academy in 1898.

Returning to Dresden in 1901, Colberg worked as a conductor and teacher of music theory, gave piano lessons and repeatedly performed as an interpreter of his own works. B. on December 14, 1902 in the Bertrand Roth salon. The magazine Die Musik wrote:

“In one of the morning performances in the Bertrand Roth music salon, which is increasingly becoming the Sunday gathering point for our first and most serious musical circles, the composer Paul Colberg had his say with a number of his own works, in which he had a beautiful, well-educated talent striving for high goals stated. "

On March 14, 1904 Colberg conducted a performance with excerpts from his opera 'The Jacobite Regiment' in Dresden for the benefit of the Albertverein . In 1908 he conducted the Dresden premiere of Ferruccio Busoni's piano concerto with pianist Mark Günzburg . In 1908 he also opened the Colberg music salon on the ground floor of his house, which remained in existence until 1912.

The spoken tone poems The Great Fool's Game (premiere: November 26 or 27, 1910 in Chemnitz) and Der gläserne Berg (premiere: October 1911 ), composed by Colberg between 1910 and 1912 together with the poet Friedrich Ernst Köhler-Haussen (1872-1946) in Chemnitz) represent a novelty as a "union of the spoken word with music", which, in addition to a consistently positive reception in Dresden and the surrounding area, has also been reviewed several times in national music magazines. The acceptance by the supraregional criticism was more reserved:

“Paul Colberg came out with a remarkable novelty in his own concert. He designed the cycle of poems 'Das große Narrenspiel' by F. Köhler-Haussen into a 'speaking tone poem', which represents an attempt to merge the elements of program music with those of melodrama and in this way to arrive at a new genre of art. The speaker appears to the trumpet fanfare and after his prologue the orchestra begins. The individual poems of the cycle are partly placed in front of the orchestral movements as a program, partly connected to the instrumental part melodramatically. Since the music is very atmospheric in accordance with the passionate, symbolic content of the poetry and Colberg has fresh invention and a strong talent for characterization, the overall effect is of peculiar charm. The recording was very honorable for the composer and lyricist. "

“The spoken tone poem 'Das große Narrenspiel' by P. Colberg, poetry by Köhler-Haussen (world premiere) seeks to expand the field of melodrama by also inserting independent instrumental movements of the poem, which only find their explanation and justification in the poem itself. The music characterizes well, but does not show consistently elegant taste. "

Both works failed to get printed. Only the texts by Köhler-Haussen were printed by Epistel-Verlag in 1911 together with music samples.

During his time in Berlin, Colberg published only two works: In 1919 “Die Nacht” for cello and piano and in 1922 the two songs for voice, flute and piano were commissioned by the Jewish flautist Alfred Lichtenstein (1901–1986). Performances are no longer verifiable.

"As a traveling musician in California"

In 1907 Colberg published a book entitled "As a traveling musician in California ". The preface begins with the words:

"The following booklet mainly reproduces the diary of a friend and specialist."

It ends with:

"May the whole thing be successful in warning the large number of Germans who are making a pilgrimage to America at random against haphazard, penniless emigration."

The first part of the book describes the founding and development of the 'German Conservatory of Music' from autumn 1889 to summer 1891 and the associated financial difficulties. The second part takes place in the summer of 1891 and describes an adventurous piano transport through the Mexican desert, the subsequent escape from thieves, self-defense in the event of a robbery, renewed flight from thieves by ship and the return to San Diego.

Based on the Los Angeles Herald of the years 1889-1892, the people named in the book can be almost completely identified as fellow musicians and students of Colberg. In the Los Angeles address book (city directory) of 1891 Colberg is also listed as director of the German Conservatory of Music. Colberg was also the piano accompanist of the violinist Emil Seiffert on his farewell tour in Los Angeles. Since Emil Seiffert was later involved in a fraud trial and was convicted in Berlin, Colberg would have been easily identifiable as an author in Germany, so he changed his name to Emil Schille.

The circumstances surrounding the concert on the warship 'Charleston', which must have taken place around July 12, 1891, take up an entire chapter. The 'Charleston' in Santa Monica at the end of July can be traced, but the concert is not traceable in the Los Angeles Herald.

Works

The works are forgotten today.

Works published in print

The works are grouped according to the year and place of publication, which was mostly Colberg's place of residence.

Italy 1892-1893

• Agnus Dei for 3 voices
• Ave Maria for mandolin or violin and piano
• Violin Sonata in D minor, 1893 (composed in Los Angeles from autumn 1891 to March 1892; dedicated to August Wilhelmj )

Dresden 1894–1895

• 4 songs for voice and piano, 1894

1. How did I anger you (composed in Los Angeles in 1890)
2. The old song
3. To the girls - you especially take me for singing and piano (Text: Ludwig Uhland )
4. Student farewell (also published for male choir with piano)

• Lullaby / Cradle Song for voice, violin and piano (composed in Dresden in 1880), 1894
• From old times / Da tempi passati - minuet for piano (composed in Dresden in 1886; also published for orchestra), 1895
• Sang der Deutschen Marine - transcription for piano after op.116 / 11 by Karl Heinrich Döring , 1895

London 1896-1901

• Reverie for violin and piano, 1897
• Andante appassionato for violin and piano
• Flower song for voice and piano (Text: Anna Meyer)
• Cavatine for violin and piano, 1899
• Concert Waltz for Piano, 1899
• Forget me not for voice and piano, 1900
• Flute concert (cadenza: Philipp Wunderlich), ca.1900
• Legend for piano
• Scherzo brilliant for piano, 1900
• 3 sketches for piano, 1898

1. Arabesque
2. melancholy
3. Fughetta

• Song of the Mermaid for voice and piano
• Wake! Oh, wind! / Wake up, oh wind! for voice and piano (Text: Lisa Rötig )

Dresden 1902–1916

• Das Jakobiter Regiment / The Jacobite Regiment - Opera (Text: J. Mewburn Levien, HO Nicholson, 1902)
• A melody for violin and piano, London, 1907
• Spanish song / As my Mother Dear Doth Scold for voice and piano (composed in Los Angeles in 1888), 1910
• The Glass Mountain - Speech Sound (Text: Friedrich Ernst Köhler-Haussen ), 1911
• The great game of fools - spoken tone poem (text: Friedrich Ernst Köhler-Haussen ), 1911
• Schlummerlied - transcription for piano after Gustav Adolf Gunkel , 1911

Berlin 1917–1926

• Album sheet for piano in E flat major, 1919
• Die Nacht for violoncello and piano, 1919
• 2 songs for voice, flute and piano, 1922 (Text: Leo Heller (1876–1941))

1. The failed moon: 'The moon fell into the flowers'
2. Visit: 'Good evening, Junker Fadenschein'

Books

• The beginnings of harmony, 1894
• The Study of Harmony, 1898
• As a traveling musician in California: Experiences and adventures of a German, Dresden 1907, full text online in the Internet Archive
• Harmony easily and progressively arranged, 1908

Performed works

In his concerts, Colberg tried to give preference to performing his own works. The following works are documented in books, concert programs and reviews, but cannot be verified in print. Manuscripts have not survived.

Los Angeles 1889-1892

• Festival - Overture (composed 1888) - March 14, 1889 (Paul Colberg with orchestra)
  • arranged for piano 4 hands - August 16, 1889 (Paul Colberg and Asbury Kent) and March 10, 1892 (Mr. Chas. Ward and Paul Colberg)
• Truly Fate is most unkind for voice and piano (composed 1888) - March 10, 1892 (Ethel Graham and Paul Colberg)
• String Quartet (composed in 1889) - announced for the concert on March 10, 1892, but performance canceled

London 1896-1901

• Symphonic Variations for Strings - July 26, 1899 (London Academy of Music)

Dresden 1902–1916

• Symphonic Variations and Minuet for Violin, Flute, Cello and Piano - December 14, 1902 Musik-Salon Bertrand Roth

Berlin 1917–1926

• Quartet in A minor for flute, violin, viola and cello (first performed on January 2, 1921? In Berlin)

Unpublished works

Dresden 1902–1916

• Quartet in A minor for flute, violin, viola and cello
• Symphony in D minor
• Trio in E flat major for clarinet, viola and piano

Berlin 1917–1926

• Chamber Symphony No. 2 in E flat major (composed summer 1921) - (Manuscript in the estate of the Jewish flautist Alfred Lichtenstein (1901–1986) in the Leo Baeck Institute, New York)
• Sounds of Fate - Symphonic Poetry
• Cupid's triumphal procession - symphonic poem after Francesco Petrarca
• Concerto for piano

Web links

• Sheet music and audio files by Paul Colberg in the International Music Score Library Project

Individual evidence

1. ^ Artist unknown, probably painted by a piano student
2. ^ Contained in the estate of Bertrand Roth in the Saxon State Library in Dresden (Mscr.Dresd.App.2555, Bd.1). Details on the concerts in the Salon Bertrand Roth can be found in: Fritz Ruch: Bertrand Roth - The life and work of a Liszt student . Zurich 1998. A short concert review was published in: Der Klavierlehrer , Volume 26, 1903, p. 10.
3. ↑ The advertisement appears for the first time in: Die Musik , 8th year, Volume 29, 1908, p. XVI.
4. ↑ The family lived in Nietleben near Halle, so the birth almost certainly took place there.
5. ^ Brother's diary, privately owned.
6. ↑ Castle Garden's immigration lists for this day include his arrival from Rotterdam on board the “Leerdam”.
7. ↑ Los Angeles Herald , July 14, 1889 .
8. ↑ The passenger list of the "Para" records his arrival, coming from San Francisco via Colon in Panama , in Ellis Island , New York on May 11, 1892 with the onward travel destination Germany.
9. ↑ In the 1901 census, both are listed with residence in St. Pancras. In a letter to the composer Else Headlam-Morley (1866-1950) from February 20, 1901, Colberg gave 94 Camden Road as his place of residence.
10. ↑ Detectable in the Dresden address book from 1902 up to and including 1913.
11. ^ A son, who was born in Dresden in 1899, died a few weeks later in London.
12. ↑ According to the Dresden address book, he first lived at Münchner Strasse 16 and later at Zöllnerstrasse 12.
13. ↑ Elisabeth Fanny Auguste Paasch was born on April 17, 1890 in Berlin-Schöneberg. Elisabeth died on February 20, 1919 in Berlin-Schöneberg. A son was born in Dresden on May 14, 1915, and a daughter on July 9, 1918 in Berlin.
14. ↑ Lina Loschke was born on November 7th, 1878 in Königsberg. Lina married Paul Colberg in 1920. She died on October 25, 1963 and was last living in Friedrichsruherstrasse. 43 in Berlin-Steglitz .
15. ↑ Detectable in the Berlin address book from 1918 up to and including 1927. After that, his widow Lina was listed under the same address. His entry in the address book from 1920 is missing, as to whether it was a mistake or whether he actually lived in another place in the autumn of 1919.
16. ↑ The common urn grave was abandoned in 1988.
17. ↑ Brief review of a concert with the baritone WR Stoll and the cellist Bernhart Bierlich on November 24, 1889 in the Los Angeles Herald without specifying the program.
18. ↑ Brief review of a concert with Colberg on March 10, 1892 in the Los Angeles Herald, in which u. a. the violin sonata was premiered.
19. ↑ In the Los Angeles Herald of October 4, 1891 , Colberg was announced in the role of Judge Zernickow in the comedy 'Mein Leopold' after Adolph L'Arronge under the direction of Julius Ascher .
20. ↑ The American music magazine Music: A Monthly Magazine , January 1895, pages 258-59 brought Colberg in an article with Franchetti and Goldmark in connection. What is certain is that Colberg traveled a lot after his return from America, and whether he actually met Franchetti and Goldmark is not otherwise proven.
21. ^ Concert review of a concert with the composer and violinist Gustav Adolf Gunkel in: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik , Volume 62, 1895, p. 287.
22. ↑ Concert reviews in: Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, year 62, 1895, p.128 (songs) and p.226 (violin sonata without naming the performers).
23. ↑ Friedrich Jansa: German sound artists in words and pictures . Leipzig 1911, p. 98.
24. ↑ Die Musik , 2nd year, Volume 6, 1903, p. 64  - Internet Archive .
25. ↑ In the concert the march and most of the 3rd act were played. The orchestra was formed by the Olsen'sche Kapelle under Willy Olsen and the Röpenack'sche military band . The choir was provided by the Robert Schumann'sche Sing-Akademie under Albert Fuchs and the Neustädter Chorgesangverein. King George and Queen Carola also took part in the concert .
26. ↑ Concert review by FA Geißler in: Die Musik , 8th year, Volume 29, 1908, p. 312.
27. ^ According to Stieger, Opernlexikon, the premiere took place on November 27th. The Berliner Börsen-Courier wrote on December 6th about the premiere on November 26th.
28. ^ Stieger: Opernlexikon .
29. ^ FE Köhler-Haussen: The glass mountain . Dresden, 1911.
30. ↑ The first performance in Dresden on December 2 was positively discussed in: Berliner Börsen-Courier , December 6, Dresdner Journal , December 3, Dresdner Rundschau , December 10, Sächsische Volkszeitung , December 6, Leipziger Neuesten Nachrichten , 5. December, Leipziger Tageblatt , December 5th and 9th, Dresdner Hausfrau , Neue Musik-Zeitung . December 15, Leonards Illustrierte Musikzeitung , Bautzner Nachrichten , Bautzner Tageblatt and Zwickauer Zeitung .
31. ↑ In addition to the following two reviews, there are other reviews of performances in: Die Musik , Volume 39, 1911, p. 331 and Volume 42, 1912, pp. 244 + 246.
32. ↑ FA Geißler in: Die Musik , 10th year, volume 38, 1910, p. 56.
33. ^ R. Oehmichen in: Die Musik , 10th year, Volume 38, 1910, p. 183.
34. ^ Lichtenstein's estate in the Leo Baeck Institute, New York.
35. ^ Paul Colberg: As a traveling musician in California . Experiences and adventures of a German. Ed .: Harold B. Lee Library. Erwin Haendcke, Dresden [Germany] 1907 ( online in the Internet Archive [accessed on July 2, 2020]).
36. ↑ Los Angeles Herald, March 10, 1889 .
37. ↑ About the background and the current revision is u. a. reported in The Brooklyn Daily Eagle dated June 7, 1891 .
38. ↑ Some examples of further changes are: Hometown Dessau instead of Dresden, Senator Bones instead of Jones, Senator Hole instead of Cole. In other places the spelling is imprecise: the conductor Anton Seidel is actually called Anton Seidl , Georg Seemann appears in America as George Seaman.
39. ↑ Los Angeles Herald , July 24, 1891
40. ↑ The song was performed in concert on December 14, 1902 and could be identical to one of the other two songs published in England.
41. ↑ Philipp Wunderlich was brought to Dresden from Stuttgart in 1897 so that a solo flutist playing the Boehm flute was available for Richard Strauss's symphonic poems . He stayed in this position until around 1919. Further information on the flutists in Dresden can be found in: Die Flöte , issue 2/2014, p. 16 ff.
42. ↑ The premiere in Weimar is mentioned in the Western Daily Press on November 17, 1902 and 1903 in a New Zealand newspaper. Die Musik , 3rd year, Volume 11, 1903, pp. 140 f. reports on the concert performance of an opera, which could be this opera.
43. ↑ A text booklet with a work analysis and sheet music examples can be verified. The score was probably never published.
44. ^ Concert review in The Era , July 29, 1899.
45. ↑ Melos , Volume 2, 1921, p. 199. It is not known whether this is the quartet that was composed in Dresden.
46. ↑ Friedrich Jansa: German sound artists in words and pictures . Leipzig 1911, p. 98.
47. ↑ This and the following two works were listed by Wilhelm Altmann in: Melos , 2nd Jg., 1921, p. 199.