Richard Woodpecker

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Richard Specht (born December 7, 1870 in Vienna ; † March 19, 1932 ibid) was an Austrian poet , playwright , writer, music critic and musicologist.

Life

Richard Specht came from a Jewish family, he was the son of Ladislaus Specht, a textile merchant, and Pauline, nee Kuh. He and his brothers were tutored by Rudolf Steiner , esotericist, philosopher and founder of anthroposophy, as a private tutor. He studied piano and music theory and, from 1887, four semesters of architecture at the Technical University in Vienna , but then initially worked in business.

However, he was interested in literature; As a lyricist and playwright, he was a member of the “ Jung Wien ” group of writers and worked for the Arbeiter-Zeitung in Vienna, but also wrote for the Berliner Börsen-Courier and published articles in the Neue Freie Presse and Pester Lloyd .

Under the influence of Brahms , Brüll (a relative on his mother's side) and Goldmark , he became increasingly interested in music and worked as a music critic for the Wiener Allgemeine Zeitung , the Illustrierte Wiener Extrablatt and Die Zeit . From 1908 he worked for the Wiener Zeitschrift für Musik . In 1909, together with Richard Batka , he founded the influential, bi-monthly music magazine Der Merker , which he ran with Batka until 1919 and then with Julius Bittner . 1914-20 he was editor of the programs for subscription concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic . From 1920 Specht worked as a freelance writer, gave numerous lectures on the radio and lectures on literature and aesthetics at the New Vienna Conservatory .

In 1925 he was appointed professor at the Vienna Academy for Music and Performing Arts .

Specht is best known for his writings on classical music and was one of the leading music journalists of his time. He was friends a. with Arthur Schnitzler . He was heavily involved in the music of Gustav Mahler and was one of the regular guests in Mahler's widow Alma Mahler-Werfel's salon .

Specht was married three times: from 1912 with the pianist Vera Schapira (1891–1930), from 1920 with Wanda Maria Halban (1894–1986), the niece of the gynecologist Josef von Halban , from 1927 with the actress Alexandrine Pagin (1894–1953) .

His honorary grave is in the Grinzing cemetery (group 13, row 2, no. 7).

Works (selection)

Literary works

  • Poems . 1893.
  • Plato's feast . Drama. 1895.
  • Pierrot Bossu . Drama. E. Pierson, Dresden / Leipzig / Vienna 1896.
  • Ten years of the Burgtheater. A study . Rosner, Vienna 1899.
  • Critical sketchbook . Wiener Verlag, Vienna 1900.
  • Mozart . Twelve poems. 1914.
  • Florestan Kestner's success. A story from the Vienna March days . With an afterword by Stefan Zweig. Reclam, Leipzig 1929 ( Reclam's Universal Library . No. 7038-7039).
  • The nose of Mr. Valentin Berger. Tragic comedy by a Viennese film actor . Phaidon, Vienna 1929.

Music fonts

  • Gustav Mahler . Gose & Tetzlaff, Berlin 1905. ( Modern Essays . No. 52).
  • Johann Strauss . Marquardt, Berlin 1909 ( The Music . Volume 30).
  • Gustav Mahler . Schuster & Loeffler, Berlin / Leipzig 1913.
  • The Vienna Opera Theater. From Dingelstedt to Schalk and Strauss. Memories from 50 years . Knepler, Vienna 1919.
  • Richard Strauss and his work . Volume 1: The artist and his path, the instrumental composer . Volume 2: The vocal composer, the playwright . EP Tal, Leipzig 1921.
  • Julius Bittner . A study . Drei Masken Verlag, Munich 1921.
  • Arthur Schnitzler . The poet and his work. A study . S. Fischer, Berlin 1922.
  • Wilhelm Furtwängler . A study about the conductor . Wila, Vienna / Leipzig 1922.
  • Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek . A preliminary study . EP Tal, Leipzig 1923.
  • Franz Werfel . Attempt to mirror time. Zsolnay, Berlin / Vienna 1926.
  • Johannes Brahms . Life and work of a German master . Avalun, Hellerau 1928.
  • Giacomo Puccini . Life, man, work . Hesse, Berlin-Schöneberg 1931.
Factory introductions
  • Gustav Mahler's 1st Symphony . A thematic analysis . Universal Edition, Vienna undated
  • Gustav Mahler. Sixth symphony . Thematic guide . Kahnt, Leipzig 1906.
  • Gustav Mahler's 8th Symphony . A thematic analysis. With an introduction, biographical data and a portrait of Mahler . Universal Edition, Leipzig / Vienna 1912.
  • Gustav Mahler's Second Symphony . A thematic analysis . Universal Edition, Leipzig / Vienna 1916.
  • The Woman Without a Shadow - Introduction to Music . 1919.
  • The treasure hunter . Opera by Franz Schreker. Introduction to Music . Universal Edition, Vienna / Leipzig 1920.
  • Gustav Mahler. III. Symphony in D minor . Thematic analysis . Universal Edition, Leipzig approx. 1920.
  • Gustav Mahler. Postponed tenth symphony . Introductory remarks . Zsolnay, Berlin / Vienna 1924.
  • Cornelius Czarniawski. Second Symphony in E minor, Op. 31. A thematic introduction . Waldheim-Eberle, Wiesbaden around 1930.
  • Complete directory of Richard Strauss' works that have appeared in print. With a portrait, biographical data and an introduction . Universal Edition, Vienna undated

editor

As well as numerous opera libretti (text books)

Awards

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Woodpecker, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian music critic, poet, playwright and writer
DATE OF BIRTH December 7, 1870
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH March 19, 1932
Place of death Vienna