Robert Volkmann

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Robert Volkmann

Friedrich Robert Volkmann (born April 6, 1815 in Lommatzsch near Meißen , † October 30, 1883 in Budapest ) was a German composer .

Life

Volkmann, the son of a cantor, had been familiar with music since childhood and received singing, piano, organ, violin and cello lessons. After a short visit to the grammar school in Freiberg (1832/33) he completed the teachers' seminar from 1833 to 1835 . At the same time he received further music lessons.

In 1836 Volkmann moved to Leipzig in order to a. in private lessons with the local cantor of the Nikolaikirche Carl Ferdinand Becker . After completing the lessons, Volkmann received a position as a teacher "for higher singing" at the Prague Music School from Karl Joseph Kinderfreund , which opened on October 1, 1839.

In 1841 he moved to Budapest , where he worked as a private teacher and correspondent for the Allgemeine Wiener Musikzeitung until 1844 . After a short period of free creativity, he was forced to look for a new job again in 1848 and became choir director and organist at the Israeli temple of reform. In the early 1850s he had his first successes as a composer, especially with his Piano Trio No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 5. From 1854 Volkmann lived in Vienna , but without achieving the (financial) success he had hoped for. Therefore, he returned to Budapest in 1858, where he spent the rest of his life. In the 1860s he enjoyed growing international recognition and created many of his most important works. Since around 1870 he has hardly composed any more. In 1875 Volkmann finally became professor of composition at the State Academy in Budapest, a position he held until his death.

style

Volkmann can be classified stylistically between Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms , with whom he was personally friends. The starting point for his work are the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Joseph Haydn and Ludwig van Beethoven . Sometimes “Hungarian” elements and individual influences of the New German school can also be recognized. However, Volkmann has to be viewed as more conservative overall. Due to the many different influences, however, it cannot be assigned to any particular current. Volkmann favored smaller forms, such as piano pieces and songs, but also composed some large-format works. While some of his smaller works run the risk of appearing Biedermeier, some of his larger ones sometimes show a certain inability to concentrate on a single thought. Others, however, make up for this lack with very closed, consistently worked out structures. Of his six string quartets , the last three are highly significant, while the first three are just solid chamber music, particularly suitable for domestic use. His second piano trio (op. 5), which was praised as a masterpiece by his friends Johannes Brahms and Franz Liszt and which abandons the classical form in favor of a cyclical unity, is well above the first (op. 3); and the situation is similar with the two symphonies , the first of which is described as " the most important between Schumann and Brahms " ( The Music in Past and Present , 1966). Overall, there is something grandiose in Volkmann's oeuvre that need not shy away from being compared to the “greats” of his time, along with little that is significant. However, his best works are well above the average of his time and have a very personal handwriting.

Works

The best known and most important works by Volkmann are the cello concerto, the two symphonies and the overture "Richard III.".

  • Orchestral works
    • Symphony No. 1 in D minor, op.44 (1862/63)
    • Symphony No. 2 in B flat major op.53 (1864/65)
    • Serenade No. 1 in C major op.62 for strings (1869)
    • Serenade No. 2 in F major, Op. 63 for strings (1869)
    • Serenade No. 3 in D minor, Op. 69 for violoncello and strings (1870)
    • Overture in C major op. Posth. (1863)
    • Overture "Richard III." Op. 68 (1870)
    • Violoncello Concerto in A minor, Op. 33 (1853–55)
    • Concert piece in C major op.42 for piano and orchestra (1861)
  • Vocal music
    • "Christmas carol from the 12th century", motet for solos and choir op. 59 (1867)
    • Songs
  • Chamber music
    • Piano Trio No. 1 in F major, Op. 3 (1842/43)
    • Piano Trio No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 5 (1850)
    • String Quartet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 9 (1847/48)
    • String Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 14 (1846)
    • String Quartet No. 3 in G major, op.34 (1856/57)
    • String Quartet No. 4 in E minor, Op. 35 (1857)
    • String Quartet No. 5 in F minor, Op. 37 (1858)
    • String Quartet No. 6 in E flat major op.43 (1861)
  • Piano solo
    • Sonata in C minor op.12
    • 6 Fantasy Pictures, Op. 1
    • Book of songs op.17
    • German dance tunes op.18
    • Cavatine and Barcarole op.19
    • Hungarian songs op.20
    • "Visegrád", 12 tone poems op. 21
    • Fantasy op.25a
    • Variations on a Theme by Handel, Op. 26 (on the harmonious blacksmith from Handel's 5th piano suite)
    • Songs of the grandmother op.27
  • 4-handed piano
    • Sonatina in G major op.57 (1868)
    • Musical picture book op.11 (1852/53)
    • 7 Hungarian sketches op.24 (1861)
    • The Times of the Day op. 39 (1859)
    • 3 marches op.40 (1859)

estate

Robert Volkmann's estate is kept in the music department of SLUB Dresden (signature: Mus. 5912ff.). It contains composition autographs and copies totaling around 180 catalog numbers.

literature

  • Robert Eitner:  Volkmann, Robert . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 40, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1896, pp. 240-243.
  • Lorenz Luyken:  Volkmann, Robert. In: Ludwig Finscher (Hrsg.): The music in past and present . Second edition, personal section, volume 17 (Vina - Zykan). Bärenreiter / Metzler, Kassel et al. 2007, ISBN 978-3-7618-1137-5  ( online edition , subscription required for full access)
  • Bernhard Vogel: Robert Volkmann in his importance as an instrumental and vocal composer , Leipzig 1875.
  • Ilka Horovitz-Barnay: "Memories of Robert Volkmann". In: Neue Freie Presse of April 26, 1903, pp. 35–38.
  • Hans Volkmann: Robert Volkmann. His life and works , Leipzig 1903.
  • Hans Volkmann: Robert Volkmann , Leipzig 1915.
  • Hans Volkmann [Ed.]: Letters from Robert Volkmann , Leipzig 1917.
  • Thomas Brawley: The Instrumental Works of Robert Volkmann (1815-1883) , dissertation Northwestern University (USA), 1975.
  • Thomas Schipperges: Serenades between Beethoven and Reger. Contributions to the history of the genre , Frankfurt am Main 1989.
  • Christian Fastl: Volkmann, Robert. In: Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon . Online edition, Vienna 2002 ff., ISBN 3-7001-3077-5 ; Print edition: Volume 5, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2006, ISBN 3-7001-3067-8 .
  • Matthias Falke: The symphony between Schumann and Brahms. Studies on Max Bruch and Robert Volkmann , Berlin 2006.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Der Adler , No. 212 of September 5, 1839, p. 763 ( digitized version)
  2. ↑ Calliope | Union catalog for archival and archive-like stocks and national documentation instrument for personal papers and autographs. Retrieved May 14, 2020 .

Web links

Commons : Robert Volkmann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Volkmann, Robert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Volkmann, Friedrich Robert (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German-Hungarian composer
DATE OF BIRTH April 6, 1815
PLACE OF BIRTH Lommatzsch near Meissen
DATE OF DEATH October 30, 1883
Place of death Budapest