Rudolph Willmers
Rudolph Heinrich Willmers (born October 31, 1821 in Berlin ; † August 24, 1878 in Vienna ) was a German composer and pianist .
Life
Willmers grew up in Copenhagen and became a student of Johann Nepomuk Hummel in Weimar at the age of 13 . At the beginning of 1836 he went on a concert tour for the first time, during which he met Robert Schumann in Leipzig in February , who published an "honorary certificate" about him in which he particularly emphasized "his musical talent in free imagination". From 1837 to 1844 Schumann also corresponded with Willmers.
From 1836 to 1838 he completed his studies with Friedrich Schneider in Dessau . He then went on numerous concert tours through Germany, Austria and Scandinavia. Willmers' extremely virtuoso playing has in part been compared to that of Franz Liszt . In 1864 he became a professor at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, a position which he gave up in 1866. Since then he lived in Vienna, where he suddenly went mad in 1878. Willmers published many brilliant piano pieces, including a violin sonata (op. II).
He also emerged as a chess composer and in 1857 won the "American Problem Tournament". In 1857, Willmers was one of the founding members of the Vienna Chess Society .
literature
- Carl Maria Benkert , Rudolph Willmers , in: Der Spiegel für Kunst, Eleganz und Mode , Vol. 18, No. 36 of May 3, 1845, Col. 561–564 (digitized version )
- Eduard Hanslick , History of Concerts in Vienna , Vienna 1869, p. 344 (digitized version)
- Constantin von Wurzbach : Willmers, Rudolf . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 56th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1888, p. 196 f. ( Digitized version ).
Web links
- Sheet music and audio files by Rudolph Willmers in the International Music Score Library Project
- Compositions by Rudolph Willmers
- Chess compositions by Rudolph Willmers on the PDB server
Individual evidence
- ↑ Neue Zeitschrift für Musik , Volume 4, No. 12 of February 9, 1836, p. 48 f.
- ↑ Article Willmers, Heinrich Rudolf in: Riemann Musiklexikon , 11th edition, 1929, p. 2032.
- ↑ Schachzeitung der Berliner Schachgesellschaft , vol. 13, Berlin 1858, p. 179 f. (Digitized version)
- ^ Wiener Zeitung of October 24, 1857 , accessed on June 23, 2019.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Willmers, Rudolph |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Willmers, Rudolph Heinrich (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German composer and pianist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 31, 1821 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 24, 1878 |
| Place of death | Vienna |