Werner König (musicologist)

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Werner König (born July 16, 1931 in Darmstadt ; † October 4, 2018 in Lindau ) was a German musicologist , music teacher and composer .

biography

Werner König received his doctorate in 1973 from Reinhold Hammerstein at the University of Heidelberg . His dissertation on tonality structures in Alban Berg's opera “Wozzeck” proved that this opera is based on tonal structures and is not an atonal work of art, as is often claimed. The focus of his musicological research remained the work of Alban Berg.

In addition, his work focused on researching and collecting self-playing pianos with the associated questions of recording technology and historical performance practice . One contribution to this topic was a lecture given in 1977 at the Musikinstrumenten-Museum Berlin , which then led to the essay On Early Sound Recordings by the Welte Company and the Works for the Welte Mignon Reproduction Piano. (See also Welte-Mignon ). On the occasion of the reopening of the Technisches Museum Wien in 1999, König gave a lecture on the invention of Welte, in which he wrote the Toccata for mechanical piano Welte-Mignon Op. 40, 1 demonstrated by Paul Hindemith . The composer had it together with the Rondo from Piano Music Op. 37, original composition for Welte-Mignon for the Chamber Music Festival in Donaueschingen on July 25, 1926. The toccata, of which no manuscript exists, was also transcribed by König from the roll of paper in musical notation.

König's long-standing educational activity in the grammar school sector led him to a controversial criticism of today's music lessons, which he accused of amateurism. He asked those responsible to return to a subject of music with high school standards (with teachers who can guarantee this level) or to cancel this subject.

Publications

  • Tonality structures in Alban Berg's opera “ Wozzeck ”. Hans Schneider , Tutzing 1974.
  • The first movement of Alban Berg's Lyric Suite and its almost unimportant mood. An attempt at interpretation. Hans Schneider, Tutzing 1999 ( dedicated to Elmar Worgull ).
  • Alban Berg's twelve-tone rows and their basic harmonic meaning. In: Austrian music newspaper. 6 (2000).
  • Lulu and the death tone of her victims. Reinhold Hammerstein on his 85th birthday. In: Archives for Musicology . 58/1 (2001).
  • Alban Berg's Immortal Lover . In: Werner König: Review. Nemeter Verlag, Speyer 2004.
  • Review. Autobiography. Nemeter Verlag, Speyer 2004.
  • Studies for Alban Berg's opera “Lulu”. Hans Schneider, Tutzing 2008.
  • Windfalls . Verlag der Bücherwurm, Lindau [2018].

Compositions

  • Capriccio for flute, clarinet and bassoon (1950)
  • Three piano pieces (1953)
  • Four piano pieces (1966). The last is a “ Requiem ” for Adrian Leverkühn (the “tragic hero” from “ Doctor Faustus ” by Thomas Mann ). It uses the Hetaera esmeralda motif h - e - a - e - es in the center. ( Recorded by Maria Bergmann in 1968 on Südwestfunk Baden-Baden.)
  • Ten songs based on texts by Artur Schütt (1987). (Recording with Kerstin Hering (soprano) and the composer at the piano.)
  • Two choirs based on texts by Artur Schütt, composed for the Motettenchor Speyer.
  • Two piano pieces (1992). Capella publishing house, Speyer
  • "Gebed om vrede" based on a text by Gysbert Japicx (17th century) for baritone (in Dutch) and harp, composed for the 75th anniversary of the "Vredeskerk" in Bergen aan Zee, NH (1993)
  • Piano variations on the Dutch national anthem. Capella-Verlag, Speyer. (Sent to Queen Beatrix for her birthday in 1994, whereupon she thanked in writing for the “original variations on our [sic!] Folk song”.)
  • Night pieces for violin and viola (1998). Music publisher Martin Krämer, Leipzig.
  • Style copies after Reger, Hindemith, Stravinsky, Milhaud a. a. for piano (unpublished).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Published in the yearbook of the State Institute for Music Research in Prussian Cultural Heritage 1977. pp. 31–43.
personal data
SURNAME King, Werner
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German musicologist, music teacher and composer
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1931
PLACE OF BIRTH Darmstadt
DATE OF DEATH 4th October 2018
Place of death Lindau