Werner Trenkner

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Werner Otto Trenkner (born April 30, 1902 in Calbe (Saale) , † September 9, 1981 in Duisburg ) was a German composer and conductor .

Life

Werner Trenkner was the second son of the Merseburg cathedral organist Wilhelm Trenkner (1874–1949) and the singer Mathilde Trenkner, nee. Möhring. Despite this family environment, it was only at the age of 13 that he found deeper access to music. He received his first organ lessons from his father and this was soon so far advanced that he was able to replace him on the great cathedral organ. In 1921 Trenkner began to study music theory and piano at the Leipzig Conservatory . From 1923 to 1928 he was a student at the State University of Music in Weimar . Among other things, he studied there with the composer Richard Wetz , whose musical views and style left a lasting impression on Trenkner. Shortly before his death in 1935, Wetz is said to have ordered the completion of his unfinished oratorio Love, Life, Eternity by Trenkner. However, this was not added due to legal disputes. After completing his studies in Weimar, Trenkner made a name for himself both as a composer and as a conductor. From the 1929/30 season he took over the musical direction of the Stralsund State Theater . Werner Trenkner joined the NSDAP on August 1, 1932 (membership number 1,287,746), but was at least temporarily canceled due to failure to deregister. In 1933 he was awarded the prestigious Mendelssohn Prize . In the same year he worked as Kapellmeister in Oberhausen , from where he went to Berlin in 1935 because of disagreements with the National Socialists as a freelance composer , where he also worked on the radio. In 1937 Trenkner became director of the Berlin City Orchestra, but returned to Oberhausen the following year - now under the name of Music Director - where he founded a new City Orchestra after the end of the Second World War . During the war, the composer suffered from the National Socialist cultural policy and was rarely played. In 1951 Trenkner resigned from his official positions. In the next period he withdrew from the public due to dissatisfaction with the musical avant-garde of his time and composed very little. Only towards the end of the 1960s did a new creative period follow. Werner Trenkner died at the age of 79 in September 1981 in Duisburg. He is the father of the respected pianist Evelinde Trenkner .

style

As a composer Trenkner moved on the border between late romantic and modern . His style, although often peppered with harmonic boldness, is basically tied to tonality and the major - minor system. The composer's most important historical models were Johann Sebastian Bach , Anton Bruckner and Max Reger . So it is not surprising that in many of his compositions a preference for contrapuntal styles, e.g. B. in the form of joints, is noticeable. Orchestral works occupy an important place in Trenkner's oeuvre, as well as operas, chamber music, piano works, songs and choral compositions. The composer considered the Requiem, which premiered in 1946, to be his main work .

Works (selection)

Trenkner's catalog raisonné includes 52 opus numbers and a small number of works without an opus number. Some compositions are thought to be lost. The following list only names preserved works.

Operas

  • The annual fair (opera by Georg Anton Benda , new version by Trenkner; premiere: Berlin 1936)
  • Malina (grand opera in one prelude and two acts, not performed)
  • Night without morning (opera in six pictures, not performed)

Choral works

  • To friendship for baritone, choir and orchestra op.12 (new version as op.52, 1978)
  • Requiem for 4 solos, choir and orchestra op.33 (1946)
  • Magnificat for three solos, choir, organ and orchestra op.43 (1973)
  • The 13th Psalm for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra op.47 (1977)

Orchestral works

  • Variations and Fugue on an Own Theme, Op. 2 (1927)
  • Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 8 (1930)
  • Symphony No. 2 in B minor, Op. 13 (1932)
  • Variations on a Theme from the Magic Flute op.19 (1934)
  • Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 21 (1935)
  • Suite of Variations on a rag collectors' way op.27 (1936)
  • Variations and Fugue on a Romantic Theme, Op. 30 (1939)
  • Cello Concerto in B minor, op.32 (1948)
  • Piano Concerto No. 1 in F minor op.35 (1953)
  • Piano Concerto No. 2 op.41 (1966)
  • Organ Concerto op.44 (1975)

Chamber music

  • String Trio in F minor op.15
  • String Quartet in F minor, Op. 18 (1933)
  • Suite for violin and piano op.48 (1978)
  • Adagio and Fugue for twelve cellos op.50

Piano music

  • Five arabesques op.28 (1936)
  • Symphonic Suite op. 40 (1952)
  • Ten new piano pieces, Op. 42 (1966)
  • Three piano pieces op.44a
  • Five Character Pieces op.51

Songs

  • Two orchestral songs, Op. 1 (1927)
  • Schilflieder for baritone and orchestra op.6 (1929)
  • Seven songs of love for baritone and piano op.39 (1962)

literature

  • Harald and Ingrid Rummler (eds.): Werner Trenkner (1902-1981). Composer and conductor , Solingen 1994.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fred K. Prieberg : Handbook of German Musicians 1933–1945 , CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, p. 7242.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Trenkner, Werner
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Trenkner, Werner Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer and conductor
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Calbe (Saale)
DATE OF DEATH September 9, 1981
Place of death Duisburg