Wolfgang Jacobi (composer)

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Wolfgang Jacobi (born October 25, 1894 in Bergen auf Rügen ; † December 15, 1972 in Munich ) was a German composer, music teacher, author and cultural organizer. He was considered a representative of neoclassicism or a "modern classic".

Life

Karl Theodor Franz Wolfgang Jacobi was the second son of the lawyer and notary Oskar Jacobi and his wife Sophie, geb. Saxon. He grew up in Bergen on Rügen , received piano lessons and received musical and cultural suggestions. During his high school years in Stralsund , his interest in painting and drawing was aroused. In 1914 he volunteered for military service, fought in Russia and France in World War I and was taken prisoner by the French in 1916. Sick of pulmonary tuberculosis , the following year he was sent to the sanatorium in neutral Switzerland in Davos , where his health improved, but the disease did not heal, so that he had serious health problems throughout his life.
In Davos he met the Belgian music scholar Paul Collaer, who introduced him to the music of Ravel , Debussy and other French composers. Fascinated by this, Jacobi began his first attempts at composition. After the end of the First World War, he went to Berlin and studied composition with Friedrich Ernst Koch at the music college there from 1919 to 1922 . He then worked as a teacher in music theory at the Klindworth-Scharwenka Conservatory in Berlin . In addition, he took up a job in the radio and became a freelancer for the Berlin radio hour . The 1922 marriage with Eveline Rüegg from Switzerland resulted in a son and a daughter.

Since Jacobi, as a composer, had written works for the workers' choir movement (such as Der Menschenmaulwurf , 1932), the National Socialists took notice of him and from 1933 to 1945 imposed a professional and performance ban on him. Because of his father's Jewish descent, the Nazis also classified him as a " half-Jew ". Jacobi went to Italy with his wife and children and initially sought refuge in Malcesine on Lake Garda . The hope of being able to gain a foothold in Florence was soon dashed: the foreign exchange freeze forced the return to Germany as early as 1935. The family settled in Munich , where Jacobi lived as an ostracized composer in " inner emigration " and hoped for the end of the Hitler regime. He lost his son (missing in Russia in 1944) and his older brother (probably killed in Berlin in April 1945) during World War II .

After the end of the war, Jacobi received a teaching position for composition, harmony and counterpoint at the Munich University of Music , which was followed by a professorship in the school music department from 1949 to 1959. He also did volunteer work and “was one of the personalities who shaped the new beginning of a democratic, cosmopolitan cultural life [in Munich] after 1945”. He was active in various music associations and cultural-political organizations and endeavored to promote musical youth. In 1946, together with Hans Mersmann , he founded the “Studio for New Music” and later, as chairman of the Association of Münchner Tonkünstler, also launched the “Munich Composers” concert series. He was also responsible for setting up the Oberammergau courses for private music teachers . In addition to the chairmanship of the Munich Tonkünstlerverband, Jacobi was also chairman of the regional association of Bavarian Tonkünstler from 1951 to 1960. Until 1960 he was also a board member of the Institute for New Music and Music Education Darmstadt. In addition, Jacobi was part of the German section of the International Music Council and the Board of Trustees of the Central Administration for Sound and Image Carrier Rights.

Jacobi's daughter Ursula Ullrich-Jacobi (* 1926 in Berlin, † 2020 in Aschaffenburg) became a sculptor and was married to the graphic artist and painter Gunter Ullrich .

Wolfgang Jacobi died at the age of 78 in his home in Munich.

Create

Jacobi's compositional work includes instrumental works as well as vocal works of various genres and forms. He wrote a total of around 200 compositions, only about half of which have survived. Much of his early works was lost in World War II , others were later discarded by Jacobi himself. His music was u. a. influenced by Claude Debussy , Paul Hindemith , Max Reger and Béla Bartók . Personal acquaintance with Hindemith was of crucial importance for his compositional work. His stay in Italy also influenced his works, many of which are inspired by the spirit of Italian art and culture. In addition, Jacobi, who had a very good command of the Italian language , liked to choose Italian texts for his vocal works (e.g. by Francesco Petrarca or Jacopone da Todi ). His style, which is connected to the musical tradition, shows formal balance and clarity, the harmony is still tonal, but greatly expanded. Jacobi strived for a spiritually entertaining music that was not easy, but should be accessible to the listener.

In terms of instrumentation and timbre he was open to new ideas and in the early 1930s composed works for electronic musical instruments such as theremin and trautonium , and on behalf of the Berliner Funk-Hour also for "electric orchestra" (e.g. evening fantasy for bass voice and electric orchestra, 1932 - not preserved). His achievements with regard to the recognition of the saxophone and accordion as "classical" musical instruments and their establishment in concert life are of particular importance : Jacobi was one of the first composers to write works for the saxophone, which was rarely considered in art music at the beginning of the 1930s (at the suggestion of saxophonist Sigurd M. Rascher ). The same applies to the accordion, which he discovered for himself from the mid-1950s, at a time when it was primarily assigned to folk music. For his attempts to help the accordion to grow in reputation with demanding works, he was already very much appreciated during his lifetime. His compositions for this instrument are correspondingly numerous (partly in exchange with accordionists such as Hugo Noth , Gérard Grisey and Gisela Walther).

Teaching music was always a concern of the pedagogue Jacobi. He also wrote smaller practice pieces and works for school use. As part of his own teaching activities at the Munich Conservatory , he also wrote various works on music theory. His students included u. a .: Heinz Benker (1921–2000), Theo Brand (1925–2016), Kurt-Joachim Friedel (1921–2013) and Robert M. Helmschrott (* 1938).

Due to his professional ban during the National Socialist era , Wolfgang Jacobi was one of the ostracized composers who were severely impaired in their artistic work and professional career and who had to reposition themselves after 1945. See: List of composers persecuted by the Nazi regime or its allies

In order to keep memories of Jacobi's work and services alive, the German Tonkünstlerverband eV organized the International Wolfgang Jacobi Competition for Modern Chamber Music four times from 2000 to 2003 in conjunction with the Munich University of Music and Theater . In cooperation with the German Association of Accordion Teachers , the German Harmonica Association eV announced the Wolfgang Jacobi Composition Prize for the first time in 2018 . On the occasion of Jacobi's 125th birthday, an interdisciplinary conference was held in November 2019 at the Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald under the motto "Wolfgang Jacobi: a new› Munich school ‹from Western Pomerania?" Birger Petersen .

Awards and honors

In Bergen on Rügen , a Wolfgang Jacobi memorial stone commemorates the composer, in front of the composer's birthplace at Billrothstrasse 6 (since 2004).

Works

The surviving compositions by Jacobi are listed; further information can be found on the Wolfgang Jacobi website . The Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online provides a complete list of all preserved and non-preserved works by the composer.

Orchestral works

  • Concerto for harpsichord and orchestra op.31, 1927/1947
  • Grétry suite for orchestra, op.44, 1932/1948
  • Concerto for 2 pianos and wind orchestra, op.45, 1932
  • Music for string orchestra or string quartet , 1948
  • Capriccio for piano and orchestra, around 1954
  • Serenade and Allegro , Concertino for accordion and string orchestra, around 1958
  • Divertimento for orchestra, 1959
  • Concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra, 1961
  • Three Bavarian Zwiefache for string orchestra, piano and percussion, 1964
  • Impromptu for accordion and chamber orchestra, 1968/69

Chamber music

  • Four piano pieces for four hands, 1935–53
  • Sonata for viola and piano, 1946
  • Sonatina for flute and piano, 1946
  • Trio for flute, violin and piano, 1946
  • Music for string quartet , 1948 (see above)
  • Trio for violin, violoncello and piano, 1950
  • Music for two pianos , 1951
  • Four studies for violin and piano, 1956
  • Suite for five woodwinds, 1972

Solo works

  • Passacaglia and Fugue for piano, op.9, 1922
  • Suite in the old style for piano, op.10, 1922
  • Sonatina for harpsichord, op.33, 1930
  • Sonata for piano No. 2, 1936
  • Sonata for piano No. 3, 1939
  • Variations on a Theme by Couperin for piano, 1950
  • Sonatina for harpsichord, 1956
  • Choral preludes for organ, 1958
  • Sonatina for piano, 1968

Works for / with saxophone

  • Sonata for alto saxophone and piano, around 1931
  • Low German dance for saxophone quartet, 1932
  • Sketch for saxophone quartet, 1932
  • Cantata for soprano, alto saxophone and piano, 1936
  • Concerto for alto saxophone and orchestra, 1961 (see above)
  • Barcarole for two alto saxophones and piano, 1964

Works for / with accordion

  • Low German folk dances for accordion orchestra, 1955
  • Serenade and Allegro , Concertino for accordion and string or accordion orchestra, around 1958 (see above)
  • Scherzo for accordion orchestra and percussion, 1959
  • Capriccio , concert piece for accordion, 1962
  • Bavarian Zwiefache for accordion orchestra, 1963
  • Symphonic suite for accordion orchestra, 1964
  • Concert rondo for accordion, 1965
  • Divertissement pour accordéon , 1966
  • Children's games in Ascoli for accordion orchestra, 1966
  • Six waltz bagatelles for accordion, 1967
  • French overture for accordion, 1968
  • Sarabande and Allegro for accordion, 1968
  • Impromptu for accordion and chamber or accordion orchestra, 1968/69 (see above)
  • Sinfonietta for accordion orchestra , 1969
  • Spanish impressions for accordion orchestra, 1970
  • Fanfare Suite for accordion orchestra, 1970
  • Chamber music I and II for two accordions, 1970
  • Eight performance pieces for accordion, 1970
  • Ten polyphonic pieces based on Spanish folk songs for accordion, 1970
  • Fantasy for flute and accordion, 1970
  • Rigaudon for accordion, 1971
  • Jota, Spanish Dance for Accordion, 1971
  • Three chorale preludes for five accordions, 1972

Choral works

  • The Human Mole for mixed choir, speaker, baritone and wind orchestra, 1932; Text: Bruno Schönlank
  • Sacrifice and Thanks , cantata for mixed choir, speaker and wind orchestra, 1945; Text compilation: Eduard Claudius
  • Three-part women's choirs based on nursery rhymes , 1948; Text from Des Knaben Wunderhorn : Clemens Brentano
  • Il Pianto della Vergine for mixed choir and solos, 1951; Text: Jacopone da Todi
  • Laude for mixed choir a cappella, 1951; Texts and melodies from the Liuzzi collection
  • Three old ways madrigals for mixed choir and accordion orchestra, 1958
  • Three dance songs based on German folk tunes for mixed choir and accordion orchestra, 1958
  • Petrarch cantatas for five-part choir and string orchestra, 1962/63
  • Neue Laude for three-part female choir or mixed choir, 1965; Texts and melodies from the Liuzzi collection

Solo singing with accompaniment

  • Baroque songs for tenor and orchestra, op.38, 1930/1945
  • The robber ballad by Pierre, the red Coquillard , melodrama for speaker and piano, 1931/33; Text: François Villon , translation: Paul Zech
  • Cantata for soprano, alto saxophone and piano, 1936; Texts: Pietro Michiele and Francesco della Valle (see above)
  • The Sonnets of Satan for baritone and piano, 1946; Text: Wolfgang Petzet
  • Italian songs for soprano and piano, 1954; Texts: d'Incerto and Antonio Bruni
  • Die Toten von Spoon River , Chansons for baritone and piano / accordion, 1956; Text: Edgar Lee Masters ( Spoon River Anthology ), translation: Hans Rudolf Rieder
  • Petrarch chants for baritone and piano / guitar, 1965

School music

  • Small symphony for string orchestra, piano four hands and percussion instruments, before 1930/1954
  • The Jobsiade , school opera in 34 numbers, 1931; Text: Robert Seitz after Carl Arnold Kortum
  • New Piano School I / II (together with Hans Mersmann and Wilhelm Gebhardt), 1949
  • Five studies for recorder and piano / harpsichord, 1956
  • Courtly Dances , Two Ballet Suites after Lully for school orchestra, 1958
  • Sonatina for treble recorder and piano, 1963
  • Spielmusik in G for two treble recorders and piano, 1964
  • Baroque dance forms , music for two treble recorders and piano, 1964
  • Children's pieces for piano four hands, 1966

Fonts

  • Harmony (together with Wilhelm Gebhardt and Helmut Schmidt-Garré). Kasparek, Munich 1950.
  • Counterpoint . Hochstein, Heidelberg 1950.
  • Fugue and chorale prelude. Textbook . Gustav Bosse, Regensburg 1952.
  • The sonata . Allitera, Munich 2003. (written 1952)

translation

  • The technique of the modern orchestra , by Alfredo Casella and Virgilio Mortari (1950). From the Italian by Wolfgang Jacobi, 2nd edition (reprint of the German first edition from 1961). Ricordi, Munich 2010.

Literature (selection)

  • Ekkehard Ochs: A Bavarian from Rügen. In: Ostsee-Zeitung , 25.10.2019, magazine, p. 1
  • Ekkehard Ochs: Jacobi, Wolfgang. In: Dirk Alvermann , Nils Jörn (Hrsg.): Biographisches Lexikon für Pommern . Volume 1 (= publications of the Historical Commission for Pomerania. Series V, Volume 48.1). Böhlau Verlag, Cologne Weimar Vienna 2013, ISBN 978-3-412-20936-0 , pp. 128-134.
  • Barbara Kienscherf: A pioneer for the classical accordion. The composer and teacher Wolfgang Jacobi . In: accordion magazine . No. 29, Issue 6, 2012, pp. 24-27.
  • Ekkehard Ochs: Wolfgang Jacobi - composer from Bergen. Plea for a once ostracized, now almost forgotten contemporary . In: RUGIA Rügen yearbook 2011 (Putbus 2010), pp. 42–48.
  • Barbara Kienscherf: Wolfgang Jacobi . In: Contemporary composers . Edited by Hanns-Werner Heister and Walter-Wolfgang Sparrer. 33rd edition, edition text + kritik, Munich, February 2007.
  • Christina and Birger Petersen : Academic Music Theory in the Young Federal Republic. Two studies on Wolfgang Jacobi and Roland Ploeger . Eutiner contributions to music research. New episode, Volume 5, 2006.
  • Barbara Kienscherf: Committed and straightforward. The composer and teacher Wolfgang Jacobi is rediscovered . In: Music in Bavaria . Issue 65/66, 2003 (Tutzing 2004), pp. 107-120.
  • Barbara Kienscherf: Jacobi, Wolfgang . In: Music in the past and present . Edited by Ludwig Finscher. Person part volume 9, Bärenreiter, Kassel u. a. 2003, col. 810/811.
  • Barbara Kienscherf: Wolfgang Jacobi (1894-1972). About the life and work of an unjustifiably forgotten composer . In: mr-Mitteilungen , No. 33, musica reanimata . Funding Association for the Rediscovery of Nazi Persecuted Composers and Their Works eV , 1999, pp. 8-14.
  • Jörg Mehren: Wolfgang Jacobi. Studies of life and work . Dissertation. Hohner, Trossingen 1997.
  • Heinz Benker , Jörg Mehren, Gunter Ullrich : Wolfgang Jacobi (= composers in Bavaria. Documents of musical creativity in the 20th century . Volume 22) Hans Schneider, Tutzing 1994.

Family archive

Wolfgang Jacobi's estate passed on to his daughter after his death and has been in the family ever since. It includes music editions, manuscripts, writings, paintings / drawings, catalogs of works, sound carriers, concert programs, reviews, photographs, letters, etc. a. m. In order to make the holdings accessible to research and the interested public, the estate is gradually being made accessible in cooperation with the General Directorate of the Bavarian State Archives . So far, the photographs (almost 200) have been completely recorded and digitized. Work on indexing the approximately 6,000 received letters (to and from Jacobi) has been underway since autumn 2016 - including correspondence with Max Butting , Dietrich Erdmann , Stefan Frenkel , Gérard Grisey , Joseph Haas , Ernst-Lothar von Knorr , Sigurd Rascher , Harald Saeverud , Philippine Schick , Erich Valentin and many others. Individual documents are also available from Paul Hindemith , Luigi Dallapiccola and, for example, Boris Blacher .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Erich Valentin : A modern classic. Homage to Wolfgang Jacobi. In: Der Volksmusiklehrer , Heft 5, 1969, p. 165
  2. ^ Theo Stengel / Herbert Gerigk (edit.): Lexicon of Jews in Music . Bernhard Hahnefeld, Berlin 1941, Sp. 120 (anti-Semitic publication)
  3. ^ Franzpeter Messmer : Wolfgang Jacobi for his 120th birthday . In: Neue Musikzeitung (nmz) , 10/2014, p. 46
  4. ↑ Schliepe: Electrical Music. Radio lesson Berlin . In: Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung , presumably. End of January 1933 (refers to a radio broadcast on January 25, 1933)
  5. ^ Gesine Schröder (music theorist) : Wolfgang Jacobi: a new "Munich School" from Western Pomerania? Interdisciplinary conference for the composer's 125th birthday. Event report on the website of the Society for Music Theory : www.gmth.de , published on December 2nd, 2019
  6. ^ Bavarian Musicians' Lexicon Online
  7. ↑ See: www.wolfgang-jacobi.de/archiv
personal data
SURNAME Jacobi, Wolfgang
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German composer and music teacher
DATE OF BIRTH October 25, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Mountains on Rügen
DATE OF DEATH December 15, 1972
Place of death Munich