Anton Urspruch
Anton Urspruch ( born February 17, 1850 in Frankfurt am Main, † January 11, 1907 ) was a German composer and a representative of the German late Romanticism in Frankfurt.
Life
Anton Urspruch was born the son of a lawyer and writer Carl Theodor Urspruch and his wife Anna Elisabeth, born singer. He received a high school education, and showed early talent for music and painting, however, soon turned exclusively to the music. His musical education in Frankfurt took over Martin Wallenstein, Ignaz Lachner and Joachim Raff In 1871 Anton was 21 years old according to Franz Liszt Weimar, what his career influenced decisively. He was one of the favorite pupil of Liszt. The next few years Urspruch 's position is based on a teacher. He was appointed in 1878 to the year before, founded Hoch Conservatory as a teacher of piano and composition in addition to Clara Schumann. The Hoch Conservatory, whose director Joachim Raff was, had famous teacher and attracted students from all over the world.
End of the seventies the band for music publishers Alwin August Cranz in Hamburg tied. In 1880 the wife of Cranz was staying with daughter Emmy for recreation in Bad Nauheim and Anton Urspruch came from the near Frankfurt, to pay his respects. In March 1881 Emmy Cranz and Anton Urspruch were married in Wandsbeck. He dedicated his bride his Symphony op 14 in E Flat Major, whose premiere took place in Wiesbaden in September 1891. The marriage produced four daughters.
After the death of Raff in 1882, Bernhard Scholz took over the management of the Hoch Conservatory. The best teachers, among them Anton Urspruch, left the Conservatory and founded the Raff Conservatory, taught at the Urspruch until his death. In March 1906 Urspruch fulfilled her long cherished desire a trip to Italy with his family. There he enjoyed the meeting with important musicians such as Sagambati, Dom Pothier, Dom Janssens and P. de Santi Perosi. Resphighi Cardinal, Pope Pius X. submitted an Italian translation of Urspruchs font on the Chorale. Thus, the Pope granted him as an authority a long audience, in which a lesson was long spoken about reform and implementation of the chorale. Its importance as a German composer was recognized by the fact that it was proposed to join the Roman Arcadians, an honor that had experienced Mozart and Goethe. However, heart attacks marred the course of the year.
Nevertheless, he made every effort to complete the opera " Saint Cecilia " at least yet. But only the first act is orchestrated sideshow ripe, the other two are in a piano reduction. End of 1906, the Berlin choral conductor and friend Siegfried Ochs looked him up in Frankfurt, and Urspruch - barely recovered from the last heart attack - discussed on a long walk with the boyfriend a performance of this part as an oratory. There, however, never came. Anton Urspruch died on January 11, 1907 after a heart attack.
During his lifetime was Urspruch an internationally esteemed German representatives of the late Romantic period. After his early death, he was quickly forgotten.
Urspruch whose paternal ancestors were Protestant and Jewish mother (the mother was baptized a Christian in 1845 ), was a member of almost exclusively visited by Jewish citizens Masonic Lodge "Zum Adler Frankfurt ".
Work
In addition to teaching a broad compositional work for piano, solo and choral singing, chamber music came to large orchestral works and two operas. Much of it has been performed successfully, including in Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Leipzig and Frankfurt. In his last years Urspruch was instrumental in the revival of Gregorian chant (among contacts with the Benedictine Monastery Beuron and Khajuraho ).