Georg Kulenkampff

Alwin Georg Kulenkampff - mail ( born January 23, 1898 in Bremen, † October 4, 1948 in Schaffhausen, Switzerland ) was one of Germany's most famous violin virtuoso of the 1930s and 1940s.

Life

George's grandfather, Julius Eberhard Kulenkampff (1818-1884), had married his third wife on June 1, 1865 Anna Gertrud post. To avoid confusion with the half-brothers, George's father was at his birth on December 17, 1866 the name of Hermann Julius Kulenkampff post. George put the double name of his father from after 1914.

Kulenkampff was since 1904 a student of Ernst Wendel, chief of the Bremen Philharmonic. He made his debut in 1912 as a solo violinist, studied under Willy Hess at the Berlin Academy of Music and was the concertmaster of the university orchestra. In 1916 he was concertmaster of the Bremen Philharmonic Orchestra, in 1923 professor at the Berlin Academy of Music. In addition to his solo career Kulenkampff taught at the Hochschule für Musik Berlin from 1923 to 1926, and from 1931 until 1943. Kulenkampff was very busy during the Nazi era. Early in 1944 his health was so exhausted that his doctor told him under another concert tours and recommended to use a course in Davos for convalescence. His recovery made ​​no progress. After his Potsdamer apartment had been destroyed in the war, he had only his two violins and the notes.

In November 1944, died unexpectedly Carl Flesch. Although this Kulenkampff had earlier proposed as its eventual successor, the Swiss authorities appointed him first to May 1, 1945 as Head of the summer master classes. His concert activity was sluggish. In the summer of 1948, he wanted to start, on the advice of his friend Wilhelm Furtwängler with Prof. Dr. Niehans a makeover. The autopsy report by an extract from an infected bovine brain him was administered, which caused polio and was thus todesursächlich. Shortly before he gave on September 24, 1948 in Schaffhausen - standing already incipient paralysis, his last concert with three violin solo works of Johann Sebastian Bach.

Even before he became Full Professor at the University of Music Freiburg im Breisgau died Kulenkampff.

Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto

Clara Schumann gave Joseph Joachim, the manuscript of Robert Schumann's Violin Concerto after his death. Joachim decreed in his will that the work should go only 100 years after the composer's death (1856 ) for performance, because it contained the shadow of Schumann's later mental illness after Joachim's opinion. The manuscript was sold along with the contents of the violinist of his son, John Joachim at the archives of the Prussian State Library.

1937 wrote Jelly d' Arányi - the great-niece of Joachim, who knew quite what it had with the concert and "Uncle Jo " is all about - to the publisher Schott in Mainz that it had been published in a séance the spirit of Robert Schumann, and they have been advised of their lost violin concerto. Through the publication of Hermann Wilhelm Springer it was but it has become aware of the work by Schott. The head of the music department of the Prussian State Library, Georg Schünemann, achieved with the heirs of Joachim agreement on early performance. As a soloist, the 21 -year-old Yehudi Menuhin was provided, to which the publisher had already submitted a score. At the same time George strove to Kulenkampff the performing rights to snatch the work of oblivion. Since the rights to the concert in Germany were certain the Nazi government that the premiere should not take place abroad. With the help of Paul Hindemith, whose own works were already banned by the Nazis, and Georg Schünemann undertook Kulenkampff a number of changes to make the concert better playable.

On November 26, 1937 more than 80 years after its creation, the Violin Concerto was premiered by Georg Kulenkampff and the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Karl Böhm.

Menuhin performed it in Carnegie Hall with a piano accompaniment on December 6, 1937, then with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Golschmann on December 23. In Germany Siegfried Borries followed with an oriented at Autograph version. 1938 - less than a year after Georg Kulenkampff - played Eugenia Umiska the Polish premiere.

Jelly d' Aranyi had managed in 1938 to give the London premiere with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, although their performance was apparently not widely celebrated as a success. The critic Robert Elkin remarked: ". The less said about this dismal fiasco, the better," Although the Schumann Concerto was still often performed by Kulenkampff and it had to Yehudi Menuhin and Henryk Szeryng, especially in strong supporters, it could be long time does not prevail in the concert business.

Work

As Kulenkampff 1936 ventured a performance of Hindemith's Violin Sonata in Berlin, the success was so great that the Nazis responded with an official ban on the music of Hindemith. Quite unmoved by the regulations of the National Socialists, he played with the classic works on the cadences that came from non-Aryan artists such as Joseph Joachim and Fritz Kreisler.

Kulenkampff played numerous world and European premieres, including of works by Ottorino Respighi (2nd violin sonata ) and Jean Sibelius. In a duo with piano he played with Wilhelm Kempff, Sebastian Peschko and Georg Solti, Wolfgang Rosé, Siegfried Schultze, he was also from 1944 leader of the Kulenkampff Quartet.

In 1940 he moved to Potsdam. From this period dates his recording of the Violin Concerto by Max Bruch and a live recording of Sibelius ' Violin Concerto, Wilhelm Furtwängler conducted.

After the war, he made recordings in 1948 with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra of Glazunov's Violin Concerto.

Kulenkampff worked from 1935 to 1948 in the famous Piano Trio Fischer / Kulenkampff / Mainardi with, along with Edwin Fischer ( piano) and Enrico Mainardi ( Cello ). After Kulenkampffs death Wolfgang Schneiderhan took there until 1959, a violin.

Kulenkampff posthumous records in 1952 thanks to the support of Dr. Caspar Kulenkampff ( son ), Frankfurt, and Dr. 0tto Hoffmann ( father ), Lübeck under the title " violin Generic considerations " by Gerhard Meyer- Sichting published. GM -S. " Scripture is based on the study of the notes in the archives and records and conversations with Georg Kulenkampff. "

Discography

Kulenkampffs 's recordings are - with currently 14 CDs with the most detailed documentation - largely from the publisher PODIUM ago. - In vol 10 and 11 are also Kulenkampffs / Meyer- Sichtings " violin Generic considerations ," published again.

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