Xaver Scharwenka

( Theophil Franz ) Xaver Scharwenka ( born January 6, 1850 in Samter, near Poznań, † December 8, 1924 in Berlin) was a German composer, pianist and music educator Polish- Czech origin.

He is the brother of composer and music educator Philipp Scharwenka and uncle of composer and organist Walter Scharwenka.

Life

Scharwenka received his first musical instruction in Posen, where he also graduated from high school. In 1865 he went to Berlin to study at the New Academy of Music piano with Theodor Kullak, theory and composition with Richard Wüerst and Heinrich Dorn. After completing his training, he worked there from 1868 to 1874 as a piano teacher. With a triple debut in 1869 at the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin began his career as a pianist, conductor and composer. The publisher Breitkopf & Härtel printed immediately Scharwenkas Piano Trio Op 1, his violin sonata op 2 and 5 Polish Dances for piano, Op 3. 1877 was the Piano Concerto No.1, Op 32 one of his most important and most highly regarded works, which paved the way for him in the musical centers of Europe and North America. This concert is dedicated to Franz Liszt, who Scharwenka promoted, since the appearance of the 1st Polish dance in 1870. Even with Johannes Brahms, Ferdinand Hiller and Hugo Kaun used Scharwenka friendly contacts. With Gustav Hollaender (violin) and Heinrich Grünfeld (cello), he formed a piano trio and designed 1871-1881 chamber music concerts in the Berlin Sing- Akademie.

In Berlin, he opened in 1879, the chamber music oriented " Abonnemmentskonzerte " and in 1886 an orchestral concert series, in which he distinguished himself as a conductor. Together with his brother Philipp Scharwenka he founded in 1881 Scharwenka Conservatory, which in 1893 merged with the piano school of Karl Klindworth to Klindworth - Scharwenka Conservatory. Between 1880 and 1886 he edited the complete works of Chopin and Schumann, Mendelssohn later. In addition to his appointment as Court Pianist he also turned increasingly to composition.

In 1891 moved Scharwenka on for seven years to New York, where he founded his second Conservatory, the Scharwenka Conservatory of Music. After numerous concert tours throughout the U.S., he returned back to Germany in 1898 and in 1901 was appointed to the Senate of the Royal Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. He became friends with Max Bruch, concerted with Ferruccio Busoni and led his piano concertos under Gustav Mahler and Arthur Nikisch. On March 7, 1905, he took on 14 piano pieces for the Welte-Mignon reproducing piano, including two original compositions.

In 1914, he opened with Walter Petzet another master class with piano teacher seminar. His students included José Vianna da Motta, Kurt Schubert and Gustav Ernest. Received numerous awards and court the honorary doctorate from the University of Tennessee ( 1896), he also took music politically as Chairman of the Music Teacher Association and the Association of concert artists in Germany in appearance.

1910/12 he settled in Bad Saarow a villa in wood - frame construction as Somnmerhaus build (his " muse hut " ), as Scharwenka house is since 2005 listed and then from the Scharwenka Foundation and the Friends of the spa town of Bad Saarow was gradually renovated and restored.

His final resting he found in a grave of honor in P, P-004-008/009 field, G3 on the Old St Matthew's cemetery in Berlin's Tempelhof- Schöneberg.

Importance

Scharwenkas diverse talents made ​​him one of the most successful artists of the late 19th century. Even during his lifetime he was considered one of the most famous pianists in the world. Eduard Hanslick described him in concerts, composers and virtuosos the last fifteen years, 1870-1885 (Berlin 1886) as " very excellent pianist, dazzling without charlatanism ". He gained Worldwide reputation by his extraordinary pedagogical skills. During his teaching career he trained thousands of students from various countries and wrote some significant educational music magazines. His international reputation as a composer founded Scharwenka with the Polish National Dances, Op 3, his Symphony in C minor, as well as the opera Mataswintha other hand, only reached respectable results. Scharwenkas further compositional output consisted of piano concertos, piano trios and quartets, sonatas and dances, but did not go beyond the conservative Mendelssohn Schumann succession.

Works (selection)

Vocal music

  • Shuvoh for bass, mixed choir and organ ( 1890s )
  • Kaiser cantata for mixed chorus, solo and organ ( 1900)
  • 4 Songs for mezzo- soprano and piano, Op 10 (1873 )
  • 3 Songs for mezzo- soprano and piano, Op 15 (1874 )
  • 8 Songs for medium voice and piano, Op 88 (1915 )
  • 2 songs for male chorus, Op 79 (1895 )

Stage Works

  • Mataswintha (Text: Felix Dahn ), opera in 3 acts, ( 1888-1892; UA 1896 Weimar)
  • The mayor of Paris (Text: Lope de Vega ), comic opera fragment ( 1897-1898 )

Instrumental music

  • Orchestral works and concertos Overture in C minor (1869 )
  • Symphony in E flat major ( 1875 ), lost
  • Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor op.32 ( 1869-1873 )
  • Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op 56 ( 1879-1881 )
  • Symphony in C minor, Op 60 (1882, premiere 2003)
  • Piano Concerto No. 3 in C sharp minor, Op 80 (1889 )
  • Piano Concerto No. 4 in F minor, op.82 (1907 / 08)
  • Chamber Music Piano Trio in F sharp major, Op 1 (1868 )
  • Sonata in D Minor for Piano and Violin, Op 2 (1869 )
  • String Quartet in G minor ( before 1875 )
  • Piano Quintet in F major, Op 37 (1876/1877)
  • 2nd Piano Trio in A minor op 45 ( 1877-1879 )
  • Sonata for Piano and Cello in E minor, Op 46 (1877 )
  • Serenade in G major for violin and piano, Op 70
  • Piano music Five Polish National Dances, Op 3 (1870 )
  • Scherzo in G major, Op 4
  • Narratives on piano op 5
  • 1 Sonata in C sharp minor, Op 6 (1871 )
  • Barcarolle in D major, Op 14 (1874 )
  • Impromptu in D major op 17
  • Valse - Caprice in A major, Op 31 (1875 /76)
  • Romanzero op 33 (1876 )
  • Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Op 36 (1876 /77)
  • Theme and Variations, Op 48 (1879 )
  • Sonatina in E minor op 52
  • Four Polish National Dances, Op 58 (1879 )
  • Variations on an Original Theme in C major, Op 83 (1913 )

Edits on other works

  • Frédéric Chopin, Andante and Polonaise, Op 22 (1902 )
  • Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Piano Concerto No. 4, Op 89 (1902 )

Teaching works and writings

  • Contributions to finger formation op 77, Leipzig 1903
  • Studies in Oktavspiel op 78, Leipzig 1904
  • Methodology of piano playing, Leipzig 1907
  • Master School of the piano, Leipzig
  • Sounds from my life: Memories of a musician, Leipzig 1922
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