Berthold Goldschmidt
Encyclopedia
Berthold Goldschmidt was a German
Jewish composer
who spent most of his life in England
. The suppression of his work by Nazi Germany
, as well as the disdain with which many Modernist
critics elsewhere dismissed his "anachronistic" lyricism, stranded the composer in the wilderness for many years before he was given a revival in his final decade.
in Germany. While studying philosophy at the University of Hamburg
, he was encouraged by the Italian
composer Ferruccio Busoni
to write music. In 1922, Goldschmidt entered the Berlin Hochschule für Musik
and joined Franz Schreker
's composition
class, where his fellow pupils included Ernst Krenek
, Alois Hába
, Felix Petryek, and Jascha Horenstein
. He also studied conducting
, played freelance for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
, and in 1923, coached the choir
for the Berlin
premiere of Arnold Schoenberg
's Gurre-Lieder
. In 1925, Goldschmidt achieved his first major success with his Passacaglia
, Op. 4, which earned him the prestigious Mendelssohn Prize. Hailed as one of the brightest hopes of a generation of young composers, Goldschmidt reached the premature climax of his career with the premiere of his opera
Der gewaltige Hahnrei in Mannheim
in 1932.
This triumph happened on the eve of the Nazi
takeover of Germany, which quickly destroyed Goldschmidt's livelihood. Like many Jewish composers (and other composers considered subversive of the Germanic purity of the Third Reich), Goldschmidt had his work condemned as "degenerate music
" by the regime. There was no place in German musical life for Goldschmidt since performances of his work were banned and he was barred from conducting orchestras. Goldschmidt resorted to earning a living by giving piano
lessons, before finally emigrating to England in 1935.
During World War II
, Goldschmidt worked for the BBC and served as the Music Director of its German Service in 1944-47. While taking jobs in conducting, Goldschmidt also composed works such as the Ciaccona Sinfonica, concerto
s for violin
, cello
, and clarinet
, and the opera Beatrice Cenci. The English attitude towards Goldschmidt's music was generally indifferent. Even though Beatrice Cenci, an opera based on the 1819 play The Cenci by Percy Bysshe Shelley
, won first prize in the 1951 Festival of Britain
opera competition, Covent Garden
refused to mount a production. Neglected by the musical establishment, Goldschmidt decided to abandon original composition in 1958. For the next six years, he collaborated with Deryck Cooke
on producing a performing edition of Gustav Mahler
's Tenth Symphony
. On 13 August 1964, at the Proms
, Goldschmidt conducted the London Symphony Orchestra
in the world premiere of the Cooke realization.
The last years of Goldschmidt's life witnessed a renewed interest in the composers of so-called "degenerate music." In 1983, to mark Goldschmidt's 80th birthday, friend and conductor Bernard Keeffe mounted a run-through (the only performance in the UK to date) of scenes from Der gewaltige Hahnrei at Trinity College of Music
in London. This performance was attended by David Drew
, which led to a publishing collaboration with Boosey & Hawkes
. This revival led to performances of his work in the United States
and Germany, new recordings, and the recovery of a number of lost manuscripts. Goldschmidt had resumed composing in 1982 with the Clarinet Quartet and penned his final work, the Deux nocturnes, just before his death at the age of 93. Champions of his work include the conductors Simon Rattle
, Charles Dutoit
and Bernard Keeffe; the violin
ist Chantal Juillet
; the Mandelring string quartet
; and the record companies Largo
and Decca
.
Principal publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Jewish composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who spent most of his life in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The suppression of his work by Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, as well as the disdain with which many Modernist
Modernism (music)
Modernism in music is characterized by a desire for or belief in progress and science, surrealism, anti-romanticism, political advocacy, general intellectualism, and/or a breaking with the past or common practice.- Defining musical modernism :...
critics elsewhere dismissed his "anachronistic" lyricism, stranded the composer in the wilderness for many years before he was given a revival in his final decade.
Life
Goldschmidt's musical career began in earnest during the heyday of the Weimar RepublicWeimar Republic
The Weimar Republic is the name given by historians to the parliamentary republic established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government...
in Germany. While studying philosophy at the University of Hamburg
University of Hamburg
The University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
, he was encouraged by the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
composer Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni
Ferruccio Busoni was an Italian composer, pianist, editor, writer, piano and composition teacher, and conductor.-Biography:...
to write music. In 1922, Goldschmidt entered the Berlin Hochschule für Musik
Berlin University of the Arts
The Universität der Künste Berlin, UdK is a public art school in Berlin, Germany, one of the four universities in the city...
and joined Franz Schreker
Franz Schreker
Franz Schreker was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, his style is characterized by aesthetic plurality , timbral experimentation, strategies of extended tonality and...
's composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
class, where his fellow pupils included Ernst Krenek
Ernst Krenek
Ernst Krenek was an Austrian of Czech origin and, from 1945, American composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including Music Here and Now , a study of Johannes Ockeghem , and Horizons Circled: Reflections on my Music...
, Alois Hába
Alois Hába
Alois Hába was a Czech composer, musical theorist and teacher. He is primarily known for his microtonal compositions, especially using the quarter tone scale, though he used others such as sixth-tones and twelfth-tones....
, Felix Petryek, and Jascha Horenstein
Jascha Horenstein
Jascha Horenstein was an American conductor.Horenstein was born in Kiev, Russian Empire , into a well-to-do Jewish family; his mother came from an Austrian rabbinical family and his father was Russian....
. He also studied conducting
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
, played freelance for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Berlin Philharmonic, German: , formerly Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester , is an orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. In 2006, a group of ten European media outlets voted the Berlin Philharmonic number three on a list of "top ten European Orchestras", after the Vienna Philharmonic and the...
, and in 1923, coached the choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
for the Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
premiere of Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
's Gurre-Lieder
Gurre-Lieder
Gurre-Lieder is a massive cantata for five vocal soloists, narrator, chorus and large orchestra, composed by Arnold Schoenberg, on poems by the Danish novelist Jens Peter Jacobsen...
. In 1925, Goldschmidt achieved his first major success with his Passacaglia
Passacaglia
The passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre....
, Op. 4, which earned him the prestigious Mendelssohn Prize. Hailed as one of the brightest hopes of a generation of young composers, Goldschmidt reached the premature climax of his career with the premiere of his opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Der gewaltige Hahnrei in Mannheim
Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in southwestern Germany. With about 315,000 inhabitants, Mannheim is the second-largest city in the Bundesland of Baden-Württemberg, following the capital city of Stuttgart....
in 1932.
This triumph happened on the eve of the Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
takeover of Germany, which quickly destroyed Goldschmidt's livelihood. Like many Jewish composers (and other composers considered subversive of the Germanic purity of the Third Reich), Goldschmidt had his work condemned as "degenerate music
Degenerate music
Degenerate music was a label applied in the 1930s by the Nazi government in Germany to certain forms of music that it considered to be harmful or decadent. The Nazi government's concern for degenerate music was a part of its larger and more well-known campaign against degenerate art...
" by the regime. There was no place in German musical life for Goldschmidt since performances of his work were banned and he was barred from conducting orchestras. Goldschmidt resorted to earning a living by giving piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
lessons, before finally emigrating to England in 1935.
During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Goldschmidt worked for the BBC and served as the Music Director of its German Service in 1944-47. While taking jobs in conducting, Goldschmidt also composed works such as the Ciaccona Sinfonica, concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
s for violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
, cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
, and clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, and the opera Beatrice Cenci. The English attitude towards Goldschmidt's music was generally indifferent. Even though Beatrice Cenci, an opera based on the 1819 play The Cenci by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
, won first prize in the 1951 Festival of Britain
Festival of Britain
The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition in Britain in the summer of 1951. It was organised by the government to give Britons a feeling of recovery in the aftermath of war and to promote good quality design in the rebuilding of British towns and cities. The Festival's centrepiece was in...
opera competition, Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
refused to mount a production. Neglected by the musical establishment, Goldschmidt decided to abandon original composition in 1958. For the next six years, he collaborated with Deryck Cooke
Deryck Cooke
Deryck Cooke was a British musician, musicologist and broadcaster.-Life:Cooke was born in Leicester to a poor and working class family; his father died when he was a child, but his mother was able to afford piano lessons. Cooke acquired a brilliant technique and began to compose...
on producing a performing edition of Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
's Tenth Symphony
Symphony No. 10 (Mahler)
The Symphony No. 10 by Gustav Mahler was written in the summer of 1910, and was his final composition. At the time of Mahler's death the composition was substantially complete in the form of a continuous draft; but not being fully elaborated at every point, and mostly not orchestrated, it was not...
. On 13 August 1964, at the Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
, Goldschmidt conducted the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
in the world premiere of the Cooke realization.
The last years of Goldschmidt's life witnessed a renewed interest in the composers of so-called "degenerate music." In 1983, to mark Goldschmidt's 80th birthday, friend and conductor Bernard Keeffe mounted a run-through (the only performance in the UK to date) of scenes from Der gewaltige Hahnrei at Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music
Trinity College of Music is one of the London music conservatories, based in Greenwich. It is part of Trinity Laban.The conservatoire is inheritor of elegant riverside buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital, designed in part by Sir Christopher Wren...
in London. This performance was attended by David Drew
David Drew
David Elliott Drew is a British Labour Co-operative politician who was the Member of Parliament for Stroud from 1997 to 2010.-Early life:...
, which led to a publishing collaboration with Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes
Boosey & Hawkes is a British music publisher purported to be the largest specialist classical music publisher in the world. Until 2003, it was also a major manufacturer of brass, string and wind musical instruments....
. This revival led to performances of his work in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Germany, new recordings, and the recovery of a number of lost manuscripts. Goldschmidt had resumed composing in 1982 with the Clarinet Quartet and penned his final work, the Deux nocturnes, just before his death at the age of 93. Champions of his work include the conductors Simon Rattle
Simon Rattle
Sir Simon Denis Rattle, CBE is an English conductor. He rose to international prominence as conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and since 2002 has been principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic ....
, Charles Dutoit
Charles Dutoit
Charles Édouard Dutoit, is a Swiss conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of French and Russian 20th century music...
and Bernard Keeffe; the violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist Chantal Juillet
Chantal Juillet
Chantal Juillet, is a Canadian violinist.Born in Montreal, Juillet won all the major Canadian music competitions in her category by the age of 16 and was launched into international renown when she received First Prize at the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York City. In 1979...
; the Mandelring string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
; and the record companies Largo
Largo
-Music:* Largo, a very slow tempo, or a musical piece or movement in such a tempo* Handel's Largo or "Ombra mai fù", an aria from the opera Serse* Hugo Largo, American band from the 1980s* Strong and stately...
and Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
.
Operas
- Der gewaltige Hahnrei, Op. 14 (1929–30). A musical tragi-comedy in three acts.
- Beatrice Cenci (1949–50). Opera in three acts, based on the 1819 play The Cenci by Percy Bysshe Shelley.
Orchestral works
- Passacaglia, Op. 4 (1925)
- Overture: The Comedy of Errors (1925/28)
- Suite, Op. 5 (1927)
- Partita, Op. 9 (1927)
- Der gewaltige Hahnrei: Suite, Op. 14a (1933)
- Marche Militaire, Op. 20 (1932) for orchestra or wind band (later incorporated into Chronica)
- Ciaccona Sinfonica (1936)
- Chronica (1938/58/86)
- Polish Dance Suite (1939–40)
- Greek Suite (1940–41)
- Awake, the voice commands (1947) - BachJohann Sebastian BachJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
's chorale Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, transcribed for orchestra - Violin Concerto (1952/55)
- Cello Concerto (1953)
- Clarinet Concerto (1953–54)
- Intrada (1985) for orchestra or wind band (later incorporated into Chronica)
- Rondeau 'Rue du Rocher for violin and orchestra (1994–95)
Chamber works
- String Quartet No. 1, Op. 8 (1925–26)
- String Quartet No. 2 (1936)
- Carols for string trio (1948)
- Clarinet Quartet (1982–83)
- Piano Trio (1985)
- String Quartet No. 3 (1988–89)
- Berceuse for violin and viola (1990)
- Retrospectrum for string trio (1991)
- Fantasy for oboe, cello and harp (1991)
- Capriccio for solo violin (1991–92)
- String Quartet No. 4 (1992)
- Dialogue with Cordelia for clarinet and cello (1993)
- Encore, une meditation agitée for violin and piano (1993)
- Rondeau 'Rue du Rocher for violin and piano (1994–95)
Vocal works
- Two Morgenstern Songs, Op. 27 for voice and piano or string trio (1933 arr.1992)
- Three Songs, Op. 24 for coloratura soprano and piano (1933–34)
- Two Psalms, Op. 34 for high voice and string orchestra (1935)
- Der Verflossene. Cabaret Song for voice and piano (1942)
- Beatrice's Song for soprano and piano (1949)
- Time for voice and piano (1943)
- Nicodemus, he was black for unaccompanied voice (1948)
- The Noble Little Soldier's Wife for baritone and xylophone (1948)
- Clouds for voice and piano or orchestra (1950)
- The Old Ships for voice and piano (1952)
- Mediterranean Songs for tenor and orchestra (1957–58)
- Les petits adieux for baritone and orchestra (1994)
- Deux nocturnes for soprano and orchestra (1995–96)
Choral works
- Letzte Kapitel, Op. 15 (1930–31) for speaker, chorus, percussion and piano
- Belsatzar (1985) for unaccompanied chorus
Piano works
- Piano Sonata, Op. 10 (1926)
- Capriccio, Op. 11 (1927) (written for Zdenka TicharichZdenka TicharichZdenka Ticharich was a Hungarian pianist, music educator and composer.-Biography:Zdenka Ticharich was born in Budapest, Hungary...
) - Marche Militaire, Op. 20 (1932)
- Variations on a Palestine Shepherd's Song, Op. 32 (1934)
- Little Legend (1923/57)
- From the Ballet (1938/57)
- Scherzo (1922/58)
Principal publisher: Boosey & Hawkes
External links
Biographies from:- Boosey and Hawkes, publisher of many of Goldschmidt's works
- Classical Composers Database
- Sony Classical
- "Stirrings of a Lost Composer" by Norman Lebrecht