Friedrich Kiel
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Kiel was a German
composer
and music teacher.
Writing of the chamber music of Friedrich Kiel, the famous scholar and critic Wilhelm Altmann
notes that it was Kiel’s extreme modesty which kept him and his exceptional works from receiving the consideration they deserved. After mentioning Brahms and others, Altmann writes, “He produced a number of chamber works, which . . . need fear no comparison.”
, Puderbach
. He was taught the rudiments of music and received his first piano lessons from his father, but was in large part self-taught. Something of a prodigy, he played the piano almost without instruction at the age of six, and by his thirteenth year he had composed much music. Kiel eventually came to the attention of Prince Albrecht Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, a great music lover. Through the Prince's efforts, Kiel was allowed to study violin with the concertmaster of the Prince’s fine orchestra with which he later performed as a soloist. Kiel was also given theory lessons from the renowned flautist Kaspar Kummer. By 1840, the eighteen-year-old Kiel was court conductor and the music teacher to the prince’s children. Two years later, Louis Spohr
heard him and arranged for a scholarship which allowed Kiel to study in Berlin with the renowned theorist and teacher Siegfried Dehn
. In Berlin, Kiel eventually became sought after as an instructor. In 1866, he received a teaching position at the prestigious Stern conservatory
, where he taught composition and was elevated to a professorship three years later. In 1870 he joined the faculty of the newly founded Hochschule für Musik which was shortly thereafter considered one of the finest music schools in Germany. Among his many students were Zygmunt Noskowski
, Arthur Somervell
, Ernst Eduard Taubert
, Charles Villiers Stanford
, Frederic Hymen Cowen
, Emil Sjögren
, Waldemar von Baußnern
, Julius Buths
and Ignacy Jan Paderewski
.
Kiel's hobby was mountaineering and at age 60, he climbed Europe's second highest peak, the Monte Rosa
, on the Swiss-Italian border. He died in Berlin two years later as the result of a traffic accident.
, motet
s, oratorio
s (including the Star of Bethlehem), as well as a Missa Solemnis and two Requiems.
Chamber music
comprises a considerable part of Kiel's output and must be regarded among his most important and best compositions. (See list below) Altmann noted that, "throughout my long life, I have found Kiel’s chamber music a never-failing source of delight.” He praised Kiel highly as a melodist and lamented that it was “scandalously unjust” that Kiel’s two string quartets were as good as forgotten. Writing about Kiel's two Piano Quintets Opp. 75 & 76 in The Chamber Music Journal
, R. H. R. Silvertrust remarks, "Both of these quintets are as fine as any in the entire literature." Several of his chamber works, along with the piano concerto and some choral works, have been recorded.
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...
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...
and music teacher.
Writing of the chamber music of Friedrich Kiel, the famous scholar and critic Wilhelm Altmann
Wilhelm Altmann
Wilhelm Altmann was a German historian and musicologist.Altmann was born in Adelnau , Province of Posen, and died in Hildesheim.-Literary works:* Tonkünstlerlexikon, 121926* Kammermusikliteratur, 51931...
notes that it was Kiel’s extreme modesty which kept him and his exceptional works from receiving the consideration they deserved. After mentioning Brahms and others, Altmann writes, “He produced a number of chamber works, which . . . need fear no comparison.”
Biography
Kiel was born in Bad LaaspheBad Laasphe
Bad Laasphe is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, in the Siegen-Wittgenstein district.-Location:The town of Bad Laasphe lies in the upper Lahn Valley, near the stately home of Wittgenstein Castle in the former Wittgenstein district...
, Puderbach
Puderbach
Puderbach is a municipality in the district of Neuwied, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Westerwald, approx. 25 km north of Koblenz.Puderbach is the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Puderbach....
. He was taught the rudiments of music and received his first piano lessons from his father, but was in large part self-taught. Something of a prodigy, he played the piano almost without instruction at the age of six, and by his thirteenth year he had composed much music. Kiel eventually came to the attention of Prince Albrecht Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, a great music lover. Through the Prince's efforts, Kiel was allowed to study violin with the concertmaster of the Prince’s fine orchestra with which he later performed as a soloist. Kiel was also given theory lessons from the renowned flautist Kaspar Kummer. By 1840, the eighteen-year-old Kiel was court conductor and the music teacher to the prince’s children. Two years later, Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr
Louis Spohr was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Born Ludewig Spohr, he is usually known by the French form of his name. Described by Dorothy Mayer as "The Forgotten Master", Spohr was once as famous as Beethoven. As a violinist, his virtuoso playing was admired by Queen Victoria...
heard him and arranged for a scholarship which allowed Kiel to study in Berlin with the renowned theorist and teacher Siegfried Dehn
Siegfried Dehn
Siegfried Dehn was a German music theorist, editor, teacher and librarian.Born in Altona, Hamburg, Dehn was the son of a banker and learned to play the cello as a boy. Intent on becoming a diplomat, he studied law in Leipzig but also took music lessons from J.A. Dröbs...
. In Berlin, Kiel eventually became sought after as an instructor. In 1866, he received a teaching position at the prestigious Stern conservatory
Stern conservatory
The Stern Conservatory was a private music school in Berlin with many notable tutors and alumni.-History:It was originally founded in 1850 as the Berliner Musikschule by Julius Stern, Theodor Kullak and Adolf Bernhard Marx. Kullak withdrew from the conservatory in 1855 in order to create a new...
, where he taught composition and was elevated to a professorship three years later. In 1870 he joined the faculty of the newly founded Hochschule für Musik which was shortly thereafter considered one of the finest music schools in Germany. Among his many students were Zygmunt Noskowski
Zygmunt Noskowski
Zygmunt Noskowski , Polish composer, conductor and teacher.-Biography:Zygmunt Noskowski was born in Warsaw and was originally trained at the Warsaw Conservatory studying violin and composition. A scholarship enabled him to travel to Berlin where between 1864 and 1867, he studied with Friedrich...
, Arthur Somervell
Arthur Somervell
Sir Arthur Somervell was an English composer, and after Hubert Parry one of the most successful and influential writers of art song in the English music renaissance of the 1890s-1900s....
, Ernst Eduard Taubert
Ernst Eduard Taubert
Ernst Eduard Taubert was a Pomeranian composer, music critic, and music educator. He began his education in Bonn where he was first a student of theology and later a music pupil of Albert Dietrich. He then studied under Friedrich Kiel in Berlin...
, Charles Villiers Stanford
Charles Villiers Stanford
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford was an Irish composer who was particularly notable for his choral music. He was professor at the Royal College of Music and University of Cambridge.- Life :...
, Frederic Hymen Cowen
Frederic Hymen Cowen
Sir Frederic Hymen Cowen , was a British pianist, conductor and composer.-Early years:Cowen was born Hymen Frederick Cohen at 90 Duke Street, Kingston, Jamaica, the fifth and last child of Frederick Augustus Cohen and Emily Cohen née Davis. His siblings were Elizabeth Rose Cohen ; actress,...
, Emil Sjögren
Emil Sjögren
Johan Gustav Emil Sjögren was a Swedish composer.Born in Stockholm, Sjögren entered the Stockholm Conservatory at the age of seventeen and later continued his studies at the Berlin Conservatory....
, Waldemar von Baußnern
Waldemar von Baußnern
Waldemar Edler von Baußnern was a German composer and music teacher.-Life:...
, Julius Buths
Julius Buths
Julius Buths was a German pianist, conductor and minor composer. He was particularly notable in his early championing of the works of Edward Elgar in Germany. He conducted the continental European premieres of both the Enigma Variations and The Dream of Gerontius...
and Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Ignacy Jan Paderewski GBE was a Polish pianist, composer, diplomat, politician, and the second Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland.-Biography:...
.
Kiel's hobby was mountaineering and at age 60, he climbed Europe's second highest peak, the Monte Rosa
Monte Rosa
The Monte Rosa Massif is a mountain massif located in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps. It is located between Switzerland and Italy...
, on the Swiss-Italian border. He died in Berlin two years later as the result of a traffic accident.
Compositions
Kiel's compositions number over seventy, including a piano concertoPiano concerto
A piano concerto is a concerto written for piano and orchestra.See also harpsichord concerto; some of these works are occasionally played on piano...
, motet
Motet
In classical music, motet is a word that is applied to a number of highly varied choral musical compositions.-Etymology:The name comes either from the Latin movere, or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian...
s, oratorio
Oratorio
An oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
s (including the Star of Bethlehem), as well as a Missa Solemnis and two Requiems.
Chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
comprises a considerable part of Kiel's output and must be regarded among his most important and best compositions. (See list below) Altmann noted that, "throughout my long life, I have found Kiel’s chamber music a never-failing source of delight.” He praised Kiel highly as a melodist and lamented that it was “scandalously unjust” that Kiel’s two string quartets were as good as forgotten. Writing about Kiel's two Piano Quintets Opp. 75 & 76 in The Chamber Music Journal
Chamber Music Journal
The Chamber Music Journal is published by The Cobbett Association for Chamber Music Research.It is a quarterly periodical devoted exclusively to non-standard, rare or unknown chamber music of merit. . ISSN 1535 1726. It is considered one of the leading chamber music reference sources in English...
, R. H. R. Silvertrust remarks, "Both of these quintets are as fine as any in the entire literature." Several of his chamber works, along with the piano concerto and some choral works, have been recorded.