Heinrich Schülz-Beuthen
Encyclopedia
Heinrich Donatien Wilhelm Schulz-Beuthen (19 June 1838 in Beuthen, Upper Silesia
(now Bytom, in Poland
) - 12 March 1915 in Dresden
) was a composer of the high Romantic
era.
and Carl Reinecke
at the Leipzig Conservatory, where Edvard Grieg
and Johan Svendsen
were among his fellow students; he also studied privately with Karl Riedel. Finding Leipzig's classicism uncongenial to his more romantic temperament, after his graduation Schulz-Beuthen left Germany for Switzerland, where he taught composition in Zurich from 1866 to 1880. In Switzerland he met Richard Wagner
, the novelist Gottfried Keller
, and was befriended by Mathilde Wesendonck
. He also became friends with the composer Theodor Kirchner
, an important member of the Schumann
-Brahms
circle, and created an orchestral cycle out of arrangements of some of Kirchner’s piano pieces. Following a nervous breakdown (the details of which are not precisely known) Schulz-Beuthen returned to Germany; he was unable to compose for several years, but resumed his teaching activities in Dresden, where he lived – except for a short period spent in Vienna
, 1893-95 – from 1881 until his death on 12 March 1915. His last years were spent in an asylum.
, combined the stories of Sleeping Beauty
and Cinderella
and may well be the first example of the ‘fairy tale opera’ which became a popular genre in the late 19th century at the hands, most notably, of Humperdinck
. Unfortunately the music is lost, as are many other of Schulz-Beuthen’s works. He wrote no less than ten symphonies (of which the first and last remained incomplete). Symphony No. 6 was inspired by Shakespeare
's King Lear
; he initially wrote incidental music
to the play, later using the material for a symphony with men's chorus. He also wrote symphonic poems founded on such subjects as Schiller
's Wilhelm Tell, Grillparzer
's Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen, and Böcklin
's painting Isle of the Dead
. (Schulz-Beuthen’s treatment, one of his last works, is almost exactly contemporary with Sergei Rachmaninoff
's well-known tone-poem
on the same subject.) Other compositions included a Requiem, scenes from Goethe
's Faust
, a piano concerto, a wind octet, string quintet and trio, choral works, numerous songs, piano pieces and so on.
He had some distinguished admirers, including Franz Liszt
, and contemporary critics sometimes found his music daringly modern: however, these judgements were passed mainly on works that are no longer available for examination. The bulk of Schulz-Beuthen's music was never published, and it is believed that most of his manuscripts were destroyed in the fire-bombing of Dresden in 1945. Nevertheless, enough was printed during his lifetime, or has come to light in recent years, to indicate a composer of considerable gifts.
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
(now Bytom, in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) - 12 March 1915 in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
) was a composer of the high Romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
era.
Life
His original surname was Schulz: it was not unusual for people with such common surnames to add the name of their home town to distinguish themselves from others, as Schulz-Beuthen did at some point early in his career. He was intended for the profession of a chemist, and studied chemistry at the University of Breslau, but his drive to write music was greater. From 1862 to 1865 he studied with Ignaz MoschelesIgnaz Moscheles
Ignaz Moscheles was a Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso, whose career after his early years was based initially in London, and later at Leipzig, where he succeeded his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as head of the Conservatoire.-Sources:Much of what we know about Moscheles's life...
and Carl Reinecke
Carl Reinecke
Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke was a German composer, conductor, and pianist.-Biography:Reinecke was born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany; until 1864 the town was under Danish rule. He studied with his father, Johann Peter Rudolph Reinecke, a music teacher...
at the Leipzig Conservatory, where Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
and Johan Svendsen
Johan Svendsen
Johan Severin Svendsen was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania , Norway, he lived most his life in Copenhagen, Denmark....
were among his fellow students; he also studied privately with Karl Riedel. Finding Leipzig's classicism uncongenial to his more romantic temperament, after his graduation Schulz-Beuthen left Germany for Switzerland, where he taught composition in Zurich from 1866 to 1880. In Switzerland he met Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, the novelist Gottfried Keller
Gottfried Keller
Gottfried Keller , a Swiss writer of German-language literature, was best known for his novel Green Henry .- Life and work :...
, and was befriended by Mathilde Wesendonck
Mathilde Wesendonck
Mathilde Wesendonck was a German poet and author. She is best known as the friend and possibly mistress of Richard Wagner, who set five songs to her words, called the Wesendonck Lieder.-Biography:...
. He also became friends with the composer Theodor Kirchner
Theodor Kirchner
Fürchtegott Theodor Kirchner was a significant German composer and pianist of the Romantic era.-Musical career:...
, an important member of the Schumann
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....
-Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
circle, and created an orchestral cycle out of arrangements of some of Kirchner’s piano pieces. Following a nervous breakdown (the details of which are not precisely known) Schulz-Beuthen returned to Germany; he was unable to compose for several years, but resumed his teaching activities in Dresden, where he lived – except for a short period spent in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, 1893-95 – from 1881 until his death on 12 March 1915. His last years were spent in an asylum.
Works
Schulz-Beuthen was a copious composer: his works include five operas, of which the first, Der Zauberschlaf, after a play by Mathilde WesendonckMathilde Wesendonck
Mathilde Wesendonck was a German poet and author. She is best known as the friend and possibly mistress of Richard Wagner, who set five songs to her words, called the Wesendonck Lieder.-Biography:...
, combined the stories of Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
and Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
and may well be the first example of the ‘fairy tale opera’ which became a popular genre in the late 19th century at the hands, most notably, of Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
. Unfortunately the music is lost, as are many other of Schulz-Beuthen’s works. He wrote no less than ten symphonies (of which the first and last remained incomplete). Symphony No. 6 was inspired by Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's King Lear
King Lear
King Lear is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The title character descends into madness after foolishly disposing of his estate between two of his three daughters based on their flattery, bringing tragic consequences for all. The play is based on the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological...
; he initially wrote incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
to the play, later using the material for a symphony with men's chorus. He also wrote symphonic poems founded on such subjects as Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
's Wilhelm Tell, Grillparzer
Franz Grillparzer
Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer was an Austrian writer who is chiefly known for his dramas. He also wrote the oration for Ludwig van Beethoven's funeral.-Biography:...
's Des Meeres und der Liebe Wellen, and Böcklin
Arnold Böcklin
Arnold Böcklin was a Swiss symbolist painter.-Life and art:He was born at Basel. His father, Christian Frederick Böcklin , was descended from an old family of Schaffhausen, and engaged in the silk trade. His mother, Ursula Lippe, was a native of the same city...
's painting Isle of the Dead
Isle of the Dead (painting)
Isle of the Dead is the best known painting of Swiss Symbolist artist Arnold Böcklin . Prints of the work were very popular in central Europe in the early 20th century — Vladimir Nabokov observed that they were to be "found in every Berlin home." Freud, Lenin, and Clemenceau all had prints of it...
. (Schulz-Beuthen’s treatment, one of his last works, is almost exactly contemporary with Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
's well-known tone-poem
Isle of the Dead (Rachmaninoff)
Isle of the Dead, Op. 29, is a symphonic poem composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff was inspired by Arnold Böcklin's painting, Isle of the Dead, which he saw in Paris in 1907. He concluded the composition while staying in Dresden in 1908...
on the same subject.) Other compositions included a Requiem, scenes from Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
's Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
, a piano concerto, a wind octet, string quintet and trio, choral works, numerous songs, piano pieces and so on.
He had some distinguished admirers, including Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, and contemporary critics sometimes found his music daringly modern: however, these judgements were passed mainly on works that are no longer available for examination. The bulk of Schulz-Beuthen's music was never published, and it is believed that most of his manuscripts were destroyed in the fire-bombing of Dresden in 1945. Nevertheless, enough was printed during his lifetime, or has come to light in recent years, to indicate a composer of considerable gifts.
Discography
- Heinrich Schulz-Beuthen, Piano Music, Kirsten Johnson, piano, Guild GMCD 7277
- Hermann Goetz and Heinrich Schulz-Beuthen, Piano Music, Kirsten Johnson, piano, Guild GMCD 7282