Heinrich XXIV, Prince of Reuss-Köstritz
Encyclopedia
Prince Heinrich XXIV Reuss of Köstritz, also Prince Heinrich XXIV Reuss, Younger Line (German
: Heinrich XXIV. Prinz Reuß zu Köstritz, also Heinrich XXIV. Prinz Reuß jüngere Linie, December 8, 1855 in Trebschen
– October 2, 1910 in Ernstbrunn
, Austria
) was a German
composer
.
in the March of Brandenburg
, descendant of the Reuss-Köstritz
line, the Younger Line, of the extended German noble family of Reuss. He was the son of Prince Heinrich IV Reuss of Köstritz (26 April 1821 - 25 July 1894) and Princess Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz (3 December 1822 - 28 February 1875). Heinrich XXIV spent his youth in Vienna
, where he was influenced greatly by the artistic atmosphere of his parents' home. He received his first music lessons in piano
, organ
and counterpoint
from his father Heinrich IV, himself a dilettante and composition student of Carl Gottlieb Reissiger
.
Heinrich XXIV received formal music instruction in Dresden
, and continued his studies at the Universities, first in Bonn
, then in Leipzig
where he was a pupil of Wilhelm Rust
. Despite his obvious musical talent, he decided to pursue a degree in law. After graduating in 1883, however, he devoted himself almost exclusively to his musical interests. Starting in 1881 he studied composition with Heinrich von Herzogenberg
, to whom he developed a friendly attachment. Through Herzogenberg he came to know Johannes Brahms
, whom he much admired. Although he never received formal instruction from Brahms, he did receive many helpful hints from Brahms, "teaching him more in ten minutes than Herzogenberg managed to do in months."
On May 27, 1884, Heinrich XXIV was married to his cousin Princess Elisabeth Reuss of Köstritz (1860–1931). The union produced five children. Heinrich XXIV Reuss of Köstritz died two months before his 55th birthday in Ernstbrunn
in Lower Austria
, the ancestral seat from 1828.
is evident. Heinrich XXIV's compositions display a masterful command of musical form
and technique, especially in contrapuntal
voice leading
. As with Brahms, Dvořák and Herzogenberg, chamber music
was his main field of creativity; he contributed numerous works in various genres. Notable among his other creations are his six symphonies.
During his lifetime, the compositions of Heinrich XXIV enjoyed a good reputation even in academic circles. Max Reger
was also one of his admirers. Even in the years after his death, his compositions were warmly recommended by various musical authorities, as expressed, for example, by the musicologist Wilhelm Altmann
in the third volume of his Handbook for String Quartet Players published in 1929. He wrote concerning the String Sextet No. 2 in B minor: "[It] is a work with artistic value close to that of the two Brahms Sextets. Every friend of chamber music should know it." Since 1930, word of the composer and his works has become increasingly silent.
Chamber music
Piano
Vocal
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Heinrich XXIV. Prinz Reuß zu Köstritz, also Heinrich XXIV. Prinz Reuß jüngere Linie, December 8, 1855 in Trebschen
Trzebiechów, Zielona Góra County
Trzebiechów is a village in Zielona Góra County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Trzebiechów. It lies approximately north-east of Zielona Góra...
– October 2, 1910 in Ernstbrunn
Ernstbrunn
Ernstbrunn is a town in the district of Korneuburg in Lower Austria in Austria. Ernstbrunn takes up about 80.69 square kilometers, 26.99 percent of which is forest.-External links:*...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
) was a German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
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...
.
Life
Heinrich XXIV was born in TrebschenTrzebiechów, Zielona Góra County
Trzebiechów is a village in Zielona Góra County, Lubusz Voivodeship, in western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Trzebiechów. It lies approximately north-east of Zielona Góra...
in the March of Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
, descendant of the Reuss-Köstritz
Reuss Junior Line
The Principality of Reuss Younger Line formed a state in Germany, ruled by members of the House of Reuss. The Counts Reuss of Gera, of Schleiz, of Lobenstein, of Köstritz and of Ebersdorf, each became princes in 1806, and they and their reigning successors bore the title Prince Reuss, Younger Line...
line, the Younger Line, of the extended German noble family of Reuss. He was the son of Prince Heinrich IV Reuss of Köstritz (26 April 1821 - 25 July 1894) and Princess Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz (3 December 1822 - 28 February 1875). Heinrich XXIV spent his youth 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...
, where he was influenced greatly by the artistic atmosphere of his parents' home. He received his first music lessons in 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...
, organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
and counterpoint
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
from his father Heinrich IV, himself a dilettante and composition student of Carl Gottlieb Reissiger
Carl Gottlieb Reissiger
Carl Gottlieb Reißiger was a German Kapellmeister and composer.-Biography:...
.
Heinrich XXIV received formal music instruction 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....
, and continued his studies at the Universities, first in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, then in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
where he was a pupil of Wilhelm Rust
Wilhelm Rust
Wilhelm Rust was a German musicologist and composer. He is most noted today for his substantial contributions to the Bach Gesellschaft edition of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach....
. Despite his obvious musical talent, he decided to pursue a degree in law. After graduating in 1883, however, he devoted himself almost exclusively to his musical interests. Starting in 1881 he studied composition with Heinrich von Herzogenberg
Heinrich von Herzogenberg
Heinrich Picot de Peccaduc, Freiherr von Herzogenberg was an Austrian composer and conductor descended from a French aristocratic family....
, to whom he developed a friendly attachment. Through Herzogenberg he came to know Johannes 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...
, whom he much admired. Although he never received formal instruction from Brahms, he did receive many helpful hints from Brahms, "teaching him more in ten minutes than Herzogenberg managed to do in months."
On May 27, 1884, Heinrich XXIV was married to his cousin Princess Elisabeth Reuss of Köstritz (1860–1931). The union produced five children. Heinrich XXIV Reuss of Köstritz died two months before his 55th birthday in Ernstbrunn
Ernstbrunn
Ernstbrunn is a town in the district of Korneuburg in Lower Austria in Austria. Ernstbrunn takes up about 80.69 square kilometers, 26.99 percent of which is forest.-External links:*...
in Lower Austria
Lower Austria
Lower Austria is the northeasternmost state of the nine states in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria since 1986 is Sankt Pölten, the most recently designated capital town in Austria. The capital of Lower Austria had formerly been Vienna, even though Vienna is not officially part of Lower Austria...
, the ancestral seat from 1828.
Musical style
The musical style of Heinrich XXIV was strongly influenced by Brahms, however, on the whole it differs from that being lighter in tone, and thus resembles more the style of his teacher, Heinrich von Herzogenberg. A stylistic proximity to the works of Antonín DvořákAntonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
is evident. Heinrich XXIV's compositions display a masterful command of musical form
Musical form
The term musical form refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections...
and technique, especially in contrapuntal
Counterpoint
In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
voice leading
Voice leading
In musical composition, voice leading is the term used to refer to a decision-making consideration when arranging voices , namely, how each voice should move in advancing from each chord to the next.- Details :...
. As with Brahms, Dvořák and Herzogenberg, 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...
was his main field of creativity; he contributed numerous works in various genres. Notable among his other creations are his six symphonies.
During his lifetime, the compositions of Heinrich XXIV enjoyed a good reputation even in academic circles. Max Reger
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
was also one of his admirers. Even in the years after his death, his compositions were warmly recommended by various musical authorities, as expressed, for example, by the musicologist 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...
in the third volume of his Handbook for String Quartet Players published in 1929. He wrote concerning the String Sextet No. 2 in B minor: "[It] is a work with artistic value close to that of the two Brahms Sextets. Every friend of chamber music should know it." Since 1930, word of the composer and his works has become increasingly silent.
Selected works
Orchestra- Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 10 (1892)
- Symphony No. 2 in A major
- Symphony No. 3 in E minor, Op. 28 (1907)
- Symphony No. 4 in A major, Op. 30
- Symphony No. 5 in F minor, Op. 34 (published 1907)
- Symphony No. 6 in E major, Op. 36 (published 1909)
Chamber music
- String Quartet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 1 (1881?)
- String Quintet in F major for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello, Op. 4 (1887)
- Sonata No. 1 in G minor for violin and piano, Op. 5 (published by Peters, 1888)
- Piano Quartet in F minor, Op. 6 (1895)
- Sonata in C major for cello and piano, Op. 7 (1895)
- String Quartet No. 2 in F major, Op. 11
- String Sextet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 12 (1899)
- Piano Quintet in C major, Op. 15 (1902)
- String Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 16 (1903)
- String Sextet No. 2 in B minor, Op. 17 (1902)
- Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano, Op. 21 (published c.1880?)
- Sonata in G major for viola and piano, Op. 22 (by 1904)
- String Quartet No. 4 in G minor, Op. 23, No. 1 (1904)
- String Quartet No. 5 in E major, Op. 23, No. 2 (1904)
- Piano Trio in A major for violin, viola and piano, Op. 25
Piano
- Drei Präludien (3 Preludes), Op. 2
- Suite, Op. 8 (1895)
-
- Praeludium
- Allemande
- Gavotte
- Siciliano
- Bourrée
- Sarabande
- Gigue
- Variationen und Fuge über ein eigenes Thema (Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme), Op. 19 (published c. 1904)
Vocal
- Fünf Lieder (5 Songs) for voice and piano, Op. 3 (1883); texts by Ludwig UhlandLudwig UhlandJohann Ludwig Uhland , was a German poet, philologist and literary historian.-Biography:He was born in Tübingen, then Duchy of Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest in medieval literature, especially old German and French poetry...
and Nikolaus LenauNikolaus LenauNikolaus Lenau was the nom de plume of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau , was a German language Austrian poet.-Biography:... - Tu nos fecisti ad te, Motet for mixed chorus a capella, Op. 24 (published c. 1890); text by Aurelius AugustinusAugustine of HippoAugustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
- 3 Geistliche Lieder (3 Sacred Songs) for 3-part women's chorus and organ or piano, Op. 27 (published 1907)