Carl Adolf Martienssen (6 December 1881 – 1 March 1955) was a German pianist and music educator.

Life

Born in

Güstrow Güstrow (; la, Gustrovium) is a town in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is capital of the Rostock district; Rostock itself is a district-free city and regiopolis. It has a population of 28,999 (2020) and is the seventh largest town in Me ...

, Martiensen came from a large farming family, which apparently only immigrated to

Mecklenburg Mecklenburg (; nds, label=Low German, Mękel(n)borg ) is a historical region in northern Germany comprising the western and larger part of the federal-state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The largest cities of the region are Rostock, Schwerin ...

in the generation of his father, the merchant ''Gottlieb Martienssen''. Martienssen was a younger son of his parents, attended the and received his first music education in theory, organ and piano from Johannes Schondorf in his home town. After the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

Martienssen studied

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

with

Wilhelm Berger Wilhelm Reinhard Berger (9 August 1861 – 16 January 1911) was a German composer, pianist and conductor. Life Berger's father, originally a merchant from Bremen, worked in Boston (where Berger was born) as a music shopkeeper and made a name for ...

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

with Hermann Kretzschmar and piano playing with the Liszt student

Karl Klindworth Karl Klindworth (25 September 183027 July 1916) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, violinist and music publisher. He was one of Franz Liszt's pupils and later one of his closest disciples and friends, being also on friendly terms ...

in Berlin, and at the Leipzig Conservatory (today

Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German language, German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions ...

).Georg Stieglitz, in

Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...

8, 1960, pp. 1.701–1.702 (Digitale Bibliothek 060, pp. 49.447–49.449) Klindworth and Reisenauer received their training directly from Franz Liszt, which is why Martienssen was and is often referred to as a Liszt grandson among these Liszt students. He was also a student of

Hans Sitt Hans Sitt (born Jan Hanuš Sitt on 21 September 1850, Prague – 10 March 1922, Leipzig), was a Bohemian violinist, violist, teacher, and composer. During his lifetime, he was regarded as one of the foremost teachers of violin. Most of the orchest ...

and

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of Br ...

. In 1912 Martienssen married the singing teacher

Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann, née Meyer-Estorf (6 October 1887 – 2 February 1971) was a German soprano who focused on Lieder singing, and a voice teacher who gave master classes internationally, in collaboration with her husband. She wrote boo ...

. The marriage, which was divorced in 1927, produced two children. (In 1929 Franziska married the concert singer and voice pedagogue Paul Lohmann). From 1914 Martienssen was piano teacher at the Leipzig Conservatory, where he was appointed professor in 1932. Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945'', CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, pp. 4.462–4.463. After the ''

Machtergreifung Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...

'' by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

, he belonged to the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

from 1 May 1933 (party number 2.382.346). In 1934 the

Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur The ''Kampfbund'' ("Battle-league") was a league of nationalist fighting societies and the German National Socialist party in Bavaria, Germany, in the 1920s. It included Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party (NSDAP) and its '' Sturmabteilung'' (SA), the Oberl ...

, led by

Alfred Rosenberg Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head of ...

, proposed his appointment as professor at the

Universität der Künste Berlin The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

, but he received his appointment only in 1935 and then as successor to

Edwin Fischer Edwin Fischer (6 October 1886 – 24 January 1960) was a Swiss classical pianist and conductor. He is regarded as one of the great interpreters of J.S. Bach and Mozart in the twentieth century. Biography Fischer was born in Basel and studied ...

, who had asked to be released from university service in order to concentrate on his concert activities. After the Second World War, Martienssen was professor at the Musikhochschule in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, c ...

from 1946 to 1950, before he was appointed to the State Conservatory in East Berlin in 1950 (today

). He became known, among other things, as the author of methodical writings. (1930 ''Die individuelle Klaviertechnik auf der Grundlage des schöpferischen Klangwillens'', 1937 ''Methodik des individuellen Klavierverrichts'', 1954 ''Schöpferischer Klavierunterricht''), which have been published in several editions, and as a responsible editor of the precisely edited Urtext editions of all piano sonatas by

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

, the sonatines by

Anton Diabelli Anton (or Antonio) Diabelli (5 September 17818 April 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote ...

, smaller works for piano by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

and piano exercises by

Carl Czerny Carl Czerny (; 21 February 1791 – 15 July 1857) was an Austrian composer, teacher, and pianist of Czech origin whose music spanned the late Classical and early Romantic eras. His vast musical production amounted to over a thousand works and ...

, all of which are published in the

Edition Peters Edition Peters is a classical music publisher founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1800. History The company came into being on 1 December 1800 when the Viennese composer Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) and the local organist Ambrosius Kühnel ( ...

of the Leipzig publisher

C. F. Peters Edition Peters is a classical music publisher founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1800. History The company came into being on 1 December 1800 when the Viennese composer Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) and the local organist Ambrosius Kühne ...

. In 1912 - this is emphasized in renowned music encyclopedias - he was able to rediscover in Copenhagen the until then lost cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach '' Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut'' (BWV 199). Among his students were the composers

Hugo Distler August Hugo Distler (24 June 1908 – 1 November 1942)Slonimsky & Kuhn, ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', v. 2, p. 889 was a German organist, choral conductor, teacher and composer. Life and career Born in Nuremberg, Distler at ...

, Georg Trexler,

Artur Immisch Artur Immisch (born 24 November 1902 – 9 January 1949) was a German pianist, and composer. His musical legacy has only been gradually reconstructed since 1990. Life Immisch was born in 1902 in Hermsdorf, then Saxe-Altenburg, as the son of a w ...

and Hans Schaeuble, the conductors

Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; 14 August 1996) was a Romanian conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over five decades, including tenures ...

and Adolf Fritz Guhl, the pianists Karl-Heinz Schlüter, Carl Seemann, Max Martin Stein,

Sebastian Peschko Sebastian Peschko (30 October 1909 – 29 September 1987) was a German classical pianist, specialised in the art form of lieder. He was accompanist to some of the foremost lyrical singers of the 20th century. Life and career Peschko was born in B ...

, Erik Then-Bergh and Viktorie Svihlikova, as well as the organists and church choirmaster Thomas-Kantor Kurt Thomas (St. Thomas Church Leipzig), Kreuz-Kantor Herbert Collum (Dresden Church of the Holy Cross) and

Robert Köbler Robert Hans Friedrich Köbler (21 February 1912 – 7 September 1970) was a German organist, pianist, composer and professor at the University of Leipzig. Köbler was born in Waldsassen. He studied church music in Leipzig from 1931 to 1934, organ ...

(University Church Leipzig), the long-time choral director of the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin Ernst Stoy and numerous renowned music teachers such as August Leopolder, Ottilie Fröschle and

Kurt Hessenberg Kurt Hessenberg (17 August 1908 – 17 June 1994) was a German composer and professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt. Life Kurt Hessenberg was born on 17 August 1908 in Frankfurt, as the fourth and last child of ...

. Martienssen died in berlin at the age of 73.

Publications

* ''Zur Methodik des Klavierunterrichts.'' Verlag Peters, Leipzig 1937. * ''Die individuelle Klaviertechnik auf der Grundlage des schöpferischen Klangwillens.'' Verlag

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf. The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on ...

, Leipzig 1930. * ''Schöpferischer Klavierunterricht.'' Verlag

, Leipzig 1954. (translated into several languages) * ''Beethoven Sonaten für Klavier zu zwei Händen''.

Literature

* Thomas Menrath: ''Das Unlehrbare als methodischer Gegenstand – Studien zu Grundbegriffen der Klaviermethodik von Carl Adolf Martienssen.''''Das Unlehrbare als methodischer Gegenstand – Studien zu Grundbegriffen der Klaviermethodik von Carl Adolf Martienssen.''
on WorldCat Wißner Verlag, 2003, .

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martienssen, Carl Adolf 1881 births 1955 deaths People from Güstrow German classical pianists Male classical pianists German music educators Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig Academic staff of the Berlin University of the Arts Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin Nazi Party members 20th-century German male musicians