Clemens Erwein Heinrich Karl Bonaventura Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein (14 July 1875 – 19 August 1942) was a German
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
composer, studying in
Vienna, Austria
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, and later in
Munich, Germany
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
, with
Ludwig Thuille
Ludwig Wilhelm Andreas Maria Thuille (Bozen, 30 November 1861 – 5 February 1907) was an Austrian composer and teacher, numbered for a while among the leading operatic composers of the so-called Munich School of composers, whose most famous repre ...
and at the
Hoch Conservatory
Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium – Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on 22 September 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for ...
in Frankfurt with
Iwan Knorr
Iwan Otto Armand Knorr (3 January 1853 – 22 January 1916) was a German composer and music teacher.
Life
A native of Gniew, he attended the Leipzig Conservatory where he studied with Ignaz Moscheles, Ernst Friedrich Richter and Carl Reinecke. I ...
. After a visit to the USA he conducted the
Moody-Manners Opera Company
Charles Manners (27 December 18573 May 1935) was a British bass singer and opera company manager. His earliest performances were with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, first as a chorus member and then as a principal, creating the role of Private ...
, acted from 1902–1907 as opera conductor in London, then worked at the court theatres of
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
and
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, until the court theaters were abolished after the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. He was the last royal general director of the
Bayerische Staatsoper
The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester.
History
The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...
in Munich (1912–1918 and 1924–1934) and the only one who exercised this office twice. He produced the
Munich Opera Festival
The Munich Opera Festival (german: Münchner Opernfestspiele) takes place yearly in the Bavarian capital from late June to late July. Preceding on the calendar the two nearby festivals of Bayreuth and Salzburg, which both start in late July, the ...
through 1934 when he was forced out by
Nazi
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 ...
prohibitions.
Franckenstein was born in
Wiesentheid
Wiesentheid is a municipality in the district of Kitzingen in Bavaria in Germany.
History
It was first mentioned in 918 as "Wisenheida". Mediatization in 1806 brought the former county of Schönborn into the Grand Duchy of Würzburg, along with ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to Karl
Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein (1831–1898) and Elma Gräfin von Schönborn-Wiesentheid (1841–1884). His brother was Austrian
Ambassador
An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...
to England,
Georg von und zu Franckenstein (1878–1953). Georg's son, actor
Clement von Franckenstein
Clement George Freiherr von und zu Franckenstein (28 May 1944 – 9 May 2019) was an English actor. He was best known for portraying President D'Astier in ''The American President'' (1995), the English Investor in '' Lionheart'' (1990), the Open ...
(1944–2019), was his nephew.
Franckenstein died in
Hechendorf am Pilsensee,
Oberbayern
Upper Bavaria (german: Oberbayern, ; ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany.
Geography
Upper Bavaria is located in the southern portion of Bavaria, and is centered on the city of Munich, both state capital and seat o ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
at age 67.
Stage works
*''Griseldis. Oper in 3 Akten'' (
Libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...
:
Oskar Mayer)
*''Fortunatus. Oper in 3 Akten'' (Libretto :
Jakob Wassermann
__NOTOC__
Jakob Wassermann (10 March 1873 – 1 January 1934) was a German writer and novelist.
Life
Born in Fürth, Wassermann was the son of a shopkeeper and lost his mother at an early age. He showed literary interest early and published v ...
)
*''Rahab. Oper in 1 Akt'' (Libretto: Oskar Mayer)
*''Die Biene. Pantomime'' (Libretto:
Hugo von Hofmannsthal
Hugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal (; 1 February 1874 – 15 July 1929) was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist.
Early life
Hofmannsthal was born in Landstraße, Vienna, the son of an upper-cl ...
)
*''Li-Tai-Pe, der Kaisers Dichter.'' Oper in 3 Akten, Op. 43 (1920) (Libretto:
Rudolf Lothar
Rudolf Lothar ú:dolf ló:tar(born Rudolf Lothar Spitzer; 25 February 1865 – 2 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born Austrian writer, playwright, critic and essayist. He was born and died in Budapest.
Literary works
* 1891 ''Der verschleier ...
)
Orchestral works
*''Rhapsodie für Orchester op. 47.
*''Variations on a theme by Meyerbeer''
*''Dance suite''
*''Serenade''
*''Praeludium''
*''Symphonic suite''
*''Das alte Lied''
*''Four dances''
*''Festival Prelude''
References
Further reading
*McCredie, Andrew D., ''Clemens von Franckenstein (1875–1942). A German Associate of the English Frankfort Group. The Orchesterlied and his settings from Hans Bethge's "Die chinesische Flöte",'' in Miscellanea Musicologica
delaide Studies in Musicology, Vol. 13 1988.
*McCredie, Andrew D., ''Clemens von Franckenstein'', Tutzing: Schneider, 1992 (in German)
eries: Komponisten in Bayern, Vol. 26 .
*McCredie, Andrew D., ''The comparative case histories of Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Clemens von Frankenstein and Paul von Klenau as variant examples of Innere Emigration: Problems and issues for German music historiography of the period 1918-1945.'' in: Glazba, ideje i drustvo: Svecani zbornik za Ivana Supicica/Music, ideas, and society: Essays in honour of Ivan Supicic, Zagreb, Croatia: Hrvatsko Muzikolosko Drustvo 1993, pp. 215-235 (in English).
*Landfester, Ulrike, ''Briefwechsel mit Clemens von Franckenstein''
he correspondence with Clemens von Franckenstein: 1894-1928. Freiburg im Breisgau: Rombach 1998, .
1875 births
1942 deaths
20th-century classical composers
Barons of Germany
German opera composers
Male opera composers
German opera directors
Hoch Conservatory alumni
Pupils of Iwan Knorr
German male classical composers
20th-century German composers
20th-century German male musicians
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