Adolf Emil Büchner (December 7, 1826 in

Osterfeld Osterfeld is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated southeast of Naumburg. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Wethautal. On 1 January 2010 it absorbed the former municipal ...

– June 9, 1908 in

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits in ...

) was a German conductor and bandmaster. He wrote a number of compositions, including operas,

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, choral works, and

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

Life

Büchner's parents encouraged his musical interests from a young age. He attended the Leipzig Conservatory between April 1843 and Easter 1846, when he graduated. He was the ninth student to attend the newly formed conservatory, and was exempt from paying tuition. After his studies he worked as a piano teacher in Leipzig until 1856. After numerous engagements as a conductor, he was from 1865 the conductor of the Meiningen Court Orchestra in the city of

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

. Büchner and the court orchestra performed with

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

in 1867 in Meiningen, at the festival of the "General German Music Society". In 1876, at the request of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

, he introduced the main contingent of the festival orchestra at the first

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

, which many years later participated in the Festival. As ''

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

'', Büchner brought the orchestra a significant increase in quality. In 1880 he gave his successor, Hans von Bülow, the chapel next to a known top European orchestra. In 1881, Büchner retired and moved to

where, from 1882 to 1898, he led the "Sollerschen Musikverein". On his 80th birthday, he was granted the title of professor by

Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (2 April 1826 – 25 June 1914), was the penultimate Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, reigning from 1866 to 1914. For his support for his successful court theatre he was also known as the ''Theaterherzog'' (theatre duk ...

. Büchner was a member of the Leipzig Masonic Lodge, Minerva.

Works

Songs

*op. 6. **no. 1. "Der Gruss" *op. 18. ''Fünf Lieder für Mezzo-Sopran (oder Bariton) mit Pianoforte'' **no. 1. "Sehnsucht" (Text:

Emanuel von Geibel Emanuel von Geibel (17 October 18156 April 1884) was a German poet and playwright. Life Geibel was born at Lübeck, the son of a pastor. He was originally intended for his father's profession and studied at Bonn and Berlin, but his real interest ...

) **no. 2. "An einem lichten Morgen" (Text: Hermann Rollett) **no. 3. "Ich sah den Wald sich färben" (Text: Emanuel von Geibel) **no. 4. "Nachtgesang" (Text:

Robert Reinick Robert Reinick (22 February 1805 – 7 February 1852) was a German painter and poet, associated with the Düsseldorf school of painting. One of his poems, ''Dem Vaterland'', was set to music by Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 Ma ...

) **no. 5. "Die stille Wasserrose" (Text: Emanuel von Geibel) * op. 20. ''Vier Lieder für Mezzo-Sopran (oder Bariton) mit Pianoforte'' **no. 1. "Ave Maria" **no. 2. "Ich bin geliebt" **no. 3. "Osterlied" (Text:

Adolf Böttger Adolf Böttger (21 May 1815 in Leipzig – 16 November 1870 in Gohlis, now part of Leipzig) was a German translator and poet. As a translator, he created German versions of works in the English language, a major project being the translation ...

) **no. 4. "O wär' ich ein Stern" *op. 25. ''Drei Lieder für Sopr. (od. Ten.) mit Pianoforte'' **no. 1. "Frühling" (Text: Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt after Mirza Shafi Vazeh) *op. 28. ''Sechs Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte'' **no. 1. "Ich möchte mich in Rosenduft berauschen" **no. 2. "Der Mondstrahl fiel in der Lilie Thau" (Text: Adolf Böttger) **no. 3. "Mein Stern" (Text: August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben) **no. 4. "Die Erde liegt so wüst und leer" (Text: Adolf Böttger) **no. 5. "O Welt, du bist so wunderschön" (Text: Julius Rodenberg) **no. 6. "Huldigung" (Text: Hermann Rollett) *op. 29. ''Vier Lieder für 1 Singstimme mit Pianoforte'' **no. 1. "Willst du mein eigen sein" **no. 2. "O blick mich an!" **no. 3. "Die Haideblume von Tiefensee' **no. 4. "Mir träumte von einem Königskind" (Text:

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...

)

Notable students

Carl Friedemann Carl Bert Ulrich Friedemann (29 April 1862 – 9 April 1952) was a German-Swiss composer, conductor and musician. He wrote symphonic music, chamber music, choral works, songs and 140 marches, many of which are still played by marching bands around ...

(1862–1952)

Sources

* Encyclopedia Erfurt, 99084 Erfurt * Meininger Museums, 98617 Meiningen {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchner, Emil 1826 births 1908 deaths People from Burgenlandkreis German composers German conductors (music) German male conductors (music) 19th-century German musicians 19th-century German male musicians