Ernst Grenzebach (14 February 1871 – 29 May 1936) was a German concert

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and

voice teacher A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing. Typical work A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in singi ...

. He taught, among others, two of the most famous European heroic tenors: Max Lorenz and

Lauritz Melchior Lauritz Melchior (20 March 1890 – 18 March 1973) was a Danish-American opera singer. He was the preeminent Wagnerian tenor of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s and has come to be considered the quintessence of his voice type. Late in his career, Me ...

Life and career

Born in Berlin, Grenzebach was the son of a Berlin merchant. From 1900 to 1904 he studied opera and concert singing at the

Stern Conservatory The Stern Conservatory (''Stern'sches Konservatorium'') was a private music school in Berlin with many distinguished tutors and alumni. The school is now part of Berlin University of the Arts. History It was founded in 1850 as the ''Berliner Musi ...

. He also studied with the legendary baritone and teacher Cotogni, according to Shirlee Emmons in her Melchior biography TRISTANISSIMO (1990). Although he was also active as a concert soloist, from 1904 he devoted himself primarily to teaching. He conducted the Grenzebach'sche Frauenchor which consisted of his students. In the 1920s he lived in Nassauische Strasse in Berlin-Wilmersdorf. He was the principal teacher of opera and concert singing at the Klindworth-Scharwenka-Konservatorium, which for decades enjoyed the reputation of an internationally renowned training institution. He was regarded as ''the'' vocal pedagogue of Berlin and was a professor at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Berlin from 1928 to 1934. Else Prausnitz (1885-1976) was the piano accompanist during his lessons for many years. The later record producer, manager and composer (1897–1992) was his nephew whose musical education was supported by his uncle. Grenzebach died in Berlin aged 65.

Students

Literature

Karl-Josef Kutsch Karl-Josef Kutsch, also known as K. J. Kutsch, (born 11 May 1924) is a German physician and co-author with Leo Riemens of the ''Großes Sängerlexikon'', the standard reference for opera singers. Life and work Born in Gangelt, Kutsch studied me ...

Leo Riemens Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens (3 December 1910 – 3 April 1985) was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which ...

: ''

Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The first ...

''. Fourth, extended and updated edition. K. G. Saur, Munich 2003, vol. 4.Ernst Grenzebach
in the ''

References

External links

Grenzebach, Ernst
on Operissimo {{DEFAULTSORT:Grenzebach, Ernst 1871 births 1936 deaths Musicians from Berlin German baritones Voice teachers