Franjo Krežma (4 September 1862 – 15 June 1881), also known as Franz Krezma in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

-speaking countries, was a Croatian violinist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

Family and education

Born in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

, Croatia, he showed interest for music in his early childhood and his talent was obvious in playing the violin and gave him a reputation of an authentic violin virtuoso. After moving to Zagreb he was taught by the violinist, composer and conductor Đuro (Gjuro) Eisenhuth. Krežma performed his first public concert on the 10.8.1870 in

Sisak Sisak (; hu, Sziszek ; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavin ...

,Kos, Koraljk
" "Virtuoz Svjetskog Formata"
''Cantus'' no. 174, p. 14, May 2012, Zagreb, retrieved on 2015-02-27 at the very young age of 8, playing his violin with his three years older sister Anka (later Krežma-Barbot) backing him on the piano. Noticed and recommended by the Zagreb-born Austrian composer Leopold Alexander Zellner, he entered the music Conservatory of Vienna, Austria at the age of 9, as the youngest student ever, already then starting to compose, and completing studies before the age of 13, in the summer of 1875.

Career

Having finished his studies, Krežma started a spectacular European career, still backed by his sister. He was already at the age of 16 highly admired in cities across Europe like Rome, Prague, Genoa, Paris and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

.Krežma, Franjo
at Hrvatska Enciklopedija On 1 July 1879, at the age of 16, he became the concert master at

Benjamin Bilse Benjamin Bilse (17 August 1816 – 13 July 1902) was a German conductor and composer. Bilse was born in Liegnitz (present-day Legnica) in the Prussian Silesia Province. He obtained a rich musical education, as at the Vienna Conservatory under v ...

's ''Bilse'sche Kapelle'', the orchestra which would in the following years become Berlin Philharmonic.

Death and legacy

After a successful concert in Frankfurt am Main, Germany on 6 June 1881, Krežma developed an inflammation of the

inner ear The inner ear (internal ear, auris interna) is the innermost part of the vertebrate ear. In vertebrates, the inner ear is mainly responsible for sound detection and balance. In mammals, it consists of the bony labyrinth, a hollow cavity in the ...

, which developed into

meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...

in the following days. Following a belated surgery he never regained consciousness, dying on 15 June at the age of 18. Highly respected and admired by famous musicians like

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Henry Vieuxtemps Henri François Joseph Vieuxtemps ( 17 February 18206 June 1881) was a Belgian composer and violinist. He occupies an important place in the history of the violin as a prominent exponent of the Franco-Belgian violin school during the mid-19th ce ...

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 ...

with whom he once played both as a violinist and a composer, Franjo Krežma's surviving work, after a fire at his parents' home destroyed some of his it, along with his priceless violin, numbers one

symphony 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 ...

, three

overture Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") in music was originally the instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overt ...

s, several marches and dances for the orchestra, some works for a string quartet and some pieces for the violin. Today, he is remembered in the name of an

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

and through an international festival for young string instrument players in his native

Notable works

''Rêverie za violinu i veliki orkestar u As-duru'' (1880)

Selected recordings

*Krezma - ''Lieder'' Natasa Antoniazzo, Mia Elezovic. Bella Musica 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krezma, Franjo 1862 births 1881 deaths People from Osijek Croatian musicians Croatian violinists Infectious disease deaths in Germany Neurological disease deaths in Germany Deaths from meningitis 19th-century violinists Male violinists 19th-century male musicians