Friedrich Hieronymus Truhn (14 November 1811 – 30 April 1886) was a German conductor, composer and writer on music who worked mainly in

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 ...

, Danzig, Elbing and

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

. He was the son of court marshall Nathanael Truhn and the grandfather of Selma Erdmann-Jesnitzer, born Bethge-Truhn, father of Clara and Anna Marie Elizabeth Truhn. He was a talented composer of numerous songs, several stage works, and also a key organizer in the field of men's choirs.

Life

Friedrch was born in Elbing. As a boy he attracted attention by his singing abilities, so as soon he was developing himself as a flute player, and shortly thereafter as a violinist, he was sent to the orchestra of his native town, although his parents did not admitted that he had chosen the music as a career. Only in 1831 they allowed him to go to Berlin as a student of theorist Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn, of Carl Friedrich Zelter and

Bernhard Klein Bernhard Joseph Klein (6 March 1793 – 9 September 1832) was a German composer. Life Klein was born in Cologne. He married Lili Parthey (1800–1829) who was the sister of Gustav Parthey (1798–1872) and the granddaughter of Friedrich Nicolai ...

. He briefly studied orchestration with

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

to be properly trained as musician. He worked at the city theater in Gdansk as conductor and music teacher in the years 1835-37 and back in Berlin, he became one of the chief contributors to Schumann's paper, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, Hamburger Correspondenten and the feature pages of the

Neue Berliner Musikzeitung ''Neue Berliner Musikzeitung'' was a musical periodical that appeared in the years 1847–1896 and was published by Bote & Bock. It was a continuation of the Berlin musical newspaper published between 1844 and 1847 by Karl Gaillard. History The ...

. In 1840, Friedrich lived in

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

, and there held great performances of his own and others musicians' compositions. In 1843 he accompanied the pianist

Theodor Döhler Baron Theodor Döhler (20 April 181421 February 1856) was a German composer and a notable piano virtuoso of the Romantic period. He studied under Julius Benedict, Carl Czerny, and Simon Sechter.Henri Bertini (1798-1876) & Theodore Dohler (1814-185 ...

on an art trip to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, where he acted as composer and conductor. In 1848 he returned to his birthplace, founded a choral society and organized many public performances. There he worked until 1852 as a music teacher and conductor. In the meantime he again worked as a freelancer in Berlin, founded the ''Berliner Liedertafel'', a choral society on the conceptual model of

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

and the

Knights of the Round Table The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...

. In 1854 he traveled with Mr. von Bülow, and then he settled in Riga, where he worked as vocal and music theory teacher until 1858. After that he settled permanently in Berlin. His printed compositions, summoning up to well over 100 opus, were almost consistently received in critical acclaim, but in no way they became universally popular pieces. They were played, sung and then set aside. Truhn was welcome in all social circles, both as a guest and also as a music teacher. His death put an end not only to his life, but also to the viability of his compositions as the newspapers of the time published obituaries often appreciative of his person and talent as a classical composer. He died in Berlin.

Works

Songs and chants for male chorus

* ''The Fisherman'', Op. 1 (1832) * ''The Beautiful Waitress from

Bacharach Bacharach (, also known as ''Bacharach am Rhein'') is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Rhein-Nahe, whose seat is in Bingen am Rhein, although that town is not withi ...

'', Op. 13 (1836) * ''Seraphina'', Op. 19 (after

Heine Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include: People with the surname * Albert Heine (1867–1949), German actor * Alice Heine (1858–1925), American-born princess of Monaco * Armand Heine (1818–1883) ...

, Laube,

Eichendorff Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 178826 November 1857) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism.Cf. J. A. Cuddon: '' ...

) * ''Lieder'', Op. 21 (after

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

) * ''The Beetle Boys'', for 4 male voices with accompaniment, Op. 30 (1839) * ''A Love Story in 12 Songs'', Op. 64 * ''The Boy's Death'' (

Uhland Uhland may refer to: *Ludwig Uhland (1787-1862), German poet *Uhland, Texas Uhland ( ) is a city in Caldwell and Hays counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 1,588 at the 2020 census, up from 1,014 at the 2010 census. Uhland is na ...

, Op. 82 * ''The Father's Tomb'', Op. 105 (1853) * ''L'Abbandonata''

Choral works

* ''Mahadöh'', for solo voices, eight-voice choir and orchestra (1846) * ''The Departure'' (after Uhland) for solo voices, choir and orchestra (1850)

Stage works

* ''The Four-Year Income'' (after Theodor Körner), Singspiel in one act (1833) * ''Trilby'' (after Ludwig Schneider), a comic opera in 2 acts (1835) * ''Cleopatra'', melodrama (for Johanna Wagner, 1853)

Writings

* ''About the Art of Singing and the Teaching of Art Song'' (1872) * The Old Prima Donna, And, Sounding (1844)

References

;Attribution *''This article is based on a translation of the corresponding article on the German Wikipedia.''

Literature

* Robert Eitner: "Truhn, Friedrich Hieronymus", in

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

(ADB), vol. 38 (Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1894), p. 685.

External links

*
Friedrich Hieronymus Truhn
at the

German National Library The German National Library (DNB; german: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek) is the central archival library and national bibliographic centre for the Federal Republic of Germany. It is one of the largest libraries in the world. Its task is to colle ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Truhn, Friedrich Hieronymus 1811 births 1886 deaths 19th-century German musicians 19th-century German male musicians German male classical composers German male conductors (music) German male non-fiction writers German Romantic composers German writers about music People from Elbląg People from West Prussia Pupils of Bernhard Klein Pupils of Felix Mendelssohn Pupils of Siegfried Dehn Conductors (music) from the Kingdom of Prussia