Fritz Volbach (17 December 1861 – 30 November 1940) was a German
conductor, composer and
musicologist.
Life
Volbach was born in 1861 in
Wipperfürth
310px, Map of the city
250px, Town hall
Wipperfürth () is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, about 40 km north-east of Cologne, and the oldest town in the Bergischen Land.
History
The eldest d ...
. After he was briefly a pupil of the with
Ferdinand Hiller, he resumed his school education in
Bruchsal
Bruchsal (; orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle, historically known in English as Bruxhall; South Franconian: ''Brusel'') is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, ...
, where he also passed his
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
. He studied philosophy at the
Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg and
Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. In 1886 he became a pupil of the Royal Institute for Church Music, before continuing his studies with
Eduard Grell at the
Academy of Arts, Berlin in the composition department; he was probably his last pupil. During his studies in 1885 he became a member of the '' Berlin'' in the as well as the '.
[Otto Grübel: ''Kartelladreßbuch. Stand vom 1. März 1914.'' Sondershäuser Verband Deutscher Studenten-Gesangvereine (SV). Munich 1914, .]
After his studies he worked as a teacher at the Institute for Church Music in 1887; he also conducted the Academic Liedertafel and a choir. In 1891 he became music director in
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...
. In 1899 he received his doctorate from the University of Bonn. In 1907 he became music director in
Tübingen and was appointed professor. During the First World War he founded a German symphony orchestra in
occupied Belgium with under the occupiers in Brussels. From 1918 he taught at the
University of Münster and was also music director and director of the music association of
Münster
Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state distr ...
until 1925. In 1929 he became
Emeritus
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
.
Volbach's compositions include an opera, a symphony and three symphonic poems. His compositions show him to be a conservative late romantic. Some parts of his estate are kept in the .
Volbach died in
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 ...
at age 79.
Some works
* ''Es waren zwei Königskinder'', Symphonic Poem, Op. 21 (1900).
* ''Quintett für Klavier und Bläser'', Op. 24 (1902)
* ''Raffael''. Three mood pictures for choir, orchestra and organ (1902).
* ''Symphony in B minor'', Op. 33 (1909).
* ''Piano quintet in D minor'', Op. 36 (1912).
Publications
* ''Die Praxis der Händelaufführung''. Dissertation, Bonn 1899.
* ''
Georg Friedrich Händel''. (''Berühmte Musiker - Lebens- und Charakterbilder nebst Einführung in die Werke der Meister''. Volume II). 2. Auflage. Schlesische Verlagsanstalt, Berlin 1906.
* ''Die deutsche Musik im neunzehnten Jahrhundert. Nach der Grundlagen ihrer Entwicklung und ihren Haupterscheinungen''. Kösel, Kempten/München 1909.
* ''Erläuterungen zu den Klaviersonaten Beethovens. Ein Buch für Jedermann''. (''Tongers Musikbücherei''. Volume 12/14). P.J. Tonger, Köln 1924 (3rd edition).
* ''
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
''. 2nd edition. Kirchheim & Co, Mainz 1929.
* ''Der Chormeister. Ein praktisches Handbuch für Chordirigenten mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des Männerchors''. New, extended edition. Schott, Mainz 1936.
* ''Die Instrumente des Orchesters. Ihr Wesen und ihre Entwicklung''. (''Aus Natur und Geisteswelt'', Volume 384). Teubner, Leipzig/Berlin 1913.
* ''Das moderne Orchester.'' Volume 1. ''Das Zusammenspiel der Instrumente in seiner Entwicklung''. 2nd edition. Teubner, Leipzig/Berlin 1919.
* ''Das moderne Orchester.'' Volume 1: ''Die Instrumente des Orchesters''. 2. Auflage. Teubner, Leipzig/Berlin 1921.
''Moderni orhestar. Njegov razvitak''. Translation into Croatian by Božidar Širola. Edition Slave, Wien 1922.
* ''Handbuch der Musikwissenschaften.'' Volume 1. ''Musikgeschichte, Kulturquerschnitte, Formenlehre, Tonwerkzeuge und Partitur''. Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Münster 1926.
* ''Handbuch der Musikwissenschaften.'' Volume 2. ''Ästhetik, Akustik u. Tonphysiologie, Tonpsychologie''. Aschendorffsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Münster 1930.
* ''Erlebtes und Erstrebtes''. E. Schneider, Mainz 1956.
Literature
*
Klaus Hortschansky
Klaus Hortschansky (7 May 1935 – 16 May 2016) was a German musicologist.
Life and work
Born in Weimar, Hortschansky studied musicology from 1953 to 1966 in Weimar, Berlin and Kiel. In 1965 he became an assistant at the Musicological Institute ...
: ''Fritz Volbach (1861–1940). Komponist, Dirigent und Musikwissenschaftler''. Festschrift zum 60jährigen Bestehen des Musikwissenschaftlichen Seminars der Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster. (''Beiträge zur westfälischen Musikgeschichte 20''). v.d. Linnepe, Hagen 1987, .
* ''Der Komponist Fritz Volbach erzählt aus seinem Leben''. In: Hans Kraus: ''Alter Bergischer Brauch - in Florenz wiederentdeckt''. ('. Volume 36/1966). Heider, Bergisch Gladbach 1965,
References
External links
*
Institut für Musikwissenschaft an der Universität Münster*
* Fritz Volbach:
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Volbach, Fritz
1861 births
1940 deaths
German conductors (music)
German male classical composers
German male conductors (music)
German music historians
German musicologists
German Romantic composers
People from Wipperfürth
Academic staff of the University of Münster
Academic staff of the University of Tübingen
20th-century German male musicians
19th-century German male musicians