Gustav König (12 August 1910 – 5 February 2005) was a German
conductor and music director in
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
.
Life
König was born at
Schwabach in
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
in 1910 and educated at the local ''Gymnasium'' (Grammar school) and
conservatory in his hometown. He went on to study at the
Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater München), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is t ...
.
His conducting career began in 1932–1933 as opera conductor and concert conductor in
Osnabrück and then
Szczecin
Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...
(1934–1935),
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 ...
at the
Neues Schauspielhaus
The Metropol, formerly Neues Schauspielhaus ( en, New Theatre), at 5 Nollendorfplatz in the Schöneberg district of Berlin was built in 1905 as a theatre, with a separate concert hall (the Mozartsaal) above, in the then-fashionable Art Nouveau st ...
and
Theater des Westens
The Theater des Westens (Theatre of the West) is one of the most famous theatres for musicals and operettas in Berlin, Germany, located at 10–12 in Charlottenburg. It was founded in 1895 for plays. The present house was opened in 1896 and dedi ...
(1936–1937 ), and Aachen (1941–1942) 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 ...
and Deputy General Music Director to
Herbert von Karajan. From 1943–1944 he was musical director of the
Opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...
in Essen. from the 1951/52 season he was appointed general music director, working with Karl Bauer,
Erich Schumacher and Jürgen Dieter Waidelich. König retired in 1975, after being conductor of the ''Essener Philharmoniker'' since 1943. He died in Essen in 2005 at the age of 94.
[14.02.2005 Trauer um Gustav König Deutsches Musikinformationszentrum]
/ref>
Berliner Morgenpost, 16. February 2005
Legacy
König was known for mounting original or German premieres of works of modernity, including Frank Martin's ''
Le Vin herbé
is a secular oratorio () in three parts, composed by Frank Martin. It is based on the medieval story of Tristan and Iseult, as reconstructed by Joseph Bédier in 1900. Martin set excerpts of the novel to music for twelve vocalists and a chambe ...
'' (1948), Alban Berg's ''
Lulu'' (1953), Dallapiccola's ''
Il prigioniero
''Il prigioniero'' (''The Prisoner'') is an opera (originally a radio opera) in a prologue and one act, with music and libretto by Luigi Dallapiccola. The opera was first broadcast by the Italian radio station RAI on 1 December 1949. The work is ba ...
'' (1954) and
Hermann Reutter
Hermann Reutter (; 17 June 19001 January 1985) was a German composer and pianist who worked as an academic teacher, university administrator, recitalist, and accompanist. He composed several operas, orchestral works, and chamber music, and especi ...
's ''Die Brücke von San Luis Rey''.
[
]
References
Bibliography
* Franz Feldens: ''75 Jahre Städtische Bühnen Essen Geschichte des Essener Theaters 1892–1967''. Rheinisch-Westfälische Verlagsgesellschaft, 1967.
* Helga Mohaupt, Rudolf Majer-Finkes: ''Das Grillo-Theater: Geschichte eines Essener Theaterbaus. 1892–1990''; mit Dokumentation von Rudolf Majer-Finkes; Bonn: Bouvier, 1990,
* Jürgen Dieter Waidelich: ''Essen spielt Theater: 1000 und einhundert Jahre; zum 100. Geburtstag des Grillo-Theaters.'' Bd. 1 (1992) und Bd. 2 (1994), ECON-Verlag,
External links
Gustav König, Der Spiegel, Issue 31/1956 (August 1)
Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konig, Gustav
1910 births
2005 deaths
20th-century German conductors (music)
German male conductors (music)
Music directors (opera)
20th-century German male musicians