Hans von Koessler (1 January 1853 – 23 May 1926) was a German composer, conductor and music teacher. In

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

, where he worked for 26 years, he was known as János Koessler.

Biography

Koessler, a cousin of Max Reger, was born in Waldeck,

Fichtelgebirge The Fichtel MountainsRandlesome, C. et al. (2011). ''Business Cultures in Europe'', 2nd ed., Routledge, Abingdon and New York, p. 52. . (german: Fichtelgebirge, cs, Smrčiny), form a small horseshoe-shaped mountain range in northeastern Bavaria ...

(now part of

Kemnath Kemnath () is a small town in the district of Tirschenreuth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated near the Fichtelgebirge, 24 km southeast of Bayreuth. The town's motto is "das Tor zur Oberpfalz," which translates into English as "The Door t ...

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

). He was taught the organ from 1874 to 1877 by

Josef Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was a Liechtensteiner organist and composer, residing in Bavaria for most of his life. Life Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, whose father was the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liech ...

and attended the choir lessons of

Franz Wüllner Franz Wüllner (28 January 1832 – 7 September 1902) was a German composer and conductor. He led the premieres of Wagner's ''Das Rheingold'' and ''Die Walküre'', but was much criticized by Wagner himself, who greatly preferred the more celebrate ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

. Immediately after that, he moved to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

, where he was appointed director and teacher for music theory and choral music at the Dresden School of Music. From 1878, he was also conductor of the Dresdner Liedertafel orchestra. From 1882 to 1908, he initially taught organ and choir at the National Music Academy of Budapest in Hungary. Later, he also became professor for composition and was also given a peerage. His students became some of the best Hungarian composers of the time:

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music edu ...

, Béla Bartók,

Ernő Dohnányi Ernő or Erno is a Finnish and Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator * Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hungarian painter and teacher * Ernő B ...

; for more After his retirement in 1908, he returned to Germany, but became appointed to the agency of Kálmán and Dohnányi in order to ensure that he received a moderate income. He died in

Ansbach Ansbach (; ; East Franconian: ''Anschba'') is a city in the German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränkische Rezat, ...

in 1926, aged 73.

Music

Koessler composed over 130 works, including an

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 libr ...

, two symphonies, symphonic variations for orchestra, a

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, two string quartets, a

string quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet" ...

, a

string sextet In classical music, a string sextet is a composition written for six string instruments, or a group of six musicians who perform such a composition. Most string sextets have been written for an ensemble consisting of two violins, two violas, and ...

, a

piano quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...

, a suite for piano, violin and viola, and a

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

for female choir and organ. He also set

psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

to music. However, as a result of his erratic way of living, a large number of his compositions were lost, or found themselves only being played in private hands. Koessler's chamber music has been highly praised by several commentators, including the eminent chamber music scholar Wilhelm Altmann, who has singled out Koessler's Second String Quartet and his Trio Suite for Piano, Violin and Viola for especial praise.

Bibliography

* ''Cobbett's Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music'' (London: Oxford University Press, 1963) * Wilhelm Altmann: ''Handbuch für Streichquartettspieler'' (Wilhelmshaven: Heinrichshofen, 1972) * ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians'' (London: Macmillan, 1980)

External links

Hans Koessler sound-bites of & information about his Trio Suite for Violin, Viola & Piano, String Quintet & String Sextet
* 1853 births 1926 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century German composers 19th-century German male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century German composers Franz Liszt Academy of Music faculty German expatriates in Hungary German male classical composers German music educators German opera composers German Romantic composers Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber faculty Hungarian people of German descent Male opera composers People from Tirschenreuth (district) Pupils of Josef Rheinberger {{Hungary-composer-stub