Heinrich Kaminski (4 July 1886 - 21 June 1946) was a German composer.

Life

Kaminski was born in Tiengen in the

Schwarzwald The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is t ...

, the son of an Old Catholic priest of Jewish parentage. After a short period working in a bank in Offenbach, he moved to

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

, originally to study politics. However, a chance meeting with Martha Warburg changed his mind: she recognised his musical gift and became his patroness. In 1909 he went to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and began studying music at the Stern Conservatoire, piano with

Severin Eisenberger Severin Eisenberger ( pl, Seweryn Eisenberger; 1879 in Krakau, Austrian Galicia – 1945 in New York) was a Polish concert pianist, composer and teacher. Eisenberger was a student of Heinrich Ehrlich in Berlin and Theodor Leschetizky in Vienn ...

. In 1914 he began work as a piano teacher in

Benediktbeuern Benediktbeuern (Central Bavarian: ''Benediktbeiern'') is a municipality in the district of Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen in Bavaria, Germany, 2 kilometers, or 1.25 miles from Bichl. The village has 3,602 residents as of 31 December 2019. The medieval ...

. His friends and contemporaries at this time included the painter

Emil Nolde Emil Nolde (born Hans Emil Hansen; 7 August 1867 – 13 April 1956) was a German-Danish painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and was one of the first oil painting and watercolor painters of th ...

and also Franz Marc, whose wife was among his piano students. In 1916 he married Friederike Mathilde Jopp the daughter of Karl and Marie Jopp (born Schad). Friederike or Elfriede as Kaminski called her, was a singer in Munich. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Kaminski was also active as a choirmaster and teacher of composition. Later he received a professorship at the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

in Berlin, where he became director of a master class in composition (thus treading in the footsteps of

Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...

). His most significant pupils were

Carl Orff Carl Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, best known for his cantata '' Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Schulwerk were influential for children's music education. Life Early life Carl ...

, Heinz Schubert and

Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling Reinhard Schwarz-Schilling (9 May 1904 in Hannover – 9 December 1985 in Berlin) was a German composer. The son of a chemical manufacturer, Schwarz-Schilling embarked upon his musical studies in 1922, first in Munich and – interrupted by sev ...

. His contract was terminated in 1933 with no renewal on the grounds of his "political opinions" and he returned to Benediktbeuern. Various attempts to re-establish his career came to nothing for the same reason. A check of his ancestry - he had been categorised in 1938 as a "

half-Jew The term Halbjude (English: Half-Jew) is a derogatory term for people with a non-Jewish and a Jewish parent. The overwhelming majority of the so-called half-Jews were legally classified as " first-degree Jewish hybrids" during the era of Nazi Germ ...

", and in 1941 declared a "quarter-Jew" - led to an ongoing ban on the performance of his works. He found himself obliged to flee, to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and Switzerland among other places. Between 1939 and 1945 he lost three children, and died himself in 1946 at

Ried, Bavaria Ried is a municipality in the district of Aichach-Friedberg in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, a ...

Works

His works includes chorales, concertos, songs, choral sonatas, motets and other choral works, as well as operas. * Operas: **''Das Spiel vom König Aphelius ''("The Game of King Aphelius") *Choral sonatas: **''Psalm 130'' **''Der Tag ist hin ''("The Day Is Ended") *Concerto grosso

References

''This article is translated from that in the German Wikipedia''.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kaminski, Heinrich 1886 births 1946 deaths People from Waldshut-Tiengen German composers Pupils of Paul Juon People from the Grand Duchy of Baden Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Switzerland Musicians from Berlin Academic staff of the Prussian Academy of Arts