Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Dr. phil. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

Heinrich Reimann (March 12, 1850 – May 24, 1906), was a German

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

, and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. Reimann was born in Rengersdorf,

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

, and was a son of Ignaz Reimann, also a musician. Reimann studied at the

University of Breslau A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

and was awarded a degree in

classical philology Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

in 1875, having simultaneously studied organ with the Silesian composer and organist Moritz Brosig (1815-1887). It was only in 1886 that Reimann changed his profession to music, becoming active in Berlin as an organist, choral conductor, and write on subjects from

Byzantine music Byzantine music (Greek: Βυζαντινή μουσική) is the music of the Byzantine Empire. Originally it consisted of songs and hymns composed to Greek texts used for courtly ceremonials, during festivals, or as paraliturgical and liturgical ...

through Wagner and contemporary composition. Reimann was appointed official organist for the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

where he performed on the Schlag und Söhne organ (1888), and became instructor in music theory and organ at the Klindworth-Schwarwenka-Conservatory; he was later appointed organist at the

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (in German: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche, but mostly just known as Gedächtniskirche ) is a Protestant church affiliated with the Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia, a regi ...

in 1895 (where

Wilhelm Sauer Wilhelm Carl Friedrich Sauer (23 March 1831 – 9 April 1916) was a German pipe organ builder. One of the famous organ builders of the Romantic period, Sauer and his company W. Sauer Orgelbau built over 1,100 organs during his lifetime, amongst ...

's largest organ to date—Opus 660—was installed). In fact, Reimann was responsible for the addition of a fourth

manual Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual * Instruction manual (gaming) * Online help Other uses * Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ * Manual (band) * Manual transmission * Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...

to the organ in 1897 in the form of an enclosed echo division (German: Fernwerk), which spoke through a soundproof duct and stone wall to a screen directly above the nave of the church. Reimann was one of the first organ teachers of

Karl Straube Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, Straube stu ...

(the latter studying perhaps on the Schlag und Söhne organ), who became Reimann's assistant at the Gedächtniskirche upon Reimann's appointment. It was Reimann who first introduced Straube to the music of

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University ...

(then a student of

Hugo Riemann Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann (18 July 1849 – 10 July 1919) was a German musicologist and composer who was among the founders of modern musicology. The leading European music scholar of his time, he was active and influential as both a musi ...

in composition at Weiden). Reimann died 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 ...

. :With the exception of his birth/death information and his appointment at the Klindworth-Schwarwenka-Conservatory, all of the other information is supported in the following text: Anderson, Christopher. ''Max Reger and Karl Straube: Perspectives on an Organ Performing Tradition''. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2003.

External links

* 1850 births 1906 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers German classical organists German male organists People from the Province of Silesia German Romantic composers German male classical composers 20th-century German composers 19th-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians 19th-century German male musicians Male classical organists 19th-century organists 19th-century German musicologists {{organist-stub