Ignaz Schnitzer (also Ignatz or Ignác Schnitzer; 4 December 1839 – 18 June 1921) was an Austrian famous writer, journalist, translator,

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

and newspaper founder of Hungarian origin.

Life

Schnitzer was born in Ratzersdorf (then

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

, today a district of Bratislava, Slovakia). He began studying philosophy in Pest, but soon worked as a journalist. From 1857 he lived in Vienna and wrote for various newspapers, such as the '' Pester Lloyd'' and the ', and as an editor for the newspaper ''Der Fortschritt''. In 1867 he returned to Budapest and was first a member of the editorial board of ''Bécsi Debatte''. In 1869 he founded together with Zsigmond Bródy (1840-1906) the daily newspaper ''Neues Pester Journal'', which he headed as editor-in-chief for a decade. Besides he worked on Hungarian plays for German theatres; in 1879 he translated Ede Zsigligeti's ''Rauschgold'' for the Viennese Burgtheater and

Mór Jókai Móric Jókay de Ásva (, known as ''Mór Jókai''; 18 February 1825 – 5 May 1904), outside Hungary also known as Maurus Jokai or Mauritius Jókai, was a Hungarian nobleman, novelist, dramatist and revolutionary. He was an active participant ...

s ''Held Pálffy'' for the ''

Carltheater The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 (at that time called Jägerzeile). It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had ...

''. After the sale of his share in the ''Neue Pester Journal'' he moved back to Vienna in 1881 and worked mainly as a librettist and translator. Schnitzer was particularly acclaimed for his translations and poems of the works of

Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; sk, Alexander Petrovič; sr, Александар Петровић; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet of Serbian origin and liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary' ...

into German. His friendship with Johann Strauss II led him to the libretto of his '' Zigeunerbaron'' and the cultural-historical and partly biographical work ''Bunte Geschichten aus der Johann-Strauß-Zeit''. As co-owner of the amusement park Venice in Vienna founded by Gabor Steiner, he organized the financing and operated the construction of new sights, such as the

Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel The (; 'Vienna Giant errisWheel'), or simply Riesenrad, is a tall Ferris wheel at the entrance of the Prater amusement park in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Austria's capital Vienna. It is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, a ...

. In 1894 he had the idea of commissioning a circular painting entitled "Kaiser Franz Joseph und seine Zeit" (Emperor Franz Joseph and his Time) for the fiftieth anniversary of the reign of Emperor

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

in 1898. It was executed by the history painter Philipp Fleischer, and exhibited at the Ausstellungsstraße 143 in a circular building specially designed for this purpose by Oskar Marmorek. Ignaz Schnitzer (1839–1921) Todesanzeige

Ignaz Schnitzer (1839–1921) Todesanzeige

Schnitzer was married to the daughter of a doctor, Gabriele, née Laszky (10 April 1846 in

Gyöngyös Gyöngyös (; german: Gengeß) is a town in Heves county in Hungary, east of Budapest. Situated at the foot of the Sár-hegy and Mátra mountains, it is the home of numerous food production plants, including milk production and sausage factori ...

- 28 September 1913 in Vienna). His grave is at the

Kerepesi Cemetery Kerepesi Cemetery (Hungarian: ''Kerepesi úti temető'' or ''Kerepesi temető'', official name: ''Fiumei úti nemzeti sírkert'', i.e. "Fiume Road National Graveyard") is the most famous cemetery in Budapest. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in ...

in Budapest.

Awards

Honorary memberships in the literary societies of Hungary, namely the Petőfi- and the

Kisfaludy Society The Kisfaludy Society (Hungarian: ''Kisfaludy Társaság'') was a literary society in Pest, founded in 1836 and named after Károly Kisfaludy, who had died in 1830. It held monthly meetings and was a major force in Hungarian literary life, givin ...

, and the Vienna Hungarian Society.

Works

Compiled according to the catalogues of the

Austrian National Library The Austrian National Library (german: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek) is the largest library in Austria, with more than 12 million items in its various collections. The library is located in the Neue Burg Wing of the Hofburg in center of V ...

and the

Wienbibliothek im Rathaus The Wienbibliothek im Rathaus ( en, Vienna Library in City Hall), formerly known as the ''Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek'' ( en, Vienna City and State Library), is a library and archive containing important documents related to the history of V ...

(as of January 2013).

Libretti

* ''Joggeli''. Opera in three acts. Music by

Wilhelm Taubert Carl Gottfried Wilhelm Taubert (23 March 1811 – 7 January 1891) was a German pianist, composer, and conductor, and the father of philologist and writer Emil Taubert. Life Born in Berlin, Taubert studied under Ludwig Berger (piano) and Bernhard K ...

. 1853. * ''Muzzedin''. Romantic comic opera in 2 acts. Music by Siegmund Bachrich. 1883. * ''The Gold Man''. Play in 5 acts by Mór Jókai freely edited by Ignaz Schnitzer. Music by Joseph Hellmesberger Jr. 1885. * The gypsy baron. Operetta in 3 acts after a story by

. Music by Johann Strauss (son). 1885. * ''Rafaela''. Comic opera in 3 acts by Adolph Schirmer and Ignaz Schnitzer. Music by Max Wolf. 1886. * ''The Oracle''. Operetta in 3 acts. With free use of a motif by

Gregor Csiky Gergely Csiky (also Gregor Csiky; 8 December 1842 – 19 November 1891) was a Hungarian dramatist of Armenian ancestry (his mother's family is of the Verzár family that was initially called as Stefanian).Gudenus János József: Örmény e ...

. Music by

Josef Hellmesberger junior Josef may refer to *Josef (given name) *Josef (surname) Josef is the surname of the following people: * Jens Josef (born 1967), German composer of classical music, a flutist and academic teacher * Michelle Josef (born 1954), Canadian musician and tr ...

. 1889 * "The Royal Bride. Romantic comic opera in 3 acts. Music by

Robert Fuchs Robert Fuchs (15 February 1847 – 19 February 1927) was an Austrian composer and music teacher. As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in ...

. 1889. * ''Paris in Vienna''. Decorative posse in 3 pictures. Text by F. Zell. Singing texts by Ignaz Schnitzer. Music by

Josef Bayer Josef Bayer (6 March 1852 – 12 March 1913) was an Austrian composer and the director of the Austrian Court Ballet from 1883 until his death. He was born and died in Vienna. Biography He studied at the Vienna Conservatory under the elder J ...

. 1890. * ''The Salzburg Bells''. A Mozart piece in 4 pictures by Ignaz Schnitzer and Sigmund Schlesinger. Not set to music. Around 1890. * ''Hussar blood''. (also: ''The village judge''). Operetta in 3 acts. Music by

Hugo Felix Hugo Victor Felix (19 November 1866 – 25 August 1934), born Felix Hugo Hayman, was an Austrian composer of operettas and musicals born in Budapest, Austrian Empire. Gänzl, Kurt"Felix the composer" ''Kurt of Gerolstein'', 19 December 2018 F ...

. 1894. * ''The Venus of Murán''. Opera in three acts by Ignaz Schnitzer and Georg Verö. Not set to music. Around 1900. * ''Kaspar'' (thus ''The beautiful Kaspar''). Comic operetta in 3 acts. Text by F. Zell and Ignaz Schnitzer. Music by Josef Bayer. 1902. * '' Bruder Straubinger''. Operetta in 3 acts by Moritz West and Ignaz Schnitzer. Music by Edmund Eysler. 1903. * ''Pufferl''. Operetta in 3 acts by Sigmund Schlesinger and Ignaz Schnitzer. Music by Edmund Eysler. 1905. * ''The electrician''. Operetta in 3 acts by Sigmund Schlesinger and Ignaz Schnitzer. Music by Carl Josef Fromm. 1906. * ''Tip Top''. Operetta in 3 acts by Ignaz Schnitzer and Sigmund Schlesinger. Music by Josef Stritzko. 1907. * ''Creole blood''. Operetta in 3 acts by Ignaz Schnitzer and Emerich von Gatti. Music by

Heinrich Berté Heinrich Berté (), born Heinrich Bettelheim (8 May 1858 – 23 August 1924) was an Austria-Hungarian composer of operas and operettas. Life Heinrich Berté was born in Galgócz, Hungary (now Hlohovec, Slovakia) in a Jewish family. At the b ...

. 1910.

Lieder texts

* ''Seltsame Geschichte''. Chanson. Text after Samdo Petöfi. Music by Béla Laszky. * ''Vater

Radetzky Johann Josef Wenzel Anton Franz Karl, Graf Radetzky von Radetz ( en, John Joseph Wenceslaus Anthony Francis Charles, Count Radetzky of Radetz; cz, Jan Josef Václav Antonín František Karel hrabě Radecký z Radče; sl, Janez Jožef Vencelj ...

ruft!'' Soldatenlied. Music by

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life a ...

. 1914.

Translations

* Eduard Szigligeti: ''Rauschgold''. A comedy in three acts. After the Hungarian language. Hungaria, Budapest 1879. * Gergely Csiky: ''Die Großmama''. A comedy in three acts. After the Hungarian language. Entsch, Berlin 1892. * Stephen Phillips: ''Herodes''. Tragedy in three acts. German adaptation. Fischer, Vienna 1901. *

: ''Poetische Werke in sechs Bänden.'' German adaptation. Halm & Goldmann, Vienna 1910.

Book publications

* '' Franz Joseph I. und seine Zeit. Cultur-historischer Rückblick auf die francisco-josephinische Epoche.'' Lechner, Vienna 1898. * ''Meister Johann. Bunte Geschichten aus der Johann Strauß-Zeit.'' 2 volumes. Halm, Vienna 1920.

References

External links

* * *
Der Zigeunerbaron
With complete libretto. (Retrieved on 14 December 2019) : Contemporary press articles * To the seventieth birthday: * * * Obituary by Heinrich Glücksmann: {{DEFAULTSORT:Schnitzer, Ignaz Translators from Hungarian Translators to German Austro-Hungarian writers Austro-Hungarian journalists German librettists 19th-century German journalists 19th-century German male writers 20th-century German journalists 1839 births 1921 deaths Writers from Bratislava