Ilse Fromm-Michaels (30 December 1888 – 22 January 1986) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

pianist and composer.

Life

Ilse Fromm-Michaels was born in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and showed musical talent at an early age. She studied music 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 ...

, first at the Hochschule fur Musik with Heinrich van Eyken for composition and with Marie Bender for piano. In 1905 she began study at the Sternsche Conservatory 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 s ...

and

James Kwast James Kwast (23 November 185231 October 1927) was a Dutch-German pianist and renowned teacher of many other notable pianists. He was also a minor composer and editor. Biography Jacob James Kwast was born in Nijkerk, Netherlands, in 1852. After ...

and completed her studies in 1913 with conductor and composer

Fritz Steinbach Fritz Steinbach (17 June 1855 – 13 August 1916) was a German conductor and composer who was particularly associated with the works of Johannes Brahms. Born in Grünsfeld, he was the brother of conductor Emil Steinbach. He studied at the Leipz ...

and pianist

Carl Friedberg Carl Rudolf Hermann Friedberg (September 18, 1872 in Bingen am Rhein, Bingen, German Empire, Germany – September 9, 1955 in Meran, Italy) was a German pianist and teacher of Jewish origin. Biography He was son of Eduard Friedberg (?–1937) a ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. In 1908 Fromm-Michaels began a career as a concert pianist, often playing her own works. She married Hamburg judge Dr. Walter Michaels, and after the

Nuremberg Race Laws The racial policy of Nazi Germany was a set of policies and laws implemented in Nazi Germany under the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler, based on a specific racist doctrine asserting the superiority of the Aryan race, which claimed scientific legi ...

were instituted by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

was banned from performing or publishing her compositions. She continued teaching music, and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

established the Hamburg First School of Music and Drama. In 1964 she was awarded the City of Hamburg's

Johannes Brahms Medal The Johannes Brahms Medal (german: Johannes-Brahms-Medaille, links=no) of Hamburg is a music award established in 1928, named after the composer Johannes Brahms who was born in Hamburg. The medal is given irregularly by the to artists who contri ...

. In 1973 she moved to

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...

to be near her son, and died there in 1986.

Works

Selected works include: *''Variationen über ein eigenes Thema, op. 8'' (1918/19) *''Vier Puppen, op. 4'' (1908) *''Der Hampelmann'' *''Das Puppenmädchen'' *''Der Harlekin'' *''Acht Skizzen''(1908) No. I-VIII *''Sonate für Klavier'' op. 6 (1917) *''Sehr langsam. Frei im Zeitmaß'' *''Lebhaft, aber nicht schnell'' *''Walzerreigen, op. 7'' (1917) *''Passacaglia für Klavier, op. 16'' (1932) *''Langsamer Walzer'' (1950?) *''Der Maria Geburt, op. 9, no. 2'' (Text: Des Knaben Wunderhorn) *''Die Meise, op. 9, no. 5'' (Text: Des Knaben Wunderhorn) *''Engelsgesang, op. 9, no. 3'' (Text: Des Knaben Wunderhorn) *''Frau Nachtigall, op. 9, no. 1'' (Text: Des Knaben Wunderhorn) *''Wiegenlied einer alten frommen Magd, op. 9, no. 4'' (Text: Des Knaben Wunderhorn) *''Stimmungen eines Fauns für Klavier, op. 10'' *''3 Kanons für 3 Frauenstimmen, op. 11'' *''Eulenspiegelei und eine eingerahmte Fuge für Klavier, op. 12'' *''Suite c-moll für Cello solo, op. 15'' (1931) *''Marien-Passion für Chor, Kammerorchester und Orgel, op. 18'' (1932/33) *''Symphonie c-moll für großes Orchester (ursprünglich als Streichquartett konzipiert), op. 19'' (1938) Part of her works have been recorded and issued on CD, including: *''Sämtliche Klavierwerke'' (Complete Piano Works), Babette Dorn, piano (Tacet 096); Stuttgart 1999.

References

External links

Stuttgart RSO performance of Fromm-Michaels' ''Symphony in C minor'' (1937)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fromm-Michaels, Ilse 1888 births 1986 deaths 20th-century classical composers German classical composers German music educators German women classical composers 20th-century German composers German women music educators 20th-century women composers