Joachim Kaiser (18 December 1928 − 11 May 2017) was a German music, literature and theatre critic. From 1959 he worked as a senior editor in the ''

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art criti ...

'' of the ''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of SZ is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and social-democrat. History ...

''; from 1977 to 1996 he was professor of

history of music Although definitions of music vary wildly throughout the world, every known culture partakes in it, and it is thus considered a cultural universal. The origins of music remain highly contentious; commentators often relate it to the origin of ...

at the

State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart is a professional school for musicians and performing artists in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1857, it is one of the oldest schools of its kind in Germany. History The school was f ...

Life

Kaiser was born in Milken,

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

(Miłki, Poland) in 1928 as the son of a country doctor. Literature and music began to interest him at an early age, and at age eight he began to play the piano. After the flight and expulsion of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe 1945–1950, he attended the

Wilhelm-Gymnasium (Hamburg) The Wilhelm-Gymnasium is a university preparatory school in Hamburg, Germany. It is one of Hamburg's oldest schools. It was founded in 1881 and called ''Neue Gelehrtenschule'' (transl. New Academic school) and soon became a rival of the Academic ...

. He then studied

musicology 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 ...

German studies German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

, philosophy and sociology at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, the

Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...

and the

Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen Eberhard is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar. People First name *Eberhard of Friuli (815–866), Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire *Eberhard of Béthune (died 1212), Flemish grammarian *Eberhard I, Du ...

. Among his fellow students were the musicologists

Carl Dahlhaus Carl Dahlhaus (10 June 1928 – 13 March 1989) was a German musicologist who was among the leading postwar musicologists of the mid to late 20th-century. A prolific scholar, he had broad interests though his research focused on 19th- and 20th- ...

and

Rudolf Stephan Rudolf Stephan (3 April 1925 – 29 September 2019) was a German musicologist. Life Stephan was born in Bochum. After studying violin at the conservatory, he entered the Institute of Heidelberg, where he studied musicology at the University unde ...

. In June 1951 Kaiser began his journalistic career as a theatre, literature and music critic. His path was paved by a review of a publication by

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical t ...

: ''Music and Catastrophe. About the "Philosophy of New Music"''. Adorno recommended to Kaiser

Alfred Andersch Alfred Hellmuth Andersch (; 4 February 1914 – 21 February 1980) was a German writer, publisher, and radio editor. The son of a conservative East Prussian army officer, he was born in Munich, Germany and died in Berzona, Ticino, Switzerland. Mar ...

of the

Hessischer Rundfunk Hessischer Rundfunk (HR; "Hesse Broadcasting") is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting, public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, ...

, which in turn drew the attention of the ''

Frankfurter Hefte ''Neue Gesellschaft/Frankfurter Hefte'' is a German monthly political journal (with two double issues in January and July). As its name implies it resulted from the merger in 1985 of two magazines ''Neue Gesellschaft'' and ''Frankfurter Hefte''. I ...

''.

Mathias Döpfner Mathias Döpfner (born 15 January 1963) is a German businessman and journalist. He is the CEO and 22% owner of media group Axel Springer SE, and president of the Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (BDZV). Early li ...

described him as "the best known and most successful Adorno students ever". At the invitation of

Hans Werner Richter Hans Werner Richter (12 November 1908 – 23 March 1993) was a German writer. Born in Heringsdorf, Neu Sallenthin, Usedom, Richter is little known for his own works but found worldwide celebrity and acknowledgment as initiator, moving spirit ...

, Kaiser was allowed to take part in events of

Group 47 Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a group of participants in German writers' meetings, invited by Hans Werner Richter between 1947 and 1967. The meetings served the dual goals of literary criticism as well as the promotion of young, unknown authors. In a de ...

from 1953. In 1958 he was awarded a doctorate in German Studies at the University of Tübingen on the subject of ''

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...

's dramatic style''. On the initiative of the then SZ journalist

Erich Kuby Erich Kuby (28 June 1910 – 10 September 2005) was a German journalist, publisher and screenwriter. Life Early years Kuby's father had bought in 1901 an estate in West Prussia, but after one year he had to give up working it. He then moved ...

, Kaiser was able to work in the cultural editorial department of the ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' from 1959. He was a member of the writers' association

PEN-Zentrum Deutschland PEN Centre Germany is part of the worldwide association of writers founded in London in 1921, now known as PEN International. One of over 140 autonomous PEN centres around the world, PEN Centre Germany is based in Darmstadt, Hesse. Work PEN C ...

. Kaiser, along with

Marcel Reich-Ranicki Marcel Reich-Ranicki (; 2 June 1920 – 18 September 2013) was a Polish-born German literary critic and member of the informal literary association Gruppe 47. He was regarded as one of the most influential contemporary literary critics in the fi ...

, was one of the most influential critics of Germany. His book ''Große Pianisten in unserer Zeit'' is occasionally referred to as the "Piano

Michelin Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...

". Besides ground-breaking pianists such as

Artur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish-American pianist.

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all ...

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...

Sviatoslav Richter Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter, group= ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet classical pianist. He is frequently regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his int ...

and

Friedrich Gulda Friedrich Gulda (16 May 1930 – 27 January 2000) was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields. Biography Early life and career Born in Vienna the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano ...

he introduced young interpreters and explained developments in the art of piano playing. Kaiser felt a special connection to the work of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

and supported and accompanied the new beginning of the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

in 1951 under the direction of Wagner's grandchildren, Wieland and

Wolfgang Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

. Kaiser was married to the translator and novelist Susanne Kaiser since December 1958, with whom he had two children: the director Henriette Kaiser and the sports editor Philipp Kaiser. He lived in Munich on the edge of the

Englischer Garten The ''Englischer Garten'' (, ''English Garden'') is a large public park in the centre of Munich, Bavaria, stretching from the city centre to the northeastern city limits. It was created in 1789 by Sir Benjamin Thompson (1753–1814), later Count ...

. In 2009 he handed over his extensive private archive to the Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach as a ''

Nachlass ''Nachlass'' (, older spelling ''Nachlaß'') is a German word, used in academia to describe the collection of manuscripts, notes, correspondence, and so on left behind when a scholar dies. The word is a compound in German: ''nach'' means "after" ...

''. Besides letters from Theodor W. Adorno and Alfred Andersch, it contains correspondence with

Ingeborg Bachmann Ingeborg Bachmann (25 June 1926 – 17 October 1973) was an Austrian poet and author. Biography Bachmann was born in Klagenfurt, in the Austrian state of Carinthia, the daughter of Olga (née Haas) and Matthias Bachmann, a schoolteacher. Her fa ...

Ernst Bloch Ernst Simon Bloch (; July 8, 1885 – August 4, 1977; pseudonyms: Karl Jahraus, Jakob Knerz) was a German Marxist philosopher. Bloch was influenced by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx, as well as by apocalyptic and religious thinkers ...

and

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll is a recipient of the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). ...

. From May 2009 onward, Kaiser answered readers' questions weekly in his video column ''Kaiser's Classic Customer'' on the website of '' SZ-Magazin''. Due to an illness he had to give this up in January 2011. The series has not been continued since. Kaiser died in Munich, aged 88.

Work

* ''Kleines Theatertagebuch.'' Rowohlt, Reinbek 1965 (with preface: ''Kritik als Beruf''). * ''Große Pianisten in unserer Zeit.''

Piper Verlag Piper Verlag is a German publisher based in Munich, printing both fiction and non-fiction works. It currently prints over 200 new paperback titles per year. Authors published by the company include Andreas von Bülow and Sara Paretsky. It is owne ...

, Munich 1965; New edition 1996, . * ''Beethovens 32 Klaviersonaten und ihre Interpreten.'' S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1975, . * ''Erlebte Musik. Von Bach bis Stravinsky.'' Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 1977, . * ''Erlebte Musik. Teil 2. Von Wagner bis Zimmermann.'' DTV, Munich 1982, . * ''Mein Name ist Sarastro. Die Gestalten in Mozart's Meisteropern von Alfonso bis Zerlina.'' Piper, Munich 1984, . * ''Wie ich sie sah … und wie sie waren – Zwölf kleine Porträts.'' List, Munich 1985, . * ''Erlebte Literatur. Deutsche Schriftsteller in unserer Zeit.'' Piper, Munich 1988, . * ''Leben mit Wagner.'' Knaus, Munich 1990; New edition: Siedler, Munich 2013, . * ''„Vieles ist auf Erden zu thun.“ Imaginäre Gespräche (…).'' Piper, Munich 1991, . * ''Was mir wichtig ist.'' Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1996, . * ''Kaisers Klassik. 100 Meisterwerke der Musik.'' Schneekluth, Munich 1997, . * ''Kaisers Klassik. Da Capo.'' Schneekluth, Munich 1999, . * ''Von Wagner bis Walser. Neues zu Literatur und Musik.'' Pendo, Zürich 1999, . * ''"Ich bin der letzte Mohikaner".'' (autobiography, with Henriette Kaiser). Ullstein, Munich 2008, . Catalogue of works * Gesa Anssar, , : ''Kaiser-Verzeichnis.'' Allitera, Munich 2003, .

Lecture series

Kaiser's many years of lecturing activity at the

Gasteig Gasteig is a cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig. Most of the events of the Fi ...

in Munich include his extensive series of lectures on specific artists and art forms, especially on the subject of music: * About

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

in the 1970s; in Munich (Gymnasium Fürstenried, 60 lectures) * About Mozart's operas; in the 1990s in

Vaterstetten Vaterstetten is a municipality in the Upper Bavarian district of Ebersberg. It lies east of Munich and is the district's biggest community. Vaterstetten is on the outskirts of Munich, roughly twenty minutes by S-Bahn from Marienplatz. Geography ...

* About

; i Munich Gasteig (

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 Car ...

-Hall), from 1989 to 11 May 1993 (63 lectures) * About ''

Symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

and

Sonata Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...

between Beethoven,

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

and

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

'' * The secret of great

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

– Beethoven and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

as creators of classical

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

works; at the Gasteig in Munich; the series was transferred to "The great late works", from 18 September 2007 to 16 November 2010. From 11 October 1994 to 17 July 2007 Kaiser gave 206 lectures, a total of 322. With 170,000 listeners, Kaiser's lectures are the most successful event to date of the .

Radio series

During weekly radio broadcasts (one hour long, for example "Kaisers Corner" in Bayern4-Klassik), he dealt with Chopin for half a year and with "Beethoven – Werk und Wirkung" for a whole year. In addition to this, there were regular word broadcasts, such as "Kaiser's Magazine Show".

Films

* ''Der letzte Kaiser.'' TV-

Feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature (CAD), could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (software design) is an intentional distinguishing characteristic of a software item ...

, 2008, 5:25 Min., Buch: Peter Gerhardt, Produktion:

, , First broadcast: 16 November 2008. * ''Musik im Fahrtwind.'' Dokumentarfilm, 2006, 87 Min., Written and directed by Henriette Kaiser, Production: Lemuel Film, First broadcast: 5 November 2006,

Bayerischer Rundfunk Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR; "Bavarian Broadcasting") is a public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD consortium of public broadcas ...

* ''Der Klassik-Kaiser.'' Dokumentarfilm, 1997, Buch und Regie: Eckhart Schmidt, Production: Raphaela Film GmbH * In the film ''Bruckners Entscheidung'' (1995) by

Jan Schmidt-Garre Jan Schmidt-Garre (born 18 June 1962 in Munich), German film director and producer. Life Jan Schmidt-Garre studied philosophy at the Hochschule für Philosophie der Jesuiten in Munich from 1982 to 1986 (M. A. with a semiotic thesis on Wagner's ...

Kaiser played the role of

Awards

* 1966:

Theodor Wolff Prize The Theodor Wolff Prize is a German journalism prize. It has been awarded annually since 1962 in five categories, equal prizes of €6,000, by the . In addition, at irregular intervals, journalists are awarded the Theodor Wolff Prize for their life ...

* 1993:

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

1. Class * 1993:

Ludwig Börne Prize The Ludwig Börne Prize (german: Ludwig-Börne-Preis, links=no) is a literary award that is awarded annually by the Frankfurt-based Ludwig-Börne-Stiftung. It is one of the most important of its kind in German-speaking countries. Objective and ...

awarded for the first time * 1997: * 2001:

Hildegard von Bingen Prize for Journalism The Hildegard von Bingen Prize for Journalism () is an annual journalism award. Since 1995, it is awarded by the Board of Trustees of the Hildegard von Bingen Prize. Former award winners are members of the Board of Trustees. The award was founded i ...

* 2004: for critics * 2009: * 2010: Theodor-Wolff-Preis, for his life's work * 2013: Distinction of the ', for his life's workSee
/ref>

References

External links

*
AudioVideo: Folge 10, über Bach bzw. Beethoven (Goldberg- bzw. Diabelli-Variationen)
auf YouTube Interviews
"Ich weiß, dass ich sterben muss. Und zwar relativ bald".
In ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung'' (; ''FAZ''; "''Frankfurt General Newspaper''") is a centre-right conservative-liberal and liberal-conservativeHans Magnus Enzensberger: Alter Wein in neuen Schläuchen' (in German). ''Deutschland Radio'', ...

'', 12 December 2008, Nr.50, Interview in nine little parts
"Ich habe nichts gegen Dackel".
In the ''

'', 24 October 2005 Obituaries
''Langjähriger Feuilletonchef und SZ-Kritiker Joachim Kaiser ist tot.''
In the ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'', 11 May 2017 * tagesspiegel.de

* FAZ.net

* welt.de / Manuel Brug

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiser, Joachim 1928 births 2017 deaths People from Giżycko County People from East Prussia 20th-century German journalists German music journalists German literary critics German music critics German music historians 20th-century German musicologists 21st-century German musicologists German theatre critics German columnists Germanists Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Echo (music award) winners