Johann Ritter von Herbeck (25 December 1831 – 28 October 1877) was an
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
musician, conductor and composer, born in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, best known for leading the premiere of
Franz 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 ...
's
"Unfinished" Symphony.
He was practically a self-educated musician, but by hard work rose rapidly from the position of
chorister
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...
to that of
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 ...
in the
Vienna Conservatory. From 1859 to 1870 and again from 1873 to 1877 he conducted the concerts of the
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde
The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (), also known as the Wiener Musikverein (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Theat ...
, which under his energetic leadership became events of prime importance. In 1866 he was made chief court Kapellmeister and from 1871 to 1875 he was director of the
Imperial Opera, resigning over intrigues and annoyances he could not tolerate.
[Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed., 1954]
He was a great supporter of the music of
Franz 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 ...
, and conducted the premiere of his
"Unfinished" Symphony in 1865. In 1867 he conducted the first three movements of
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 ...
's ''
A German Requiem''. He also conducted the Viennese premiere of
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 ...
's ''
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
(; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...
''.
[ He was fairly influential in local musical life for much of his career. He was responsible for ]Anton Bruckner
Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germ ...
's appointment in Vienna and was one of his most ardent supporters. Hector Berlioz
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
described him as a first-rate conductor.[Embellishments]
He wrote many excellent part-songs and some instrumental music. His orchestral music included ''Tanzmomente'' (which Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
arranged for solo piano, S. 492), ''Künstlerfahrt'', Symphonic Variations and several symphonies, among them a Symphony in D minor with organ (No. 4, his opus 20, published in 1878 posthumously in arrangement ). He also wrote a String Quartet in F, Op. 9, and various other works remain in manuscript.[ One of his best-loved works is ''Pueri Concinite'', a Christmas motet for boys' choir and solo voice. 1866 he wrote the Great Mass for chorus, organ and orchestra, recorded by the Philharmonic Choir Munich and the Philharmonie Festiva conducted by Gerd Schaller.Prestocassical]
/ref>
In 1874, three years before his death, Herbeck was appointed to the third rank of the Iron Crown, which raised him to knighthood, and he was henceforth "Johann Ritter von Herbeck".[ His son Ludwig wrote a memoir of his father in 1885.][
]
Publications
* E. Hanslick, ''Suite (Zwei Wiener Kapellmeister)'' (Vienna, 1884)
* David Ewen, Encyclopedia of Concert Music. New York; Hill and Wang, 1959.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbeck, Johann Ritter von
1831 births
1877 deaths
19th-century Austrian people
19th-century classical composers
19th-century conductors (music)
Austrian Romantic composers
Austrian conductors (music)
Austrian male classical composers
Austrian knights
Male conductors (music)
Musicians from Vienna
Opera managers