Hans von Koessler (1 January 1853 – 23 May 1926) was a German composer, conductor and music teacher. In

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, where he worked for 26 years, he was known as János Koessler.

Biography

Koessler, a cousin 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, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

, was born in Waldeck, Fichtelgebirge (now part of Kemnath,

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (; , , ) is an administrative district in the east of Bavaria, Germany. It consists of seven districts and 226 municipalities, including three cities. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and nume ...

). He was taught the organ from 1874 to 1877 by Josef Rheinberger and attended the choir lessons of Franz Wüllner in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

. Immediately after that, he moved to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, where he was appointed director and teacher for

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

and choral music at the Dresden School of Music. From 1878, he was also conductor of the Dresdner Liedertafel orchestra. From 1882 to 1908, he initially taught organ and choir at the National Music Academy of Budapest in Hungary. Later, he also became professor for composition and was also given a

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

. His students became some of the best Hungarian composers of the time:

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (, ; , ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, music pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music education. ...

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hunga ...

Ernő Dohnányi Ernő or Erno is a Finnish language, Finnish and Hungarian language, Hungarian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: *Ernő Balogh (1897-1989), Hungarian pianist, composer, editor, and educator *Ernő Bánk (1883-1962), Hunga ...

; for more After his retirement in 1908, he returned to Germany, but became appointed to the agency of Kálmán and Dohnányi in order to ensure that he received a moderate income. He died in

Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...

in 1926, aged 73.

Music

Koessler composed over 130 works, including an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, two symphonies, symphonic variations for orchestra, a

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, two

string quartet The term string quartet refers 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 Violin, violini ...

s, a

string quintet A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet ...

, a

string sextet In european classical music, classical music, a string sextet is a composition written for six string instruments, or a group of six musicians who perform such a composition. Most string sextets have been written for an ensemble consisting of two ...

, a piano quintet, a suite for piano, violin and viola, and a

mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

for female choir and organ. He also set

psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

to music. However, as a result of his erratic way of living, a large number of his compositions were lost, or found themselves only being played in private hands. Koessler's chamber music has been highly praised by several commentators, including the eminent chamber music scholar Wilhelm Altmann, who has singled out Koessler's Second String Quartet and his Trio Suite for Piano, Violin and Viola for especial praise.

Bibliography

* ''Cobbett's Cyclopedic Survey of Chamber Music'' (London: Oxford University Press, 1963) * Wilhelm Altmann: ''Handbuch für Streichquartettspieler'' (Wilhelmshaven: Heinrichshofen, 1972) * ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians'' (London: Macmillan, 1980)

External links

Hans Koessler sound-bites of & information about his Trio Suite for Violin, Viola & Piano, String Quintet & String Sextet
* 1853 births 1926 deaths 19th-century German classical composers 19th-century German male musicians 20th-century German classical composers Academic staff of the Franz Liszt Academy of Music German expatriates in Hungary German music educators German opera composers German Romantic composers Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Hungarian people of German descent German male opera composers People from Tirschenreuth (district) Pupils of Josef Rheinberger {{Hungary-composer-stub