Lula Mysz-Gmeiner (born Julie Sophie Gmeiner; 15 August 1876 – 7 August 1948) was a German concert

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

and mezzo-soprano born in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, who performed lieder recitals in Europe and the United States. She was an academic voice teacher in Berlin and taught both

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (9 December 19153 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as well as the op ...

and Peter Anders.

Career

She was born Julie Sophie Gmeiner in Kronstadt (Brassó), in the region of

, in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

(today

Brașov Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County. According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

). She was the third of ten siblings, called Lula. The children received early musical instruction, and several of her siblings also became professional musicians: the mezzo-soprano Ella Gmeiner, the bass-baritone Rudolf Gmeiner, the cellist Julius Gmeiner, and the pianist Luise Gmeiner. Lula learned the violin at age six and played in the Kronstadt orchestra at age 15. A year later, she began voice lessons with the composer Rudolf Lassel, who dedicated a composition to her and premiered it with her. From age 18, she studied at the Vienna Conservatory with

Gustav Walter Gustav Walter (11 February 1834, Bílina, Bohemia – 31 January 1910, Vienna) was a German (from Bohemia) operatic tenor who sang leading roles for more than 30 years at the Vienna Staatsoper in Austria. He was a highly regarded interpreter o ...

, a notable voice teacher of the time. About 1898, she moved to Berlin, where she studied with Emilie Herzog,

Etelka Gerster Etelka Gerster (25 June 1855, Košice20 August 1920, Pontecchio) was a Hungarian soprano. She debuted in Italy in 1876 and sang in London the following year. In 1878, she was performing in the Academy of Music where she was considered one of ...

and

Lilli Lehmann Lilli Lehmann, born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, later Elisabeth Maria Lehmann-Kalisch (24 November 1848 – 17 May 1929) was a German operatic soprano. She was also a voice teacher. Biography The future opera star's father, Karl-August Lehmann, wa ...

. She performed Lieder by Johannes Brahms, Robert Schumann,

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 wo ...

, Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Max Reger, among others, many of them written for her or dedicated to her. She married the Transylvanian engineer Ernst Mysz in Kronstadt in 1900. The couple had three daughters, two of whom died young, while the third, Susanne, would marry the tenor Peter Anders, who studied with her mother. Lula Mysz-Gmeiner was awarded the title of an Austrian-Hungarian

Kammersänger Kammersänger (male) or Kammersängerin (female), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was bestowed by princes or ...

in 1905. She made concert tours in Europe and the United States. She often collaborated with the pianists , Emil Mattiesen,

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of B ...

Siegfried Ochs Siegfried Ochs (19 April 1858 – 6 February 1929) was a German choral conductor and composer. Life Born in Frankfurt, Ochs first studied medicine and chemistry at the Polytechnikum Darmstadt (today the Technische Universität Darmstadt) and at ...

, and Reger. Reger dedicated several lieder to her including his ''Vier Gesänge'', Op. 88, published in 1905. She also appeared in concerts, singing for example the '' Alto Rhapsody'' by Johannes Brahms and Lieder by Hugo Wolf with the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

, conducted by

Oskar Fried Oskar Fried (1 August 1871 – 5 July 1941) was a German conductor and composer. He was known as a great admirer of Gustav Mahler, whose works he performed many times throughout his life. Fried was also the first conductor to record a Mahler symp ...

, on 8 April 1907. In October 1923, she sang in two concerts of a program in memory of Reger at St. Nikolai in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

Fritz Stein Friedrich Wilhelm Stein (17 December 1879 – 14 November 1961) was a German theologian, conductor, musicologist and church musician. He found in an archive in Jena the score of the so-called '' Jena Symphony'', which he published as possibly a wo ...

conducted the Oratorienverein and the Städtisches Orchester in '' Die Nonnen'', '' Requiem'' and '' Der 100. Psalm''. From 1920, she was a voice teacher at the Staatlich akademische Hochschule für Musik zu Berlin. Among her students were Carla Henius, Maria Müller,

and Carla Spletter. She lost her apartment in Berlin during World War II and taught from 1945 at the Landesakademie in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the capital and second-largest city of the northeastern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern as well as of the region of Mecklenburg, after Rostock. It ...

. She died in Schwerin on 7 August 1948.

References

External links

* * *
Mysz-Gmeiner, Lula
admin.concertprogrammes.org * Thomas Seedorf
"Geheimnisvoller Klang" – Versuch über ein Reger-Lied
Carus-Verlag 2004 {{DEFAULTSORT:MyszGmeiner, Lula 1876 births 1948 deaths German contraltos People from Brașov University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni Academic staff of the Berlin University of the Arts 19th-century German women singers 20th-century German women singers Voice teachers 19th-century German educators 20th-century German educators German women educators Women music educators 19th-century women educators 20th-century women educators