Mart(h)a Adam (born 27 August 1895) was a German

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, typically b ...

and voice teacher who appeared exclusively in

lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

and

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

. She formed a vocal quartet, the , with soprano Ilse Helling-Rosenthal, tenor Hans Lißmann and her later husband

Wolfgang Rosenthal Wolfgang Rosenthal (8 September 1882 – 10 June 1971) was a German Oral and maxillofacial surgery, oral surgeon. Until the mid-1930s, he also pursued a parallel career as a bass-baritone singer. After the destructive bombing of the in Leipzig ...

as the bass, performing in Europe.

Life

Adam was born in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

in a musical family. The composer was among her ancestors. Her father owned a factory, and her mother was a piano teacher. She received her vocal training at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...

with Marie Hedmondt. She formed a vocal quartet in Leipzig in 1919, the Rosenthal-Quartet, with soprano Ilse Helling-Rosenthal, tenor Hans Lißmann and her later husband, bass

. The vocal ensemble performed in Europe with great success. In 1918, they performed the '' Liebesliederwalzer'' by Johannes Brahms, and a reviewer noted the beauty and blending of their voices. On 11 March 1920, they were the soloists in a concert at the

Gewandhaus Gewandhaus is a concert hall in Leipzig, the home of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics. History The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'') The fi ...

, with

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 Br ...

conducting Bruckner's

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...

; the organist was

Karl Straube Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conducting, conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, ...

. The quartet was dissolved by the Nazi regime. She married Wolfgang Rosenthal in 1943. It is not known when and where she died, but Kerstin Ackermann cites a letter Martha Rosenthal (Adam) wrote on 7 December 1971.

References

External links

"Marta Adam (Contralto)"
Bach Cantatas website
''Neue Zeitschrift für Musik''
(1919) which mentions several of Adam's performances {{DEFAULTSORT:Adam, Marta German contraltos 1895 births Musicians from Leipzig Year of death missing