Moritz Ludwig Carl Ignaz Franz August Fürstenau (born 26 July 1824 and died on 27 March 1889, also in Dresden) was a German

flautist The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

and

music historian Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is a highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies music from a historical point of view. In theory, "music history" could refer to the study of the history o ...

. He left only a few works that gained little significance, but was extremely helpful as a theater historian. With his former conductor

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 ...

, he remained on friendly terms, standing by him even after his departure from Dresden. As an early admirer of him, he was in the 1870s with the founding of the Dresden Wagner Society and as early as 1854, he was already involved in the establishment of the Musicians Association, remaining chairman until his death. He also served as a delegate of the General German Musician Association. For his services he was granted the title of professor of music from the king.

Life

Fürstenau was the second son of the composer

Anton Bernhard Fürstenau Anton Bernhard Fürstenau (born 20 October 1792 in Münster; died 18 November 1852 in Dresden, Germany) was a German flutist and composer. He was the most famous virtuoso in Germany on his instrument and the most important Romantic flutist of the ...

(1792–1852), from whom he received his first musical lessons, and Maria Anna Elisabeth Friederike Antonia Fürstenau, née Schmidt (1803–1867). At eight, he had made his first public appearance in 1832 in one of his father's concerts. The following year he made his first appearance at the Dresden court. Since then he traveled on tour to Breslau,

Halle (Saale) Halle (Saale), or simply Halle (; from the 15th to the 17th century: ''Hall in Sachsen''; until the beginning of the 20th century: ''Halle an der Saale'' ; from 1965 to 1995: ''Halle/Saale'') is the largest city of the Germany, German States of ...

and

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, always in the companion of his father. At the request of

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

King

Frederick Augustus III of Saxony en, Frederick Augustus John Louis Charles Gustav Gregory Philip von Wettin , image = Friedrich August III van Saksen.jpg , caption = Frederick Augustus III (1914) , succession = King of Saxony , reign = 15 October 1904 – ...

, Fürstenau was granted permanent position as flutist at the Royal Chapel of Dresden in 1842, being later promoted to royal chamber musician in 1844. In the following year Fürstenau undertook a longer study trip to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

to take flute lessons with

Theobald Boehm file:Theobald Böhm.jpg, Theobald Böhm, photograph by Franz Hanfstaengl, ca. 1852. Theobald Böhm (or Boehm) (9 April 1794 – 25 November 1881) was a German inventor and musician, who perfected the modern Western concert flute and improved ...

who had developed a special flute which Fürstenau wanted to present to the Dresden court, the so-called Bohm flute which he later left aside for a more keyed flute. After the death of his father, he took over his duties as

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of the royal private music collection in his hometown in 1852. As such he founded two years later the composer's association which should devote itself to

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instru ...

music, especially the

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 ...

. The Heinrich-Schütz Archive in Dresden sees itself in the tradition of his historical work. With the singer

Jenny Lind Johanna Maria "Jenny" Lind (6 October 18202 November 1887) was a Swedish opera singer, often called the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she performed in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and a ...

, Fürstenau traveled in 1855 on a grand tour through the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, while they appeared together as soloists. Frederick Tröstl and Fürstenau were the first instructors at the newly founded private conservatory in 1856. There, besides composition, he gave mostly flute lessons. After the war of 1870, Fürstenau gave up all offices and slowly retired to private life.

Musical works

* ''The Concorde'' - Introduction and Rondo Brilliant on Themes from the Opera for flute, clarinet, piano and orchestra in A-flat major * 12 pieces of Richard Wagner's opera ''

Rienzi ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Rienzi ...

'', ''

The Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...

'' and '' Tannhauser'' for flute with piano accompaniment

Selected works

* Fürstenau, Moritz: ''The deed of foundation of the Royal Saxon musical chapel,'' Dresden 1848 * Fürstenau, Moritz:
Contributions to the History of the Royal Saxon musical chapel
'' Dresden 1849 * Fürstenau, Moritz: Two documents relating to

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

, in: ''Journal of New Music'' 35 / 1853, No. 17, p. 175 f * Fürstenau, Moritz: ''On the history of music and theater at the court of Dresden,'' 2 vols, Dresden 1861/62 * Fürstenau, Moritz: Communications on the music collections of the Kingdom of Saxony, in: ''Proceedings of the royal Saxon antiquity association'' 23/1873, pp. 41–58 * Fürstenau, Moritz: ''The musical activities of the Princess Amalia, Duchess of Saxony,'' Dresden, 1874; * Fürstenau, Moritz: Theaters in Dresden from 1763 to 1777, in: ''Proceedings of the Royal Saxon antiquity association'' 25/1875, pp. 44–78; * Fürstenau, Moritz: ''The Conservatorium of Music in Dresden from 1856 to 1881.'' Festschrift for the 25th jubilee on 26 January 1881, Dresden 1881

Literature

* Eitner, Robert: ''Fürstenau, Moritz''. In: ''General German Biography'' (ADB). Volume 49, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1904, p. 214 * Schneeberger, Bernhard H.: ''The musical family Fürstenau. Studies on the life and work.'' Lit Verlag, Münster 1991, . ** Volume 1 - ''Life and Work'' ** Volume 2 - ''Thematic-Bibliographic lists of works''

References

;Attribution *''This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the German Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there at the'
History
''section''.

External links

* German Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Moritz Fürstenau Moritz Ludwig Carl Ignaz Franz August Fürstenau (born 26 July 1824 and died on 27 March 1889, also in Dresden) was a German flautist and music historian. He left only a few works that gained little significance, but was extremely helpful as a th ...