Oscar Fetrás (16 February 1854 – 10 January 1931) was a German composer of popular dance music, military marches, piano pieces and arrangements. Fetrás had over 200 compositions to his name. His best known work is his

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

"Mondnacht auf der

Alster The Alster () is a right tributary of the Elbe river in Northern Germany. It has its source near Henstedt-Ulzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, flows somewhat southwards through much of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and joins the Elbe in central ...

" Op. 60 which is still immensely popular to the present day.

Biography

Fetrás was born as Otto Kaufmann Faster in 1854 in Hamburg. His father Matthias Faster was an Hamburgian editor of a stock-exchange magazine. The Faster family originally came from Bützfleth, a locality of today's Stade near Hamburg. Fetrás's grandfather, a sea captain, died in the sinking of his ship ''Ceres''. His mother Amalie Margarethe, born Decker, had ancestral origins from the island of

Sylt Sylt (; da, Sild; Sylt North Frisian, Söl'ring North Frisian: ) is an island in northern Germany, part of Nordfriesland district, Schleswig-Holstein, and well known for the distinctive shape of its shoreline. It belongs to the North Frisian ...

. Early in his career Fetrás worked for , founder of the

Flying P-Liner The Flying P-Liners were the sailing ships of the German shipping company F. Laeisz of Hamburg. History The company was founded in 1824 by Ferdinand Laeisz as a hat manufacturing company. He was quite successful and distributed his hats even ...

. Once he became widely regarded as being on the same level as the revered Viennese waltz kings, he departed to conduct his own orchestra. At the age of 26 Fetrás's compositions attracted the attention of a Hamburg publisher. He changed his name to Fetrás, an anagram of his surname Faster. Fetrás soon rose to the position of conductor of the Uhlenhorster Fährhaus, a famous restaurant with ballrooms in Hamburg for which he composed his second most famous, but now forgotten work, Uhlenhorster Kinder. He was regarded as the most talented light music composer that Northern Germany ever produced and from the start modelled his own composing on that of his idol,

Johann Strauss Jr. Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

As a gift of thanks for his waltz "Mondnacht auf der Alster" which brought Hamburg international acclaim, the local business community gave Fetrás a bronze statue of the Roman god Hermes/Mercurius by the French artist Marius Montagne. This statue is the only remaining possession of Fetrás which survived the World War II bombings and is now owned privately in Henstedt-Ulzburg near Hamburg. 0813Oscar Fetrás

It might have been Franz von Blon, at that time the conductor of the Stadttheater Orchestra, who introduced "Mondnacht auf der Alster" at the inaugural concert for the 1888 ball season. It was a sensation and earned Fetrás the title of "The Hamburg Waltz King". Soon he was invited to tour Germany, Austria and France with his orchestra. He became personally acquainted with Johann Strauss. In 1904 he won a prize for his composition "Frühlingsluft" and later he wrote ''Reiche Mädchen'', a reworking of Johann Strauss's 1897 operetta ''

Die Göttin der Vernunft ''Die Göttin der Vernunft'' (''The Goddess of Reason'') was the last completed operetta of Johann Strauss II. It was written to a libretto by A. M. Willner and Bernhard Buchbinder and was first performed at the Theater an der Wien on 13 March 18 ...

''. The complete ''Die Göttin der Vernunft'' operetta has been released in 2011 by Naxos Records, whilst the ''Reiche Mädchen'' has been recorded by Marco Polo on their two CD production of Johann Strauss operetta collections. Fetrás remained well-known and respected and though definitely a second rank composer in the Viennese style, he produced some 300 works. Fetrás died January 1931 in Hamburg and was buried in the

Ohlsdorf Cemetery Ohlsdorf Cemetery (german: Ohlsdorfer Friedhof or (former) ) in the Ohlsdorf quarter of the city of Hamburg, Germany, is the biggest rural cemetery in the world and the fourth-largest cemetery in the world. Most of the people buried at the cemete ...

Legacy

In 1943, the Uhlenhorster Färhaus was destroyed by Allied bombing, and with it was lost the original score of Fetrás's most famous work "Mondnacht auf der Alster". The waltzes and music of Fetrás appear to have disappeared from the mainstream repertoire since then. This was primarily due to the many outlets of music publishers and music parts libraries which issued his material being destroyed during the

bombing of Hamburg in World War II The Allied bombing of Hamburg during World War II included numerous attacks on civilians and civic infrastructure. As a large city and industrial centre, Hamburg's shipyards, U-boat pens, and the Hamburg-Harburg area oil refineries were attac ...

, leaving no publishers to issue his material to this day. Arrangements for solo piano of all of his works, published with opus numbers, are available on

IMSLP The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public-domain music scores. The project, which uses MediaWiki softwar ...

. In

Hamburg-Rahlstedt Rahlstedt () is a quarter (''Stadtteil'') in the Wandsbek borough (''Bezirk'') of the Free and Hanseatic city of Hamburg in northern Germany. In 2020, the population was 92,511. History The quarter was first mentioned in 1248 with the name of "''R ...

the street Fetrasweg is named after him.

Works

* Op. 10 Goldschmieds Töchterlein – waltz * Op. 11 Bankett – march * Op. 12 Schönes Lenchen – polka française * Op. 13 Hand in Hand – lanciers * Op. 14 Lustig voran! – march * Op. 15 in der gold'nen Faschingszeit – waltz * Op. 16 Traulich beisammen –

gavotte The gavotte (also gavot, gavote, or gavotta) is a French dance, taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot, the people of the Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated, according to one source. A ...

* Op. 17 Fruhling im Herzen – waltz * Op. 18 Ihm nach! – polka schnell * Op. 19 Luftschlösser – waltz * Op. 20 Flottes Carré – lanciers * Op. 21 Rosamundchen – polka française * Op. 22 Carmen – waltz after motives from Bizet's opera * Op. 23 Nachtschwärmer – waltz * Op. 24 An die Gewehre! – march * Op. 25 Die Schäferin – rheinische polka * Op. 26 Das blonde Gretchen – waltz * Op. 27 Maskentrubel – polka française * Op. 28 Elekrisch – polka schnell * Op. 29 Balduin Dahl-march – march * Op. 30 La mascotte – waltz after motives from Audran's opera * Op. 31 Im Morgengrauen – waltz * Op. 32 Le Petit blue – march * Op. 33 Vis a Vis – lanciers * Op. 34 Rip-Rip Valse – waltz after motives from

Robert Planquette Jean Robert Planquette (31 July 1848 – 28 January 1903) was a French composer of songs and operettas. Several of Planquette's operettas were extraordinarily successful in Britain, especially '' Les cloches de Corneville'' (1878), the length of ...

* Op. 35 Spanischer – waltz * Op. 36 Blumenpyramiden – waltz * Op. 37 Wintergarten –

quadrille The quadrille is a dance that was fashionable in late 18th- and 19th-century Europe and its colonies. The quadrille consists of a chain of four to six '' contredanses''. Latterly the quadrille was frequently danced to a medley of opera melodie ...

* Op. 38 Zigeunerblut – march * Op. 39 Kostümfest – quadrille * Op. 40 Uhlenhorster Kinder – waltz * Op. 41 Nur fest! – march * Op. 42 Irma – waltz after motives from Audran's opera * Op. 43 Fensterpromenaden – waltz * Op. 44 Dunkle Rose – polka- mazurka * Op. 45 Dir zu Lieb! – polka française * Op. 47 Tosti-Leider – waltz * Op. 48 Husarenliebchen – march-polka * Op. 49 Derby – quadrille * Op. 50 Veilchen am Wege – waltz * Op. 51 Frisch gewagt – march * Op. 52 Bei Nacht und Nebel – waltz * Op. 53 Emmeline – polka française * Op. 54 Stelldichein – march * Op. 55 Lieb und Lied – waltz * Op. 57 Jeanette – polka française * Op. 58 Barcelona – march * Op. 59 Erwischt! – polka schnell * Op. 60 Mondnacht auf der Alster – waltz * Op. 61 Bunte Reihe – lanciers * Op. 62 Train – march * Op. 63 Marias Traum – waltz * Op. 64 Quadrille im Militärstil – quadrille * Op. 65 Fifi – March * Op. 66 En tete a tete – lanciers * Op. 67 Trinket, scherzet! – waltz * Op. 68 Margaretha – polka-mazurka * Op. 69 Maskenscherze – quadrille * Op. 70 Auf rosigem Pfad – waltz * Op. 71 Geschichten aus dem Sachsenwald – waltz * Op. 72 Leichtes Element – polka française * Op. 73 Nervös – polka schnell * Op. 74 Schalagat – quadrille * Op. 75 Blaue Augen – blauer Himmel – waltz * Op. 76 Wissmann – march * Op. 77 Eichhörnchen – polka schnell * Op. 78 Der Gladiator – march * Op. 79 Spielmanns Lieder – waltz * Op. 80 Strand-Idyllen – waltz * Op. 82 Dimitri – march * Op. 83 Fidele – march * Op. 93 Harvestehuder Schwalben - waltz * Op. 112 Märchen aus der Quellental – waltz * Op. 122 Die Königsmaid – waltz * Op. 126 Redaktionsgeheinmisse – waltz * Op. 128 La Barcarolle – waltz after motives from Jacques Offenbach's opera * Op. 137 Carmen – march after motives from Bizet * Op. 139 Tirol in Lied und Tanz * Op. 140 Carmen – quadrille after motives from Bizet's opera * Op. 145 Prisca – waltz (Rupprecht) * Op. 146 Funkensprache – polka schnell * Op. 147 Flunkermichel – polka française * Op. 148 Scheiden und Meiden (Les Adieux) – waltz * Op. 149 Sommernacht am Rhein – waltz * Op. 150 Frohsinn auf den Bergen – waltz * Op. 152 Im 7 Himmel – potpourri * Op. 153 Liebe schafft Rat – overture * Op. 154 Freikugeln – march * Op. 157 Melodien-Parade – march-potpourri * Op. 163 Offenbach – quadrille after motives from

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ' ...

* Op. 164 Offenbach – waltz * Op. 165 Wenn die Füsschen sie heben – waltz after motives from '' Die keusche Susanne'' von

Jean Gilbert Jean Gilbert (11 February 1879 – 20 December 1942), born Max Winterfeld, was a German operetta composer and conductor. Life and career Gilbert was born in Hamburg into a family of musicians; his ancestors were cantors of the Jewish communi ...

* Op. 166 Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne – march after motives from ''Die keusche Susanne'' von Jean Gilbert * Op. 167 Hahnen-Rheinländer (''Die keusche Susanne'' – Gilbert) / Kätchen-Rheinländer (Tieck) – polka française * Op. 168 Die keusche Susanne – potpourri (Gilbert) * Op. 169 Onegin-Klänge – waltz after motives from Tchaikovsky's opera * Op. 170 Margueritentag – waltz * Op. 171 Operetten-Revue – potpourri * Op. 174 Willst du Liebe lernen? – waltz after motives from ''Marine-Gust'l'' von

Georg Jarno Georg Jarno (3 June 1868, in Buda – 25 May 1920, in Breslau) was a Hungarian composer, mainly of operettas. Biography After he finished his studies in Budapest, he worked as Theaterkapellmeister in Bremen, Gera, Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Metz, ...

* Op. 175 Spanisch-Polnisch – march * Op. 176 Auf hoher See – march after motives from ''Marine-Gust'l'' von Jarno * Op. 177 Die keusche Susanne – quadrille after motives from ''Die keusche Susanne'' von Jean Gilbert * Op. 178 Die Marine-Gust'l – potpourri (Georg Jarno) * Op. 179 Truthahn-Tanz – trot de dindon * Op. 180 Blumenfest – overture * Op. 188 Skizzen aus Russland – divertissement * Op. 189 Die Wandervögel – march * Op. 191 Polo-Spiele – intermezzo * Op. 192 Mia Cara – tango * Op. 193 Walzerflut oder 100 Jahre in 15 Minuten – chronological waltz-suite * Op. 194 Die lustigen Marionetten – intermezzo * Op. 195 Juchhei, Tirolerbub – march * Op. 196 Souvenir de Chopin – fantasie * Op. 197 Froh im Kreise – Deutsches Volkslieder Potpourri * Op. 199 O Deutschland hoch in Ehren – march * Op. 200 Hurra Hurra die Ulanen sind da – war March 1914 * Op. 201 Hindenburg – march * Op. 202 Kinderlieder – march * Op. 203 Verkaufte Braut – march after motives from Smetana's opera * Op. 204 Andreas Hofer – march * Op. 205 Nachruf an Schubert – potpourri * Op. 206 Nachruf an Mendelssohn – potpourri * Op. 207 Alpensänger – potpourri * Op. 208 Holzschuh -Tanz – Charakterstück – potpourri * Op. 209 Künstlerlaune – intermezzo * Op. 210 Hoffnungssterne – waltz * Op. 211 Von Bühne zu Bühne – opera fantasie * Op. 212 Erinnerung an Josef Gung'l – potpourri * Op. 213 Aus Deutschlands Liederhain – potpourri * Op. 215 Lumbye-Fantasie – divertissement (

Hans Christian Lumbye Hans Christian Lumbye (; 2 May 1810 – 20 March 1874) was a Danish composer of waltzes, polkas, mazurkas and galops, among other things. Beginnings As a child, he studied music in Randers and Odense, and by age 14 he was playing the trumpet in a ...

) * Op. 216 Nymphe und Faun – waltz after motives from

Léo Delibes Clément Philibert Léo Delibes (; 21 February 1836 – 16 January 1891) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his ballets and French opera, operas. His works include the ballets ''Coppélia'' (1870) and ''Sylvia (ba ...

* Op. 218 Minutenspiele – potpourri * Op. 219 Sang und Tanz vom Böhmerland – potpourri * Op. 222 Russische Volksklänge – potpourri * Op. 223 Tanzlust auf der Alm – Ländler

In popular culture

"Moonlight on the Alster" is described as being popular with Royal Navy personnel in the novel '' HMS Ulysses'' by

Alistair MacLean Alistair Stuart MacLean ( gd, Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a 20th-century Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably '' The ...

Sources and references

* ''Lexikon des Blasmusikwesens'', Freiburg-Tiengen: Blasmusikverlag Schulz, 1988 * ''La musica en la radio: radio Ciudad Real EAJ 65 y sus discos de pizarra'' Coordinador: Francisco Alía Miranda Cuenca: Ediciones de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 2000, p. 321–356 * ''The heritage encyclopedia of band music: composers and their music'' Edited by Paul E. Bierley. William H. Rehrig, Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press, 1991 * ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'' London: Macmillan, 1980 * ''Kurschners Deutscher Musiker-Kalender 1954'' Zweite Ausgabe des Deutschen Musiker-Lexikons erausgeber: Hedwig und E.H. Mueller von Asow, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1954 * ''Sohlman's musiklexikon'' Gosta Morin, Carl Allan Moberg. Einar Sundstrom Stockholm: Sohlman Forlag, 1951 * ''Dizionario universale dei musicisti: Supplemento'' Schmidl, Carlo. Milan: Sonzogno, 1938 * ''Kurzgefasstes Tonkünstler Lexikon: fur Musiker und Freunde der Musik'' Begründet von Paul Frank. Neu bearbeitet und erganzt von Wilhelm Altmann. Regensburg: Gustave Bosse, 1936 * ''Deutsches Musiker-Lexikon'' Herausgegeben von Erich H. Muller. Dresden: Wilhelm Limpert, 1929

References

External links

Oscar Fetrás' biography
Johann Strauss Society of Great Britain
Oscar Festras biography
Hamburg Stadtwiki * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fetras, Oscar 1854 births 1931 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers Light music composers Musicians from Hamburg German Romantic composers German male classical composers 20th-century German composers 19th-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians 19th-century German male musicians