Robert Fuchs (15 February 1847 – 19 February 1927) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

and music

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. As Professor of

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in his lifetime.

Biography

He was born in Frauental, Austria in 1847. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Felix Otto Dessoff and Joseph Hellmesberger among others. He eventually secured a teaching position there and was appointed Professor of

in 1875. He retained the position until 1912. He died in Vienna in 1927. He was the youngest brother of Johann Nepomuk Fuchs, who was also a composer and an opera conductor. Robert Fuchs taught many notable composers,

Notability

"Unfailingly tuneful and enjoyable, Robert Fuchs’s piano trios are an easily accessible way to get to know a composer whom

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

greatly admired," noted the magazine Gramophone. "In his time Fuchs was very highly regarded, with one critic famously pointing to Fuchsisms in

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

’s Second Symphony." The reason his compositions did not become better known was largely that he did little to promote them, living a quiet life in Vienna and refusing to arrange concerts, even when the opportunities arose. He certainly had his admirers, among them Brahms, who almost never praised the works of other composers. But with regard to Fuchs, Brahms wrote, ''“Fuchs is a splendid musician, everything is so fine and so skillful, so charmingly invented, that one is always pleased.”''Pascall, Robert (2007–2012
" Fuchs, Robert"
''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online''. Retrieved 11 April 2012. Famous contemporary conductors, including

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 ...

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zara, Dalmatia, Austria-Hungary (now Zadar, Croatia), to Austrian parents. ...

and Hans Richter, championed his works when they had the opportunity but with few exceptions, it was his chamber music which was considered his finest work. In his lifetime, his best known works were his five serenades; their popularity was so great that Fuchs acquired the nickname "Serenaden-Fuchs" (roughly, "Serenader Fox"). The serenades have been recorded by the Cologne Chamber Orchestra under Christian Ludwig for

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best ab ...

List of compositions

Orchestral

*Symphonies **Symphony No. 1 in C major, Op. 37 **Symphony No. 2 in E major, Op. 45 **Symphony No. 3 in E major, Op. 79 *Serenades **Serenade for string orchestra No. 1 in D major, Op. 9 **Serenade for string orchestra No. 2 in C major, Op. 14 **Serenade for string orchestra No. 3 in E minor, Op. 21 **Serenade for string orchestra and 2 horns in G minor, Op. 51 **Serenade for small orchestra in D major, Op. 53 *Andante grazioso & Capriccio for string orchestra, Op.63 *Piano Concerto in B minor, Op.27

Vocal

*Operas **''Die Königsbraut'', in 3 acts, Op.46 (1889) (''librettist:

Ignaz Schnitzer Ignaz Schnitzer (also Ignatz or Ignác Schnitzer; 4 December 1839 – 18 June 1921) was an Austrian famous writer, journalist, translator, librettist and newspaper founder of Hungarian origin. Life Schnitzer was born in Ratzersdorf (then Kin ...

'') premiered in Vienna **''Die Teufelsglocke'', in 3 acts (w/o Op.) (1891) (''librettist: Bernhard Buchbinder'') *Choral works **Mass in G, Op. 108 **Mass in D minor, Op. 116 **Mass in F, without opus number

Chamber

*Quintets **Quintet for clarinet and string quartet in E major, Op. 102 *Quartets **String Quartet No. 1 in E major, Op. 58 **String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 62 **String Quartet No. 3 in C major, Op. 71 **String Quartet No. 4 in A major, Op. 106 **Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 15 **Piano Quartet No. 2 in B minor, Op. 75 *Trios **Trio in F minor for violin, viola, and piano, Op. 115 **Seven Fantasy Pieces for violin, viola and piano, Op. 57 **String Trio in A major, Op. 94 **Piano Trio in C major, Op. 22 **Piano Trio in B major, Op. 72 **Terzetti (trios for two violins and viola) Opp. 61 Nos. 1 in E minor, 2 in D minor **Terzetto in C minor, Op. 107 *Duos **Two Violins ***Twenty Duos, Op. 55 ***Phantasiestücke, Op. 105 (16 duos) **Violin and Viola ***Twelve Duets, Op. 60 **Violin and Piano ***Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 20 ***Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 33 ***Violin Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 68 ***Violin Sonata No. 4 in E major, Op. 77 ***Violin Sonata No. 5 in A major, Op. 95 ***Violin Sonata No. 6 in G minor, Op.103 ***Ten Fantasy Pieces for violin and piano, Op. 74 **Viola and Piano ***Viola Sonata in D minor, Op. 86 ***Six Fantasies for viola and piano, Op. 117 **Cello and Piano ***Cello Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 29 ***Cello Sonata No. 2 in E minor, Op. 83 ***Seven Fantasy Pieces for cello and piano, Op. 78 **Double-Bass and Piano ***Double Bass Sonata, B major, Op. 97Score available at IMSLP ***Three Pieces for Double Bass and Piano, Op. 96

Solo

*Organ **Fantasia in C major, Op. 87 **Fantasia in E minor, Op. 91 **Fantasia in D major, Op. 101 **Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme *Piano **Improvisation for Piano, Op. 11 **Piano Sonata No. 1 in G major, Op. 19 **Piano Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op. 88 **Piano Sonata No. 3 in D major, Op. 109 **Jugendklänge, Op. 32 **Lieb' Schwesterlein (Dear Little Sister), Op. 32, No. 14 **Twelve Waltzes, Op.110 **4 Klavierstücke, Op.111 **''Dewdrops'' (''Tautropfen''), Thirteen Pieces for Piano, Op. 112 *Harp **Harp Fantasy, Op. 85

References

Some of the information on this page appears on the website of Edition Silvertrust—permission has been granted to copy, distribute and/or modify the material under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

External links

* *
Free scores
at the

Mutopia Project The Mutopia Project is a volunteer-run effort to create a library of free content sheet music, in a way similar to Project Gutenberg's library of public domain books. It started in 2000.Portal page at thInternet ArchiveRetrieved January 24, 20 ...

Information and soundbites
at the Edition Sivertrust calalogue online * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Robert 1847 births 1927 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century male musicians Austrian Romantic composers Austrian male classical composers People from Deutschlandsberg District Academics of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna Pupils of Simon Sechter