Robert Heger (19 August 1886 – 14 January 1978) was a German conductor and composer from Strasbourg, Alsace-Lorraine.

Life and career

He studied at the Conservatory of Strasbourg under

Franz Stockhausen Franz Stockhausen (January 30, 1839 – January 4, 1926) was a German choral conductor, and a member of a celebrated German musical family. Franz was born in Guebwiller, the brother of the singer and pedagogue Julius Stockhausen, and son of t ...

, then in Zurich under

Lothar Kempter Lothar Kempter (5 February 1844 – 14 July 1918) was a German-Swiss composer and conductor. Biography Kempter was born in 1844 in Lauingen. His father was music teacher Friedrich Kempter. Following his father's wishes he started studying law a ...

and finally in Munich under

Max von Schillings Max von Schillings (April 19, 1868 – July 24, 1933 in Berlin) was a German conductor, composer and theatre director. He was chief conductor at the Berlin State Opera from 1919 to 1925. Schillings' opera ''Mona Lisa'' (1915) was internationall ...

. After early conducting engagements in Strasbourg he made his debut at

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

in 1908 or 1909. He held appointments in Barmen (1909), at the

Vienna Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...

(1911), and at

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

(1913), where he also conducted Philharmonic concerts. He went on to

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he recorded a magnificent version of Goldmark's Rustic Wedding Symphony with the

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

; and then to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

(1933-1950), where a live wartime ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wolf ...

'' was preserved and afterwards issued on LP, after which he returned again to Munich. In 1932, he conducted the

Vienna Symphony Orchestra The Vienna Symphony (Vienna Symphony Orchestra, german: Wiener Symphoniker) is an Austrian orchestra based in Vienna. Its primary concert venue is the Vienna Konzerthaus. In Vienna, the orchestra also performs at the Musikverein and at the The ...

and one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein in the world premiere of Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, after Arturo Toscanini had declined Ravel's invitation to conduct the premiere. In 1937, Heger joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. Heger conducted one of the final concerts of the Berlin Philharmonic on 12 April 1945 at the Berlin the Philharmonic Hall, 4 days before the Red Army started the Battle of Berlin. The Berliner played Wagner’s Brünnhilde's last aria and the finale from Götterdammerung, Beethoven's Violin Concerto and Bruckner's Romantic Symphony, in attendance of the Albert Speer and Admiral Karl Dönitz. Historical records confirm that members of the Hitler Youth offered cyanide capsules to the audience when leaving the building, to the horror of Albert Speer. Heger conducted at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

, Covent Garden, from 1925 to 1935, and again with his Munich company in 1953, when he gave the first

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

performance of Richard Strauss's opera '' Capriccio''. He lived to conduct stereo recordings, notably a fine rendition of

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 wor ...

's complete ''

Rosamunde ''Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern'' (''Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus'') is a play by Helmina von Chézy, which is primarily remembered for the incidental music which Franz Schubert composed for it. Music and play premiered in Vienna's Theater an d ...

'' incidental music in the 1960s, before his death at 91 in Munich.

Compositions

Heger composed four operas. His works include: *''The Jewess of Worms'' (melodrama) *Pianoforte trio, op 14 *Songs *''A Festival at Haverslev'' (3-act opera, prod. Nuremberg 1919) *''Hero and Leander'' (symphonic drama, full orchestra) op. 12 *Violin concerto in D major op. 16 *Symphony in D minor *''A Song of Peace'' (choral work for soli, chorus, orchestra and organ)

Decorations and awards

* 1956 Grand Merit Cross of the Federal Republic of Germany * 1959

Bavarian Order of Merit The Bavarian Order of Merit (german: Bayerischer Verdienstorden) is the Order of Merit of the Free State of Bavaria. It is awarded by the Minister-President of Bavaria as a "recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria ...

* 1961 Honorary Citizen of Munich * 1961 Member of the

Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts Bavarian is the adjective form of the German state of Bavaria, and refers to people of ancestry from Bavaria. Bavarian may also refer to: * Bavarii, a Germanic tribe * Bavarians, a nation and ethnographic group of Germans * Bavarian, Iran, a vill ...

* 1967

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (german: Österreichisches Ehrenzeichen für Wissenschaft und Kunst) is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian D ...

References

Sources

*A. Eaglefield-Hull, ''A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians'' (Dent, London 1924) *H. Rosenthal and J. Warrack, ''Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' (OUP, London 1974 printing) 1886 births 1978 deaths Musicians from Strasbourg Alsatian-German people German composers German male conductors (music) People from Alsace-Lorraine Nazi Party members Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians {{germany-conductor-stub