Robert Kahn (composer)
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Robert Kahn (21 July 1865 – 29 May 1951) was a German composer, pianist, and music teacher.


Life

Kahn was born in
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
, the second son of Bernhard Kahn and Emma Eberstadt. One of his seven siblings was the wealthy financier
Otto Kahn Otto Hermann Kahn (February 21, 1867 – March 29, 1934) was a German-born American investment banker, collector, philanthropist, and patron of the arts. Kahn was a well-known figure, appearing on the cover of ''Time'' magazine and was sometimes ...
whose son
Roger Wolfe Kahn Roger Wolfe Kahn (October 19, 1907 – July 12, 1962) was an American jazz and popular musician, composer, bandleader (Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Orchestra) and an aviator. Life and career Roger Wolfe Kahn (originally spelled "Wolff") was born in ...
was a successful jazz musician, composer and aviator. His parents belonged to a distinguished
German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...
family of bankers and merchants. In 1882, Kahn entered the Königlichen Hochschule für Musik in
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, where he studied for the next three years. Between 1885 and 1886, he continued his musical education under the tutelage of
Josef Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was a Liechtensteiner organist and composer, residing in Bavaria for most of his life. Life Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, whose father was the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liecht ...
in
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 ...
. On a visit to
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
the following year, Kahn met and befriended composer
Johannes 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 wit ...
, who offered to make Kahn his pupil. Although Kahn declined the invitation out of diffidence, Brahms's music would exert a profound influence on his compositional style throughout his career. After finishing his military service, Kahn worked as a freelance composer in Berlin until 1890. For the next three years he was employed as a Korrepetitor (rehearsal pianist) at the Stadttheater 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 ...
. Having been appointed lecturer in composition at his alma mater in 1894, Kahn went on to train some of the best-known musicians of the 20th century. His students include the pianists
Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein ( pl, Artur Rubinstein; 28 January 188720 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.
and
Wilhelm Kempff Wilhelm Walter Friedrich Kempff (25 November 1895 – 23 May 1991) was a German pianist and composer. Although his repertoire included Bach, Mozart, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, Kempff was particularly well known for his interpretations ...
, the conductor
Ferdinand Leitner Ferdinand Leitner (4 March 1912 in Berlin – 3 June 1996 in Zürich) was a German conductor. Leitner studied under Franz Schreker, Julius Prüwer, Artur Schnabel and Karl Muck. He also was a composition student with Robert Kahn. Starting as ...
, the composers
Theodore Holland Theodore Samuel Holland, OBE (25 April 1878 – 29 October 1947), was a British composer and academic. Born in Wimbledon, Holland attended Westminster School and then the Royal College of Music, where his composition teacher was Frederick Corder. ...
,
Nikos Skalkottas Nikos Skalkottas ( el, Νίκος Σκαλκώτας; 21 March 1904 – 19 September 1949) was a Greek composer of 20th-century classical music. A member of the Second Viennese School, he drew his influences from both the classical repert ...
and
Günter Raphael Günter Raphael (30 April 1903 – 19 October 1960) was a German composer. Born in Berlin, Raphael was the grandson of composer Albert Becker. His first symphony was premiered by Wilhelm Furtwängler in 1926 in Leipzig. From 1926 to 1934 he tau ...
, and the
violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
ist Karl Klinger. While Kahn was composing and teaching in Berlin he also was active as chamber musician and ''Lied'' accompanist in concert with leading soloists and singers of his time, ranging from
Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of ...
and
Richard Mühlfeld Richard Bernhard Herrmann Mühlfeld (February 28, 1856 – June 1, 1907) was a German clarinettist who inspired Johannes Brahms and Gustav Jenner to write chamber works including the instrument. The pieces that Brahms wrote for him are the ''C ...
to
Adolf Busch Adolf Georg Wilhelm Busch (8 August 1891 – 9 June 1952) was a German–Swiss violinist, conductor, and composer. Life and career Busch was born in Siegen in Westphalia. He studied at the Cologne Conservatory with Willy Hess and Bram Elderin ...
, from Johann Messchaert to
Ilona Durigo Ilona Durigo (13 May 1881 – 25 December 1943) was a Hungarian classical contralto and an academic voice teacher. She appeared internationally, mostly in concert, singing ''Lieder'' and oratorios. She is known for singing Lieder that Othmar Schoec ...
and
Emmy Destinn Emmy Destinn ( (); 26 February 1878 – 28 January 1930) was a Czech operatic soprano with a strong and soaring lyric-dramatic voice. She had a career both in Europe and at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Biography Destinn was born Emíl ...
. In 1916, Kahn was elected to the
Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...
, a membership he held until 1934 when the
Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
regime ordered him to resign because he was Jewish. The Nazis also prohibited the publication and performance of his music. This drove him, at the age of 73, to leave Germany for
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 1939 with his wife Katharina, where (as with many émigré musicians of the period) he spent the last years of his life in relative obscurity but composing prolifically. He lived in
Ashtead Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on t ...
, Surrey and in
Biddenden Biddenden is a large, mostly agricultural and wooded village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The village lies on the Weald of Kent, some north of Tenterden. It was a centre for the Wealden iron industry and also of ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, where he died. Kahn and his music were almost entirely forgotten after
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, but are being rediscovered by musicians and audiences, as is the case of many other composers of "
degenerate music Degenerate music (german: Entartete Musik, link=no, ) was a label applied in the 1930s by the government of Nazi Germany to certain forms of music that it considered harmful or decadent. The Nazi government's concerns about degenerate music were a ...
" persecuted by the Nazis.


Works

Kahn composed a vast quantity of
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 ...
, writing in an intimate, lyrical style that is reminiscent of
Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...
,
Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
, and Brahms. He was also an admirer of
Reger Reger is a German surname, derived from the Middle High German ''reiger'', meaning "heron", likely referring to a tall thin person.''Dictionary of American Family Names''"Reger Family History" Oxford University Press, 2013. Retrieved on 16 January ...
. But aside from the Serenade ''Aus der Jugendzeit'' ("From Youth") and the ''Konzertstück'', Op. 74 for piano and orchestra in E flat minor, he mostly avoided the large scale orchestral forms and emotional extravagance of late Romanticism. There are a number of ambitious works for chorus and orchestra, such as the Geothe setting ''Mahomets Gesang'', Op. 24 (1896), the ''Sturmlied'', Op. 53 for chorus, orchestra and organ (1910), and the ''Festgesang'', Op. 64 for the same forces.Erwin, Charlotte. 'Kahn, Robert', in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980) Of the chamber music there are three violin sonatas, two cello sonatas, four piano trios, two string quartets, three piano quartets and two piano quintets. Particularly notable are the Violin Sonata in E, Op. 50 (1907), the Piano Quartets, Op. 30 (1899) and Op. 41 (1904), and the String Quartet in A minor, Op. 60 (1914). The unconventionally scored Quintet in C minor of 1911 (for piano, violin, cello, clarinet and horn, the same combination used by
Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...
in 1897), has been recorded. Lieder was also very important to Kahn: he composed around 180 solo songs and 13 duets. Kahn was often commissioned to create works for some of the finest musicians of the early decades of the 20th century up to the young
Adolf Busch Adolf Georg Wilhelm Busch (8 August 1891 – 9 June 1952) was a German–Swiss violinist, conductor, and composer. Life and career Busch was born in Siegen in Westphalia. He studied at the Cologne Conservatory with Willy Hess and Bram Elderin ...
with whom Kahn gave the first performance of his Suite, Op. 69 for violin and piano in 1920. His first Violin Sonata in G minor (1886) was dedicated to
Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of ...
who asked to perform it when Kahn was still a young student in Berlin.
Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...
mentioned this sonata in her diary. The second Violin Sonata, in A minor, Op. 26 (1897) was dedicated to Joachim, while the String Quartet No. 1 in A major, Op. 8 (1889) was dedicated to and first performed by the Joachim Quartet. The second string quartet was premièred by the Klingler Quartet, successor of the Joachim. His
Clarinet Trio A clarinet trio is a chamber ensemble that consists of a clarinet, a bowed string instrument and a piano, or a musical work for such an ensemble. The string instrument can be a cello, a viola, or a violin. Therefore, a clarinet trio can be ref ...
, Op. 45 was dedicated to and performed by the famous clarinetist
Richard Mühlfeld Richard Bernhard Herrmann Mühlfeld (February 28, 1856 – June 1, 1907) was a German clarinettist who inspired Johannes Brahms and Gustav Jenner to write chamber works including the instrument. The pieces that Brahms wrote for him are the ''C ...
who also inspired Brahms's late chamber compositions.
Hans von Bülow Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for es ...
conducted the
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
in the world première of Kahn's orchestral serenade in 1890. His renewed compositional activity after leaving Germany in 1938 resulted in a large collection of piano music, including more than 1,100 pieces. These took the form of a musical diary, the ''Tagebuch in Tönen'', begun in 1935, with Kahn writing several short piano works per week until his death in 1951.
Robert Kahn
', biography, Royal College of Music
Apart from an extracted set of 29, these only exist in manuscript at the
Akademie der Künste The Academy of Arts (german: Akademie der Künste) is a state arts institution in Berlin, Germany. The task of the Academy is to promote art, as well as to advise and support the states of Germany. The Academy's predecessor organization was fo ...
in Berlin. The pianist Maksim Štšura has recorded a selection, as has Danny Driver.''Robert Kahn, Leaves from the Tree of Life'', Ensemble Emigré, Rubicon Classics RCD1040 (2021)


Bibliography

*
Helmuth Rilling Helmuth Rilling (born 29 May 1933) is a German choral conductor and an academic teacher. He is the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei (1954), the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart (1965), the Oregon Bach Festival (1970), the Internationale Bachakademie S ...
: "From Johannes Brahms to Robert Kahn: 1887", in: ''Bach'', VI, 4, October 1975, p. 20-22. * Charlotte Erwin and Eric Levi: "Kahn, Robert", in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed.
Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...
and John Tyrrell (London: Macmillan, 2001).


See also

* List of émigré composers in Britain


References


External links


Website about life and Music of Robert Kahn

LexM Article (in german): Robert Kahn (by Steffen Fahl 2009)




* ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1f7vXpCqFiI ''Tagebuch in Tönen'' No. 53 performed by Maksim Štšura, piano * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Robert 1865 births 1951 deaths 19th-century German musicians 19th-century German male musicians 20th-century British musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians German classical pianists German male classical composers German male pianists German Romantic composers Jewish classical composers Jewish classical pianists Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United Kingdom Male classical pianists People from Biddenden Musicians from Mannheim People from the Grand Duchy of Baden