Siegmund von Hausegger (16 August 1872 – 10 October 1948) 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 ...
n
composer and
conductor.
Early life
Siegmund was born in
Graz, the son of Friedrich von Hausegger (1837-1899), a lawyer and writer on music. According to Siegmund's own account, Friedrich was "one of the first in Austria to recognize the greatness of
Richard Wagner and to exert himself to the utmost in propagating his music and his ideas".
[
Article "Hausegger, Siegmund".
] According to one account, the young von Hausegger may have been made the vehicle of his critic-father's ideals. Siegmund studied music initially under his father, and a strong Wagnerian tinge is found in his own compositions, which included
masses,
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
s and
symphonic poems as well as many choruses and songs.
At the age of nineteen, von Hausegger composed a ''Mass'' for chorus and orchestra that he described as "my first serious composition".
Originally intended to be performed at his college, the work proved too challenging for his fellow-pupils. His father helped him arrange a private performance before an invited audience. This event marked von Hausegger's debut both as a conductor and as a composer.
Reputation
He was talked of in Austria and Germany in the first years of the 20th century as one of the next great talents after Strauss and Mahler, but despite several successes before the First World War his music was forgotten when his full-blooded post-Wagnerian style went out of fashion. In 1922 the German critic
Adolf Weissmann wrote:
The symphonic poetry of Siegmund von Hausegger is full of Wagner. His work originates in a resolute will to truth and honesty, but outworn theory cripples his imagination.[Adolf Weissmann, ''The Problems of Modern Music'' (London: JM Dent, 1925), p. 77. This is an English translation of ''Die Musik in der Weltkrise'' (Stuttgart: Deutsche Verlagsanstalt, 1922).]
Conducting career
Hausegger conducted orchestras in many
German and Austrian cities including
Graz;
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 ...
, where he shared the conductorship of the
Kaim Orchestra with
Felix Weingartner;
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
(1904-6);
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 ...
(
Blüthner Orchestra, 1910–15); and
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
(1910-20). After the First World War he served as conductor of the
Scottish Orchestra
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the O ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
and
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
before returning to Munich as conductor of the
Munich Philharmonic and president of the Munich Academy of Music. In 1920 he succeeded
Max von Schillings as president of the
Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein.
He was the first conductor to perform
Anton Bruckner's
Symphony No. 9 in its original form. The symphony had been posthumously premiered in a version which had been substantially edited by
Ferdinand Löwe. Löwe made changes to the harmonies, dynamics and phrasing in a bid to make the symphony more acceptable to the public. On 2 April 1932, Hausegger presented a concert in which the symphony was performed twice by the Munich Philharmonic; first in Löwe's version then using Bruckner's original autograph. Today the symphony is almost always presented in Bruckner's original form. Hausegger assisted
Robert Haas and
Alfred Orel
Alfred may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
*''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series
* ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne
* ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák
*"Alfred (Interlu ...
in preparing the edition of Symphony published as Volume 9 of ''Anton Bruckner: Sämtliche Werke'' and he also made the first commercial recording of the symphony with the Munich Philharmonic in 1938 for
HMV
Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom.
The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...
, using that edition. He retired from conducting in the same year. He died in
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 ...
.
Personal life
Hausegger was twice married: first in 1902 to Hertha Ritter, daughter of Franziska Wagner (the niece of both
Richard Wagner and
Alexander Ritter, the librettist of Richard Strauss's opera ''
Feuersnot
' (''Need for (or lack of) fire)'', Op. 50, is a ''Singgedicht'' (sung poem) or opera in one act by Richard Strauss. The German libretto was written by Ernst von Wolzogen, based on J. Ketel's report "Das erloschene Feuer zu Audenaerde". It was S ...
'') and, after her death in 1913, to Helene von Bronsart.
Works (selected list)
* ''Helfrid'', opera (1893)
* ''Zinnober'', opera (1898)
* ''Dionysische Phantasie'' for orchestra (1898)
* Mass (1899)
* ''Barbarossa'', symphonic poem (1900)
* ''Wieland der Schmied'', symphonic poem (1904)
* ''Drei Hymnen an die Nacht'', song cycle (1905)
* ''Natursymphonie'' for large orchestra with final chorus to words from
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...
's poem ''Proömium'' (1911)
* ''Aufklänge'', variations for orchestra on a children's song (1919)
* Requiem
Notes
External links
Biography*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hausegger, Siegmund von
1872 births
1948 deaths
19th-century Austrian people
20th-century Austrian people
19th-century conductors (music)
20th-century Austrian conductors (music)
20th-century Austrian male musicians
Male conductors (music)
Austrian Romantic composers
Austrian untitled nobility
Musicians from Graz
Austrian male classical composers