Werner Reinhart (19 March 1884 – 29 August 1951) was a Swiss merchant, philanthropist, amateur

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

ist, and

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of composers and writers, particularly

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

and Rainer Maria Rilke. Reinhart knew and corresponded with many artists and musicians of the early-mid 20th century in Europe world, and his Villa Rychenberg in

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...

became an international meeting point for musicians and writers. He was sometimes referred to as "the Winterthur

Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. During the re ...

". Alice Bailly named Werner Reinhart "L'homme aux mains d'or" – the man with the golden hands, and her 1920 portrait of him is called "The Man with the Golden Heart".

Oskar Kokoschka Oskar Kokoschka (1 March 1886 – 22 February 1980) was an Austrian artist, poet, playwright, and teacher best known for his intense expressionistic portraits and landscapes, as well as his theories on vision that influenced the Viennese Expres ...

also painted his portrait in 1947. Werner Reinhart inherited his wealth from the Volkart family business, based in Winterthur, which he ran together with his elder brother Georg. Reinhart and Hermann Scherchen played a leading role in shaping the musical life of Winterthur between 1922 and 1950, the emphasis being on contemporary music, and they were instrumental in numerous premieres being performed there. Scherchen was one of many people whom Reinhart patronised, not least in Scherchen's case because he had to pay alimony to no less than five ex-wives.

People Reinhart supported and assisted (abridged)

Othmar Schoeck

Othmar Schoeck Othmar Schoeck (1 September 1886 – 8 March 1957) was a Swiss Romantic classical composer, opera composer, musician, and conductor. He was known mainly for his considerable output of art songs and song cycles, though he also wrote a number of ...

was left destitute when

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out. His appointment as conductor of the

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

Symphony Orchestra (with special permission to remain resident in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

), combined with the annuity Werner Reinhart gave him from 1916 onwards, allowed Schoeck to give up his jobs as chorus director and to compose more or less undisturbed. Schoeck was not given to overt signs of gratitude, but he dedicated to Werner Reinhart the following works: * ''Gaselen'', 10 poems by

Gottfried Keller Gottfried Keller (19 July 1819 – 15 July 1890) was a Swiss poet and writer of German literature. Best known for his novel '' Green Henry'' (German: ''Der grüne Heinrich'') and his cycle of novellas called ''The People from Seldwyla'' (''Die Leu ...

, Op. 38 (1923), for baritone, flute, oboe, bass clarinet, trumpet, percussion and piano * the Sonata for Bass Clarinet and Piano, Op. 41 (1927–28) * the Suite in A flat for Strings, Op. 59 (1945).

Igor Stravinsky

approached Reinhart for financial assistance when he was writing ''

Histoire du soldat ' (''The Soldier's Tale'') is a theatrical work "to be read, played, and danced" () by three actors and one or several dancers, accompanied by a septet of instruments. Conceived by Igor Stravinsky and Swiss writer C. F. Ramuz, the piece was base ...

'' (The Soldier's Tale). The first performance was conducted by

Ernest Ansermet Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (; 11 November 1883 – 20 February 1969)"Ansermet, Ernest" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 435. was a Swiss conductor. Biography Ansermet ...

on 28 September 1918, at the Théâtre Municipal de

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

. Werner Reinhart sponsored this performance, and to a large degree underwrote it. In gratitude, Stravinsky dedicated the work to Reinhart,Ragtime Ensemble presents The Soldier's Tale
/ref> and even gave him the original manuscript. Reinhart continued his support of Stravinsky's work in 1919 by funding a series of concerts of his recent chamber music.Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center
These included a suite of five numbers from ''The Soldier's Tale'', arranged for clarinet, violin, and piano, which was a nod to Reinhart, who was an excellent amateur clarinetist. The suite was first performed on 8 November 1919, in Lausanne, long before the better-known suite for the seven original instruments became widely known. Stravinsky dedicated his '' Three Pieces for Clarinet'' to Reinhart, in gratitude for his ongoing support. Reinhart founded a music library of Stravinskiana at his home in Winterthur.

Rainer Maria Rilke

In 1919, Rainer Maria Rilke travelled to Switzerland from

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 ...

. The outward motive was an invitation to lecture in Zürich, but the real reason was the wish to escape the post-war chaos and take up once again his work on the ''

Duino Elegies The ''Duino Elegies'' (german: Duineser Elegien) are a collection of ten elegies written by the Bohemian-Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke. He was then "widely recognized as one of the most lyrically intense German-language poets", and began t ...

''. The search for a suitable and affordable residence proved to be very difficult and Rilke lived in various places. Only in the summer of 1921 was he able to find a permanent abode in the Chateau de Muzot in the commune of Veyras, close to Sierre in Valais. It was at Muzot, in February 1922, that Rilke, in a storm of inspiration, wrote most of the fifty-five ''

Sonnets to Orpheus The ''Sonnets to Orpheus'' (german: Die Sonette an Orpheus) are a cycle of 55 sonnets written in 1922 by the Bohemian- Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke (1875–1926). It was first published the following year. Rilke, who is "widely recognized ...

'' and several smaller collections of poems. In May 1922, after deciding he could afford the cost of considerable necessary renovation, Werner Reinhart bought Muzot so that Rilke could live there rent-free, and became Rilke's patron. Here Rilke completed his greatest work, the ''Duino Elegies''. During this time, Reinhart introduced Rilke to his protégée, the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n violinist

Alma Moodie Alma Mary Templeton Moodie (12 September 18987 March 1943) was an Australian violinist who established an excellent reputation in Germany in the 1920s and 1930s. She was regarded as the foremost female violinist during the inter-war years, and s ...

.R. M. Rilke: Music as Metaphor
/ref> Rilke was so impressed with her playing that he wrote in a letter: ''What a sound, what richness, what determination. That and the "Sonnets to Orpheus", those were two strings of the same voice. And she plays mostly Bach! Muzot has received its musical christening....''

Paul Hindemith

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith (; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advocate of the ''Ne ...

's Clarinet Quintet, first performed at the ISCM Festival in Salzburg on 7 August 1923, was dedicated to Werner Reinhart, as was his Canon in Three Voices ''Sine musica nulla disciplina'' (1944). Reinhart told Gertrud Hindemith "there was something Mozartian" about her husband's writing ''

Trauermusik ''Trauermusik'' is a suite for viola and string orchestra, written on 21 January 1936 by Paul Hindemith at very short notice in memory of King George V of the United Kingdom, who died the previous night. The title means "Mourning Music" or "Fu ...

'' in less than a day in London after the death of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

, and premiering it the same evening. "I know no one else today who could do that", he said.

Ernst Krenek

Ernst Krenek Ernst Heinrich Krenek (, 23 August 1900 – 22 December 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer of Czech origin. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including ''Music Here and Now'' (1939), a study ...

and his then wife

Anna Mahler Anna Justine Mahler (15 June 1904 – 3 June 1988) was an Austrian sculptor. Early life Born in Vienna, Anna Mahler was the second child of the composer Gustav Mahler and his wife Alma Schindler. They nicknamed her 'Gucki' on account of her ...

(daughter of Gustav Mahler) lived in Zurich 1924-25, at Reinhart's invitation. Their marriage collapsed, however, and Krenek had a brief affair with

. While this relationship did not last, Krenek was so grateful for Moodie's introduction to Reinhart's assistance that he dedicated his Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 29, to her. His ''Kleine Suite'', Op. 28 (1924) was written for Reinhart himself.

Arthur Honegger

Werner Reinhart was the primary financial supporter of the

Théâtre du Jorat The Théâtre du Jorat, inaugurated 9 May 1908, is a theater hall located in the Vaud commune of Mézières, Switzerland, about 20 km from Lausanne, in the Jorat region. Description The Théâtre du Jorat was established by René Morax in 19 ...

, where

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...

's oratorio ''

Le Roi David ''Le Roi David'' was composed in Mézières, Switzerland, in 1921 by Arthur Honegger, as incidental music for a play in French by René Morax. It was called dramatic psalm, but has also been performed as oratorio, without staging. The plot, bas ...

'' premiered, and corresponded with its owner

René Morax René Morax (11 May 1873 – 3 January 1963) was a Swiss writer, playwright, stage director and theatre manager. He founded the Théâtre du Jorat in Morges in 1908, and promoted historical and rural theatre in French in Switzerland. He is known fo ...

. Honegger's Sonatine for Clarinet and Piano (1921–22) was written for Reinhart.Colin James Lawson, ''The Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet''
/ref> Honegger's '' Pastorale d’été'' was played in Berlin on 9 November 1922, conducted by Bernhard Seidmann. This was financially supported by Werner Reinhart, who also urged Honegger to program ''Horace victorieux'', a work he believed to be far more important.

Anton Webern

It was thanks to Werner Reinhart that

Anton Webern Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...

, who was living in political isolation in Austria, was able to attend the premiere of his ''Variations for Orchestra'', Op. 30 in Winterthur in 1943. Reinhart invested all the financial and diplomatic means at his disposal to enable Webern to travel to Switzerland. In return for this support, Webern dedicated the work to him.

Other dedications

* In 1944, Frank Martin wrote a "Canon for Werner Reinhart" for eight voices (SSAATTBB), to a text by

Pierre de Ronsard Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a " prince of poets". Early life Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of ...

. *

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 ...

's Sonata for solo bass clarinet was written for Reinhart. * Hermann Burte dedicated ''Gedichte Voltaires'' to Reinhart. * Richard Strauss dedicated his Sonatina no. 2 "Fröhliche Werkstatt" für 16 Blasinstrumente (a.k.a. Symphony for Wind Instruments, "Happy Workshop") to Reinhart.

Other associates

* Reinhart was also on good terms with

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (, ; ; 13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian-American composer, music theorist, teacher, writer, and painter. He is widely considered one of the most influential composers of the 20th century. He was as ...

. Schoenberg wrote to Reinhart in 1923: "For the present, it matters more to me if people understand my older works ... I do not attach so much importance to being a musical bogey-man as to being a natural continuer of properly understood good old tradition!" * In January 1933,

Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...

was so bereft of funds that he offered to sell three museum artifacts to Reinhart for the sum of . On this occasion, Reinhart did not respond. * After World War II,

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

and his wife Elisabeth escaped to Switzerland with the assistance of

and were supported financially by Werner Reinhart. * In 1920 Albert Moeschinger received a stipend from Reinhart for three years study abroad. * It was at Werner Reinhart's personal invitation that Petr Rybar became concertmaster for the Winterthur Orchestra, where he remained for 28 years. * He also knew or corresponded with:

Volkmar Andreae Volkmar Andreae (5 July 1879 – 18 June 1962) was a Swiss conductor and composer. Life and career Andreae was born in Bern. He received piano instruction as a child and his first lessons in composition with Karl Munzinger. From 1897 to 1900, ...

René Auberjonois René Murat Auberjonois (; June 1, 1940 – December 8, 2019) was an American actor and director. He was best known for portraying Odo on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He first achieved fame as a stage actor, winning the Tony A ...

Conrad Beck Conrad Arthur Beck (16 June 1901, Lohn, Schaffhausen – 31 October 1989, Basel) was a Swiss composer. Life and works Beck was the son of a pastor. His stay in Paris between 1924 and 1933 proved crucial to his artistic development, where he ...

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

Alfredo Casella Alfredo Casella (25 July 18835 March 1947) was an Italian composer, pianist and conductor. Life and career Casella was born in Turin, the son of Maria (née Bordino) and Carlo Casella. His family included many musicians: his grandfather, a fr ...

Alexandre Cingria Alexandre Cingria (March 22, 1879, in Geneva – November 8, 1945, in Lausanne) was a Swiss artist who worked as a painter, illustrator, and art restorer. He was best known for his work on stained glass windows. Early life Cingria was born in G ...

Gustave Doret Gustave Doret (20 September 1866 – 19 April 1943) was a Swiss composer and conductor. Career Doret was born in 1866 in Aigle, Switzerland. He studied at the Berlin Academy of Music with Joseph Joachim, and then at the Conservatoire de Paris ...

, Karl Ferdinand Edmund von Freyhold,

Alois Hába Alois Hába (21 June 1893 – 18 November 1973) was a Czech composer, music theorist and teacher. He belongs to the important discoverers in modern classical music, and major composers of microtonal music, especially using the quarter-tone scal ...

Clara Haskil Clara Haskil (7 January 1895 – 7 December 1960) was a Romanian classical pianist, renowned as an interpreter of the classical and early romantic repertoire. She was particularly noted for her performances and recordings of Mozart. She was als ...

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include ''Demian'', ''Steppenwolf (novel), Steppenwolf'', ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'', and ''The Glass Bead Game'', ...

Karl Hofer Karl Christian Ludwig Hofer or ''Carl Hofer'' (11 October 1878, Karlsruhe – 3 April 1955, Berlin) was a German expressionist painter. He was director of the Berlin Academy of Fine Arts. One of the most prominent painters of expressioni ...

Heinrich Kaminski Heinrich Kaminski (4 July 1886 - 21 June 1946) was a German composer. Life Kaminski was born in Tiengen in the Schwarzwald, the son of an Old Catholic priest of Jewish parentage. After a short period working in a bank in Offenbach, he moved ...

Rudolf Kassner Rudolf Kassner (11 September 1873 Velké Pavlovice – 1 April 1959 Sierre Switzerland) was an Austrian writer, essayist, translator and cultural philosopher. Although stricken as an infant with poliomyelitis, Kassner traveled widely to norther ...

, Carl Montag, Paul Müller-Zürich,

Charles Ferdinand Ramuz Charles Ferdinand Ramuz (24 September 1878 – 23 May 1947) was a French-speaking Swiss writer. Biography He was born in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud and was educated at the University of Lausanne. He taught briefly in nearby Aubonne, and ...

Ker-Xavier Roussel Ker-Xavier Roussel (10 December 1867 – 6 June 1944) was a French painter associated with Les Nabis. Biography Born François Xavier Roussel in Lorry-lès-Metz, Moselle in 1867, at age fifteen he studied at the Lycée Condorcet in Paris; al ...

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweit ...

, Richard Strauss,

Regina Ullmann Regina "Rega" Ullmann (14 December 1884 – 6 January 1961) was a Swiss poet and writer. Life Ullmann was the second daughter of a Jewish-Austrian embroidery businessman, Richard Ullmann, and his German wife Hedwig. She was born in the Swiss ...

and

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. ...

. * The Winterthur Libraries hold musical and literary manuscripts by Beck, Berg,

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

, de Falla, Franck,

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...

, Hindemith, Honegger, Kaminski, Krenek,

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

, Frank Martin,

Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

Myaskovsky Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky or Miaskovsky or Miaskowsky (russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Мяско́вский; pl, Mikołaj Miąskowski, syn Jakóbowy; 20 April 18818 August 1950), was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is so ...

, Moeschinger,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, Müller-Zürich, Ramuz (''

''),

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 ...

, Schoeck,

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 ...

, Richard Strauss, Stravinsky, Weber, Webern and

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer of Slovene origin, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Ro ...

.Winterthur Libraries, Special Collections, Rychenberg Foundation
/ref>

References

Bibliography

* Georges Duplain
L'Homme aux Mains d'Or: Werner Reinhart, Rilke, et les Créateurs de Suisse Romande

External links

Catalogue of the Special Collections of the Winterthur Libraries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reinhart, Werner 1884 births 1951 deaths Swiss philanthropists Swiss patrons of literature Swiss patrons of music Swiss clarinetists Swiss male musicians People from Winterthur Swiss merchants 20th-century philanthropists 20th-century male musicians