Wolfgang Steinecke (22 April 1910 – 23 December 1961) was a German
musicologist
Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...
,
music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
, and
cultural politician. In Darmstadt, he revived cultural life after World War II, especially by initiating the
Darmstädter Ferienkurse
Darmstädter Ferienkurse ("Darmstadt Summer Course") is a regular summer event of contemporary classical music in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1946, under the name "Ferienkurse für Internationale Neue Musik Darmstadt" (Vacation Cou ...
, which connected Germany to the international scene of
contemporary music
Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial ...
.
Life
Hans Wolfgang Steinecke was born in
Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
,
to Käthe and Hugo Wolfram Steinecke.
His father was a full-time Reichsbahn inspector, a
music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
for well-known Essen daily newspapers, and a choral conductor.
Already as a child, Steinecke wrote poems and a play. He attended a gymnasium in his home town.
At the age of 17 he wrote his first composition. From 1927, he wrote
incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
for school theatre performances as well as for productions of the Kiel Student Theatre.
Steinecke first completed practical music studies at the
Folkwangschule in Essen with Ludwig Riemann (1863–1927) and
Felix Wolfes
Felix Wolfes (September 2, 1892 in Hannover – March 28, 1971 in Boston) was an American educator, Conducting, conductor and composer.''Baker's Biographical Dictionary'', eighth edition, p. 2068
Biography
Felix was born to Jewish parents in Hanno ...
. He then studied musicology with
Ernst Bücken
Ernst Bücken (2 June 1884 – 28 July 1949) was a German musicologist and university teacher.
Life
Born in Aachen, Bücken, son of a director of a textile factory,Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933-1945'', Kiel 2004, . first beg ...
, art history, theatre and literature and philosophy at the
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...
and the
University of Kiel
Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...
.
In 1928, he completed a seventy-page music aesthetic, incorporating ideas by Ferruccio Busoni and
Hans Mersmann.
In addition to his studies, he worked as an assistant at the theatre with at the
Städtische Bühnen Kiel. In 1934 he received his doctorate under
Friedrich Blume
Friedrich Blume (5 January 1893, in Schlüchtern, Hesse-Nassau – 22 November 1975, in Schlüchtern) was professor of musicology at the University of Kiel from 1938 to 1958. He was a student in Munich, Berlin and Leipzig, and taught in the las ...
in Cologne. The title of the dissertation was "The Parody in Music".
During the Nazi regime, Steinecke was related to numerous influential musicians and musicologists, including his doctoral advisor Friedrich Blume, but also
Fritz Stein
Friedrich Wilhelm Stein (17 December 1879 – 14 November 1961) was a German theologian, conductor, musicologist and church musician. He found in an archive in Jena the score of the so-called '' Jena Symphony'', which he published as possibly a wo ...
. He worked as a music and theatre critic for the ''Rheinisch-Westfälische Zeitung'' in Essen until 1939. He then moved to Darmstadt to work as the editor for southwestern Germany for the Düsseldorf theatre newspaper ''Der Mittag''.
He also worked as a correspondent for several daily newspapers.
Due to the closure of the German theatres on 1 September 1944, he became unemployed.
After the end of the Second World War he applied in Darmstadt for a job in the new cultural administration of the city of Darmstadt under Mayor .
On his application he stated that he was politically unencumbered and made no statements about his activities in the NS time. Also at a later time Steinecke was not subjected to a denazification procedure. On 1 August 1945 he was given a temporary contract of employment as cultural advisor. On 1 December 1945, the American Military Government agreed to employ Steinecke. The employment contract was regularly extended in the following period. He received a salary in the rank of a government councillor.
During his time as cultural advisor until 1948 Steinecke rebuilt the cultural administration in the heavily destroyed city of Darmstadt. This included the opening of the municipal library, the Academy of Musical Arts and the
Volkshochschule
Folk high schools (also ''Adult Education Center'', Danish: ''Folkehøjskole;'' Dutch: ''Volkshogeschool;'' Finnish: ''kansanopisto'' and ''työväenopisto'' or ''kansalaisopisto;'' German: ''Volkshochschule'' and (a few) ''Heimvolkshochschule;'' ...
.
He also founded a municipal
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 ...
series and organized the first art exhibitions.
Steinecke is particularly remembered for initiating the
Darmstädter Ferienkurse
Darmstädter Ferienkurse ("Darmstadt Summer Course") is a regular summer event of contemporary classical music in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1946, under the name "Ferienkurse für Internationale Neue Musik Darmstadt" (Vacation Cou ...
, which began in 1946 as International Summer Courses for New Music, and which were later managed by the Kranichstein Music Institute.
They connected Germany again to the in international scene of
contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included seria ...
which had been cut by the Nazis.
The programs was in the early years influenced by musicians and composers such as
Hugo Distler
August Hugo Distler (24 June 1908 – 1 November 1942)Slonimsky & Kuhn, ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', v. 2, p. 889 was a German organist, choral conductor, teacher and composer.
Life and career
Born in Nuremberg, Distler at ...
,
Wolfgang Fortner
Wolfgang Fortner (12 October 1907 – 5 September 1987) was a German composer, composition teacher and conductor.
Life
Fortner was born in Leipzig. From his parents, who were both singers, Fortner very early on had intense contact with music.
...
, and
Hermann Reutter
Hermann Reutter (; 17 June 19001 January 1985) was a German composer and pianist who worked as an academic teacher, university administrator, recitalist, and accompanist. He composed several operas, orchestral works, and chamber music, and especi ...
. From 1950, Steinecke devoted himself exclusively to the Darmstädter Ferienkurse. He succeeded in bringing many composers, performers and philosophers to meeting in Darmstadt,
where the
Darmstadt School
Darmstadt School refers to a group of composers who were associated with the Darmstadt International Summer Courses for New Music (Darmstädter Ferienkurse) from the early 1950s to the early 1960s in Darmstadt, Germany, and who shared some aesth ...
was born. He also worked as a music critic for various newspapers and magazines, including again ''Der Mittag''.
Steinecke was married to the photographer Hella Steinecke née Dahm (1921–1982). The marriage remained childless. Steinecke died as a result of a car accident in Darmstadt on 23 December 1961 at the age of 51.
A street in Kranichstein was named after him.
Publications
* 1934: ''Die Parodie in der Musik, Wolfenbüttel''
* 1960: ''Darmstädter Beiträge zur neuen Musik''
* 1961: ''Kranichstein : Geschichte, Idee, Ergebnisse''.
* 2011: ''Spielmusik : für Violine, Viola und Violoncello = Instrumental music ''
Literature
* Michael Custodis, commissioned by Internationalen Musikinstituts Darmstadt (IMD): ''Traditionen Koalitionen Visionen. Wolfgang Steinecke und die Internationalen Ferienkurse in Darmstadt'', Saarbrücken 2010.
''Traditionen Koalitionen Visionen. Wolfgang Steinecke und die Internationalen Ferienkurse in Darmstadt''
nordicmusicpolitics.files.wordpress
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steinecke, Wolfgang
20th-century German musicologists
German music critics
1910 births
1961 deaths
Writers from Essen