Adolf Martin Schlesinger
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Adolf Martin Schlesinger (4 October 1769 – 11 October 1838) was a
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
music publisher whose firm became one of the most influential in Berlin in the early nineteenth century.


Career

Schlesinger was
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
, and was born Aaron Moses Schlesinger in Biała,
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...
. He began in the book business in Berlin in 1795, operating from his house and founded a
music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...
house there, the Schlesinger'sche Buchhandlung, in 1810, initially situated in Breite Strasse. The firm expanded over the next decade to include leading composers such as
Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...
,
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
, and Felix Mendelssohn. It also published
military music A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
for the
Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...
n state. Schlesinger's ongoing
lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
on the issue of musical
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...
(prompted by
copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...
of his publication of Weber's ''
Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 18 ...
''), was a major factor in the introduction of the influential Prussian copyright law of 1830. The prosperity of the business enabled the firm to move in 1823 to spacious premises at no. 34,
Unter den Linden Unter den Linden (, "under the linden trees") is a boulevard in the central Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Running from the City Palace to Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the linden (lime in England and Ireland, not rela ...
, where the mahogany fittings were designed by the architect
Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel (13 March 1781 – 9 October 1841) was a Prussian architect, city planner and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassic ...
. A contemporary description of Schlesinger represents him as 'a short, stout, portly gentleman, whose energy, entrepreneurial spirit and business sense one immediately noticed when he fixed one with his single eye (the left one was missing).' In 1824 Schlesinger launched a music magazine, the ''Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung'', with
Adolf Bernhard Marx Friedrich Heinrich Adolf Bernhard Marx . B. Marx(15 May 1795, Halle – 17 May 1866, Berlin) was a German music theorist, critic, and musicologist. Life Marx was the son of a Jewish doctor in Halle who, though a member of the congregation, was ...
as editor. On Marx's advice, he undertook the first publication of
J. S. Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
's St. Matthew Passion after Mendelssohn's pioneering revival of the work (from manuscript sources) in 1829. Schlesinger's Jewish origins led to slighting references about him by some other publishers and contemporary composers. Schlesinger was characterised by Beethoven in his correspondence as 'a beach-peddler and rag-and-bone Jew'; and Beethoven complained in a letter to the publisher
Peters Peters may refer to: People * Peters (surname) * Peters Band, a First Nations band in British Columbia, Canada Places United States * Peters, California, a census-designated place * Peters, Florida, a town * Peters Township, Kingman County, Kan ...
in 1826 that 'Schlesinger .has paid me a dirty Jewish trick'. Peters had previously asked Beethoven not to offer Schlesinger his ''
Missa Solemnis {{Audio, De-Missa solemnis.ogg, Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass, and is a genre of musical settings of the Mass Ordinary, which are festively scored and render the Latin text extensively, opposed to the more modest Missa brevis. In French ...
'', because 'a Christian
Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...
composed by Beethoven cannot come into the hands of a Jew, and especially such a Jew.' Despite these comments, Beethoven was perfectly happy for Schlesinger to publish, subsequently, his late quartets and sonatas. Schlesinger also published music by
Gaspare Spontini Gaspare Luigi Pacifico Spontini (14 November 177424 January 1851) was an Italian opera composer and conductor from the classical era. Biography Born in Maiolati, Papal State (now Maiolati Spontini, Province of Ancona), he spent most of his ...
, Luigi Cherubini, Johann Nepomuk Hummel,
Else Streit Else Streit (born 27 July 1869) was a German composer, pianist, teacher, and violinist. Streit was born in Lauenburg, Pomerania, on the border of Poland and Germany. She studied music at the Karlsruhe Conservatory and the Stern Conservatory. Her ...
,
Carl Loewe Johann Carl Gottfried Loewe (; 30 November 1796 – 20 April 1869), usually called Carl Loewe (sometimes seen as Karl Loewe), was a German composer, tenor singer and conductor. In his lifetime, his songs ("Balladen") were well enough known for s ...
, and others.


Death and succession to the firm

Schlesinger died in
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 ...
in 1838, leaving his widow a substantial fortune. Schlesinger's son Moritz Adolf (Maurice) Schlesinger later started a branch of the firm in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
, and another son, Heinrich, took over the Berlin branch and sold it to
Robert Lienau Robert Emil Lienau (28 December 1838 – 22 July 1920) was a prolific Germany , German music publisher. Lienau was born in Neustadt in Holstein and entered the publishing firm of Adolf Martin Schlesinger in Berlin in 1863. In the following year he ...
in 1864. The Paris firm became a leader of musical taste, publishing the music of Chopin,
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 ...
, and
Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le d ...
among others. It also published the principal Paris musical magazine, the ''Revue et gazette musicale''. The composer Richard Wagner worked for Maurice Schlesinger in Paris in 1840-41, turning out
hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia franchise ''.hack'' Music * ''Hack'' (album), a 199 ...
arrangements of
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 ...
excerpts. Wagner's autobiography pointedly refers to Maurice Schlesinger's Jewish origins.See, e.g. Wagner , ''My Life'', 1992 , p. 208


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlesinger, Adolf Martin 1769 births 1838 deaths 18th-century German Jews 19th-century German businesspeople 18th-century publishers (people) 19th-century publishers (people) German publishers (people) Sheet music publishers (people) Silesian Jews People from Prudnik County