Paul Graener (11 January 1872 – 13 November 1944) was a German composer and conductor. He composed numerous operas and orchestral works in the

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

style.

Biography

Graener was born 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 ...

and

orphan An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

ed as a young child. A boy soprano, he taught himself composition and in 1896 moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where he gave private lessons and served briefly as conductor at the Haymarket Theatre. Before the move, he had married Maria Elisabeth Hauschild, who bore him three children in London. Graener is recorded in the United Kingdom Census of 1901 as a "musical director (theatre)" living at 3 Poplar Grove in Hammersmith together with Maria (born in Kiel), their first two children (Heinz and Paul, aged 4 and 2) and Graener's author cousin, George. In around 1910, Graener moved 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 ...

, where he took up a teaching post at the

Neues Wiener Konservatorium The Neues Wiener Konservatorium (New Vienna Conservatory) was a music school established in Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code ...

. He moved several times in the 1910s, living in Salzburg,

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

and

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 ...

, eventually accepting the position of professor of composition at the Leipzig University of Music and Theatre which had previously been held by Max Reger. In 1925, he left in order to focus on composition. Returning to Berlin in 1930, he directed the Stern'sches Konservatorium and, from 1935 to 1941, served as vice-president of the ''

Reichsmusikkammer The Reich Chamber of Music (German: ''Reichsmusikkammer'') was a Nazi institution. It promoted "good German music" which was composed by Aryans and seen as consistent with Nazi ideals, while suppressing other, "degenerate" music, which included ato ...

''. This position, previously held by

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 ...

, was a major governmental post within an arm of 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 ...

Propaganda Ministry, although the extent to which Graener sympathized with Nazi ideals is a subject of debate - however, Erik Levi states in Graener's entry in the ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (ç. 1988) that he continued to support the regime until he died. In the late 1920s, Graener had joined the

Militant League for German Culture The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin ...

, and on 1 April 1933 he became a member of the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...

. During

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 opposing ...

, his Berlin apartment was bombed and he moved with his family to, successively,

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, Munich, Vienna and Salzburg, where he died aged 72 in 1944. Stylistically, Graener was heavily indebted to the late

of Richard Strauss and Max Reger.

Works

Operas

*''The Faithful Sentry'', Op. 1 (premiered 1899) *''Das Narrengericht'', Op. 38 (1913) *''Don Juans letztes Abenteuer'', Op. 42 (1914) *''Theophano'', Op. 48 (premiered 1918, Munich) *''Schirin und Gertraude'', Op. 51 (1920) *'' Hanneles Himmelfahrt'', W/o Op. (1927) (after

Gerhart Hauptmann Gerhart Johann Robert Hauptmann (; 15 November 1862 – 6 June 1946) was a German dramatist and novelist. He is counted among the most important promoters of literary naturalism, though he integrated other styles into his work as well. He rece ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

) *''Friedemann Bach'', Op. 90 (1931) (after Albert Emil Brachvogel's novel) *''Der Prinz von Homburg'', Op. 100 (1935) *''Schwanhild'' (1941, premiered January 4, 1942, Cologne)

Orchestral

*2 Stücke, Op. 9 *3 Stücke, Op. 26 *Sinfonietta for Strings and Harp, Op. 27 (1910) *Symphony in D Minor ''Schmied Schmerz'' (1912, Op. 39) *''Aus dem Reiche des Pan'', Op. 22 (1920) *Romantische Phantasie, Op. 41 *''Musik am Abend'', Op. 44 *''Variationen über ein russisches Volkslied', Op. 55 (from 1926) *''Waldmusik'', Op. 60 *Divertimento in D major, Op. 67 *Piano Concerto, Op. 72 *''Juventus academica'' (overture), Op. 73 *''Gotische Suite'', Op. 74 *'' Concerto for Cello and Chamber Orchestra'', Op. 78 (published in 1927) *''Die Flöte von Sanssouci'', Op. 88 (1930) *''Comedietta'', Op. 82 *''Variationen über Prinz Eugen'', Op. 108 (1939) *''Sinfonia breve'', Op. 96 *''3 schwedische Tänze'', Op. 98 *Violin Concerto, Op. 104 *''Feierliche Stunde'', Op. 106 *''Turmwächterlied'', Op. 107 (1938) *''Wiener Sinfonie'', Op. 110 (1941, First Performance:

Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Ger ...

Berlin Philharmonic 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 ...

) *Flute Concerto, Op. 116

Chamber music

*4 String Quartets (incl. Opp. 54, 65 and 80 published 1920-8 ) *Suite, Op. 63 for flute and piano (published in 1924 )

Other

*ca. 130 songs

References

Don Randel Don Michael Randel (born December 9, 1940) is an American musicologist, specializing in the music of the Middle Ages and Renaissance in Spain and France. He is currently the Chair of the Board of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a trustee ...

, ''The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music''. Harvard, 1996, p. 327. *

Knut Andreas Knut (Norwegian and Swedish), Knud ( Danish), or Knútur (Icelandic) is a Scandinavian, German, and Dutch first name, of which the anglicised form is Canute. In Germany both "Knut" and "Knud" are used. In Spanish and Portuguese Canuto is used wh ...

, Zwischen Musik und Politik: Der Komponist Paul Graener (1872–1944), Frank&Timme Berlin, 2008.

External links

Site dedicated to Graener
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Graener, Paul 1872 births 1944 deaths Musicians from Berlin 20th-century classical composers German classical composers Nazi Party politicians Militant League for German Culture members Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig German male classical composers 20th-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians