Arthur Nikisch
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Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of
Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germa ...
,
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
,
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
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 ...
. Johannes Brahms praised Nikisch's performance of his Fourth Symphony as "quite exemplary, it's impossible to hear it any better."


Biography

Arthur Augustinus Adalbertus Nikisch was born in Mosonszentmiklós,
Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
, to a Hungarian father and a mother from
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...
. Nikisch began his studies at the Vienna Conservatory in 1866. There he studied under the composer Felix Otto Dessoff, the conductor
Johann von Herbeck Johann Ritter von Herbeck (25 December 1831 – 28 October 1877) was an Austrian musician, conductor and composer, born in Vienna, best known for leading the premiere of Franz Schubert's "Unfinished" Symphony. He was practically a self-educ ...
, and the violinist Joseph Hellmesberger, Jr. and won prizes for
composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...
and performance on violin and piano. He was engaged as a violinist in the
Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...
, and also played in the Bayreuth Festival orchestra in its inaugural season of 1876. He achieved most of his fame as a conductor. In 1878 he moved to
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
and became second conductor of the
Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Sing ...
; in 1879 he was promoted to principal conductor. He gave the premiere of Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7 with the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...
in 1884. On 1 July 1885 Nikisch married Amelie Heussner (1862–1938), a singer and actress, who had been engaged the preceding years at the Kassel court theatre with Gustav Mahler. Their son Mitja (1899–1936) would become a noted pianist in his own right. Nikisch later became conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and from 1893 to 1895 director of the Royal Opera in Budapest. In 1895 he succeeded Carl Reinecke as director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. In the same year he became principal conductor of the
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 ...
, and held both positions until his death. His successor at the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra was his scholar and first violinist Albert Heinig. Nikisch was also a popular guest conductor with the
Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...
and
Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, ) is a Dutch symphony orchestra, based at the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw (concert hall). Considered one of the world's leading orchestras, Queen Beatrix conferred the "R ...
of Amsterdam, and conducted the
Ring Cycle (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelun ...
of Richard Wagner at Covent Garden in London. Nikisch also served as director of the
Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn ...
from 1902 and there taught a class in conducting. In 1921 Nikisch conducted several concerts at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. In some of these concerts his son, the pianist Mitja Nikisch, then 22, was the soloist. He was a pioneer in several ways. In April 1912 he took the
London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...
to the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, a first for a European orchestra. On 10 November 1913, Nikisch made one of the earliest recordings of a complete symphony, Beethoven's 5th, with the Berlin Philharmonic, a performance later reissued on LP and CD by DGG and other modern labels. He also made a series of early recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra, some of which display the
portamento In music, portamento (plural: ''portamenti'', from old it, portamento, meaning "carriage" or "carrying") is a pitch sliding from one note to another. The term originated from the Italian expression "''portamento della voce''" ("carriage of the ...
characteristic of early-20th century playing.


Death

Nikisch died in Leipzig in 1922, and was buried there. Immediately after his death, the square where he had lived was renamed ''Nikischplatz'', and in 1971 the city created the Arthur Nikisch Prize for young conductors.


Legacy

His legacy is as one of the founders of modern conducting, with deep analysis of the score, a simple
beat Beat, beats or beating may refer to: Common uses * Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area ** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols ** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men * Battery (c ...
, and a charisma that let him bring out the full sonority of the orchestra and plumb the depths of the music. Nikisch's conducting style was greatly admired by
Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appear ...
, Arturo Toscanini, Sir Adrian Boult,
Fritz Reiner Frederick Martin "Fritz" Reiner (December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to ...
, Ervin Nyiregyházi, and many others, including
George Szell George Szell (; June 7, 1897 – July 30, 1970), originally György Széll, György Endre Szél, or Georg Szell, was a Hungarian-born American conductor and composer. He is widely considered one of the twentieth century's greatest condu ...
, who called Nikisch "an orchestral wizard." Reiner said, "It was ikischwho told me that I should never wave my arms in conducting, and that I should use my eyes to give cues."
Henry Wood Sir Henry Joseph Wood (3 March 186919 August 1944) was an English conductor best known for his association with London's annual series of promenade concerts, known as the The Proms, Proms. He conducted them for nearly half a century, introd ...
wrote, "I remember... his marvellous way of listening so intently to every phrase he directed.... When rehearsing a melody, he invariably sang it to the orchestra with great emotional feeling – and then would say: 'Now play it as ''you'' feel it.' No conductor that I have heard has ever surpassed his emotional feeling and dramatic intensity." Arthur Nikisch had a huge impact on
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 ...
. The latter always considered Nikisch as his single model. Nikisch supported Furtwängler at the beginning of his career and predicted that he would be his successor.Hans-Hubert Schönzeler, ''Furtwängler'', 1990, p. 24. A film survives of Nikisch conducting; after seeing it
Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...
described how impressed he was by Nikisch's use of his eyes instead of hand motions.


Notes


References

*Kalisch, Alfred (1922). “Arthur Nikisch.” ''Musical Times'' 63, no. 649, 172–74 * *
Ferdinand Pfohl Ferdinand Pfohl (; 12 October 1862, Elbogen, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, now Loket n.O., Czech Republic – 16 December 1949, Hamburg-Bergedorf), was a German music critic, music writer and composer. Pfohl studied law at Prague, then in Leipz ...
: ''Arthur Nikisch als Mensch und Künstler'', Hermann Seemann Nachfolger, Leipzig, (ca. 1900) *
Ferdinand Pfohl Ferdinand Pfohl (; 12 October 1862, Elbogen, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary, now Loket n.O., Czech Republic – 16 December 1949, Hamburg-Bergedorf), was a German music critic, music writer and composer. Pfohl studied law at Prague, then in Leipz ...
: ''Arthur Nikisch: Sein Leben, seine Kunst, sein Wirken.'' Alster, Hamburg 1925


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nikisch, Arthur 1855 births 1922 deaths People from Győr-Moson-Sopron County People from the Kingdom of Hungary Hungarian people of Czech descent Hungarian conductors (music) Hungarian male musicians Male conductors (music) Hungarian expatriates in Germany 19th-century conductors (music) 20th-century conductors (music) 19th-century Hungarian musicians 20th-century Hungarian musicians London Symphony Orchestra principal conductors Honorary Members of the Royal Philharmonic Society University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni University of Music and Theatre Leipzig faculty 19th-century British male musicians