Herman David Koppel, known in Denmark as Herman D. Koppel, (

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, 1 October 1908 –

, 14 July 1998) was a composer and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

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 ...

origin. Born in

, he fled the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hit ...

with his family to Sweden in 1943. He wrote 7 symphonies, numerous concertos, 6 string quartets and other chamber music, piano works, operas and film music. He was the father of Anders Koppel and Thomas Koppel, both composers,

Lone Koppel Lone Herman Koppel (born 1938) is a Danish operatic soprano who for some 30 years was one of the leading opera singers at Copenhagen's Royal Theatre. Among her memorable performances was her 1964 appearance in Puccini's ''Tosca'', which was broadc ...

, an opera singer, and

Therese Koppel Therese or Thérèse is a variant of the feminine given name Teresa. It may refer to: Persons Therese * Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1773–1839), member of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz and a Duchess of Mecklenburg *Therese of ...

, pianist, and the brother of the violinist

Julius Koppel The gens Julia (''gēns Iūlia'', ) was one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome. Members of the gens attained the highest dignities of the state in the earliest times of the Republic. The first of the family to obtain the ...

Early life and education

Born on 1 October 1908 in

, Herman David Koppel was the son of Isak Meyer Koppel (1888–1970) and Maria Hendeles (1889–1984). He was born shortly after his Jewish parents had emigrated to Denmark from Poland. Like his younger brother Julius (1910–2005), a violinist and concertmaster, he studied piano from the age of 17 at the

Royal Danish Conservatory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ...

under Rudolph Simonsen and

Emilius Bangert Emilius Bangert (19 August 1883 – 19 August 1962) was a Danish composer, organist, and professor. He played the organ at Roskilde Cathedral and also composed orchestral and chamber music. Biography Emilius Ferdinand Caspar Bangert was born i ...

. In addition, he studied privately under the Norwegian-Danish pianist

Anders Rachlew Anders is a male name in Scandinavian languages and Fering North Frisian, an equivalent of the Greek Andreas ("manly") and the English Andrew. It originated from Andres via metathesis. In Sweden, Anders has been one of the most common names ...

(1882–1970) and undertook study trips to Germany, England and France.

Career

Pianist

As a pianist, Koppel premiered in 1930 at a concert where he included

Carl Nielsen Carl August Nielsen (; 9 June 1865 – 3 October 1931) was a Danish composer, conductor and violinist, widely recognized as his country's most prominent composer. Brought up by poor yet musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he ...

's Opus 40, "Theme with Variations", which was enthusiastically acclaimed as "never having been played so beautifully as this evening". Shortly before Nielsen's death in 1931, Koppel performed a concert dedicated to his music, first playing the pieces for Nielsen himself. Thereafter, throughout his life, Koppel continued to perform Nielsen's compositions. In addition to Nielsen's music, Koppel's repertoire included romantic pieces, especially those by

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. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

. He also frequently played more modern music from a variety of composers, including the concertos of Bartok, Hans Werner Henze and

Darius 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 ...

and pieces by Stravinksy and

Arnold Schönberg 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 ...

. Koppel played chamber music in the Koppel Quartet and accompanied singers including Aksel Schiøtz and his daughter

Composer

As a composer he was self-taught. His début composition was a string quartet (1928–29) which, like his other early works, was inspired by Nielsen and Stravinsky. The first work in his own style was his Piano Concerto No. 1 in March 1933, with its primitive Russian dance rhythms and Afro-American jazz. Koppel himself preferred his Piano Concerto No. 2 (1938) while No. 3 (1948) is Denmark's most popular piano concerto and one of the few to be published as a recording. Only a few of the works he wrote in the 1930s have survived. The most important is the jazz-inspired music he wrote together with

Bernhard Christensen Bernhard Christensen (Copenhagen, 9 March 1906 – 20 March 2004) was a Danish composer and organist. He studied music at University of Copenhagen from 1926. In 1929 he graduated and was organist until 1945 at Christiansborg Palace Church. ...

for

Kjeld Abell Kjeld Abell (25 August 1901 – 5 March 1961) was a Danish playwright, screenwriter, and theatrical designer. Born in Ribe, Denmark, Abell's first designs were seen in ballets directed by George Balanchine at Copenhagen's Royal Danish Theatre an ...

's musical comedy ''Melodien der blev væk'' (The Melody That Got Lost) premiered in 1935. During the German occupation of Denmark in the

Second World War 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Koppel, together with his wife and two small children, had to move to Sweden. It was there he wrote his Symphony No. 3. His ''Tre Davidssalmer'' (1950) was inspired by an episode he witnessed during the war when a group of Jews locked inside a German truck began to sing slowly and softly. Koppel wrote seven symphonies, his fifth winning the Tivoli competition in 1956. His most successful works are his oratorios: ''Moses'' (1964), ''Requiem'' (1966) and ''Lovsange'' (1973). His only opera ''Macbeth'', performed at the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

in 1970, was less successful, receiving mixed reviews. As for his chamber music, the most often performed are his ''Sekstet for klaver og blæsere'' (1942) and ''Ternio'' for cello and piano (1951). Koppel also wrote music for 29 films and several stage and radio plays. He continued to compose and perform until the mid-1990.

Personal life

Koppel died in Copenhagen on 14 July 1998 and is buried in

Vestre Cemetery Vestre Cemetery ( da, Vestre Kirkegård, meaning "Western Cemetery") is located in a large park setting in the Kongens Enghave district of Copenhagen, Denmark. With its 54 hectares it is the largest cemetery in Denmark. The cemetery is land ...

Works

Musiques régénérées

Orchestral works

*Symphony No. 1 (1931) Op. 5 *Symphony No. 2 (1943) Op. 37 *Symphony No. 3 Op. 39 (1944–45) *Symphony No. 4 Op. 42 (1946) *Symphony No. 5 Op. 60 (1955) *Symphony No. 6 (1957) ''Sinfonia Breve'' Op. 63 *Symphony No. 7 (1960–61) Op.70 *Music for Strings (1930) *Music for Jazz Orchestra (1932) *Variations for Small Orchestra (1935) *Festival Overture (1939) *Concertino No. 1, for String Orchestra (1937–38) *Concertino No. 2, for String Orchestra (1957) *Sinfonietta (1945) *Concerto for Orchestra (1977–78) Op. 101 *Intrada (1979) *Prelude to a Symphony, Op. 105 (1979) *I Dis og Drøm (1992) String Orchestra *Memory (1994) String Orchestra

Works for solo instrument and orchestra/ensemble

*Piano Concerto No. 1 (1931–32) *Piano Concerto No. 2 Op. 30 (1936–37) *Piano Concerto No. 3 Op. 45 (1948) *Piano Concerto No. 4 (1960–63) *Violin Concerto (1929) *Capriccio for violin and orchestra (1934) *Clarinet Concerto Op. 35 (1941) *Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra Op. 43 (1947) *Cello Concerto Op. 56 (1952–56) *Oboe Concerto (1970) *Chamber Concerto for Violin and String Orchestar (1970) *Flute Concerto Op. 87 (1971) *8 Variations and Epilogue, for piano and orchestra (1972) *Triple Concertino, for string trio and orchestra (1983)

Chamber works

*String Quartet no.1 (1928–29) *String Quartet no.2 (1939) Op. 34 *String Quartet no.3 (1944–45) Op. 38 *String Quartet no.4 (1964) *String Quartet no.5 (1975) *String Quartet no.6 (1979) *Duo pour violon et piano (1930) *Trio pour clarinette, violon et piano (1931) *Sonatine for Wind Quintet (1932) *Variations on a Jewish folk dance vl, vla, vlc (1932) *Duo pour clarinette et basson (1932) *11 variationer over eget tema

1 Variations on a theme of my own 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length ...

fl, vl, vla, vlc (1935) *Suite fl, vl, vlc (1936) *Sextuor pour instruments à vent et piano Op. 36 (1942) *Fantaisie pour clarinette seule (1947) *Ternio I pour violoncelle et violon et piano Op. 53b (1951) *Quintette avec piano Op. 57 (1953) *Divertimento Pastorale ob, vla, vlc (1955) *Sonate pour violoncelle et piano Op. 62 (1956) *Variations pour clarinette et piano (1961) *Capriccio pour flûte et piano (1961) *9 variations pno, vl, vlc (1969) *4 improvisationer Improvisationsfl, vlc (1970) *Suite pour violoncelle seul Op. 86 (1971) *Koncert for fløjte og orkester oncerto for Flute and OrchestraFlute and Piano (1971) *Trio pno, vl, vlc Op. 88 (1971) *8 variations et epiloque pour piano et 13 instrumentistes (1972) *Divertimento pour trio à cordes (1972) *Ternio II pour saxophone seul (1973) *Variazioni Pastorale fl, vl, vla, vlc (1975) *Variazoni libre 2 cl, Bcl, perc (1976) *Dialog Tema med variarioner og monolog for fløjtesolo ialogueFlute solo (1977) *Patch-work fl, arpa, vla (1981) *Quartet pno, vl, vla, vlc (1986) *Trio cl, pno, vlc (1986) *Cantilena Duo vl, vlc (1988) *Musik for Blæseroktet usic for Wind OctetWind Octet Op. 123 (1991) *Musik for violin og klaver usic for violin and PianoViolin and Piano (1991) *Giocattolo fl, cl, perc, pno, vlc (1993)

Works for piano

*Piano Sonata E minor, op. 1, 1928 *Variations and Fugue for Piano, op. 3, 1929 *Piano Piece, op. 7, 1930 *Suite for Klavier uite for PianoOp. 21 (1934) *Sonata no. 1 for Piano, op. 50, 1950 *15 miniaturer

5 Miniatures 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...

op. 97a (1976)

References

External links

The Edition-s-dk site
lists many of Koppel's compositions {{DEFAULTSORT:Koppel, Herman David 1908 births 1998 deaths Jewish classical composers Jewish Danish musicians Danish classical composers Danish male classical composers Danish classical pianists 20th-century Danish Jews 20th-century classical composers Jews who emigrated to escape Nazism Pupils of Carl Nielsen 20th-century classical pianists Male classical pianists 20th-century male musicians