Max Otto Arnold Wagenknecht (14 August 1857 – 7 May 1922) was a German composer of organ and piano music.

Biography

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to t ...

Free State of Prussia The Free State of Prussia (german: Freistaat Preußen, ) was one of the constituent states of Germany from 1918 to 1947. The successor to the Kingdom of Prussia after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, it continued to be the dom ...

and spent most of his life in the

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in pop ...

region where he was music teacher at the Franzburg Teachers' College and in his later life

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational ...

and composer in

Anklam Anklam [], formerly known as Tanglim and Wendenburg, is a town in the Western Pomerania region of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated on the banks of the Peene river, just 8 km from its mouth in the ''Kleines Haff'', the wester ...

. He is most well known for his Opus 5, ''58 Vor- und Nachspiele'' ("58 Preludes and Postludes"), completed in July 1889 in

Franzburg Franzburg () is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is situated 20 km southwest of Stralsund. Before the Protestant Reformation, later Franzburg was the site of Neuenkamp Abbey. Neuenkamp ...

. The work demonstrates a remarkable gift for melodic organ compositions, bridging traditional church music and the late 19th-century romantic music era.

Works

Wagenknecht published an unknown number of musical works. The following have been preserved: * ''Three Polkas'', Op. 1, for piano. This work was most likely composed while he was studying at the conservatory in Berlin * ''Rheinländer'', Op. 2, for violin or flute with piano accompaniment (Stralsund: J. P. Lindner Sohn) * Three Songs, Op. 3, with texts by Schanz, Kletke and Reinick, with piano accompaniment (Stralsund: J. P. Lindner Sohn) * ''58 Vor- und Nachspiele'', Op. 5, for organ (Stralsund: J. P. Lindner Sohn, 1889) * Opus 10, 13 and 14: songs with piano accompaniment. It is unknown whether these works have been published since only the handwritten originals remain.

References

External links

Max Wagenknecht's homepage
1857 births 1922 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century German composers 19th-century German male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians German classical organists German male classical composers German male organists German Romantic composers People from the Province of Pomerania Male classical organists {{organist-stub