Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the
Leipzig University Church, as a professor at the
Royal Conservatory in Leipzig, and as a music director at the court of Duke
Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen.
Reger first composed mainly ''
Lied
In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
er'', chamber music, choral music and works for piano and organ. He later turned to orchestral compositions, such as the popular ''
Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart'' (1914), and to works for choir and orchestra such as ''
Gesang der Verklärten'' (1903), ' (1909), ''
Der Einsiedler
' (''The Hermit'') Op. 144a, is a composition for baritone soloist, five-part choir and orchestra by Max Reger, written in 1915. The German text is a poem by Joseph von Eichendorff, beginning "" (Come, consolation of the world, you quiet night). ...
'' and the ''
Hebbel Requiem'' (both 1915).
Biography
Born in
Brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...
, Reger was the first child of Josef Reger, a school teacher and amateur musician, and his wife Katharina Philomena. The devout Catholic family moved to
Weiden in 1874. Max had only one sister, Emma, after three other siblings died in childhood. When he turned five, Reger learned organ, violin and cello from his father and piano from his mother.
From 1884 to 1889, Reger took piano and organ lessons from Adalbert Lindner, one of his father's students. During this time, he frequently acted as substitute organist for Lindner in the parish church of the city.
In 1886, Reger entered into the Royal Preparatory School according to his parents' wishes to prepare for a teaching profession.
In 1888, Reger was invited by his uncle Johann Baptist Ulrich to visit the
Bayreuth Festival, where he heard
Richard Wagner's operas ''
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' and ''
Parsifal''. This left a deep impression and made Reger decide to pursue a music career. In late summer of that year, Reger wrote his first major composition, the Overture in B minor, an unpublished work for orchestra with 120 pages. Lindner sent the score to
Hugo Riemann, who replied positively but warned him against Wagner's influence and to write melodies instead of motifs.
Reger finished the preparatory school in June 1889. Also that year, he composed a Scherzo for string quartet and flute in G minor, a three movement string quartet in D minor, and a Largo for violin and piano. At his father's request, he sent the latter two works to composer
Josef Rheinberger, a professor at the
University of Music and Performing Arts Munich
The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater München), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is ...
, who recognized his talents. Reger eventually sought a career in music despite his father's concerns.
In 1890, Reger began studying music theory with Riemann in
Sondershausen, then piano and theory in
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 ...
. The
first compositions to which he assigned
opus number
In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositi ...
s were
chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...
and ''
Lied
In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
er''. A concert pianist himself, he composed works for both piano and organ. His first work for choir and piano to which he assigned an opus number was ''
Drei Chöre'' (1892).
Reger returned to his parental home in Weiden due to illness in 1898, where he composed his first work for choir and orchestra, ' (Hymn to singing),
Op. 21. From 1899, he courted
Elsa vonBercken who at first rejected him. He composed many songs including the love poems
''Sechs Lieder'', Op. 35. Reger moved to Munich in September 1901, where he obtained concert offers and where his rapid rise to fame began. During his first Munich season, Reger appeared in ten concerts as an organist, chamber pianist and accompanist. Income from publishers, concerts and private teaching enabled him to marry in 1902. Because his wife Elsa was a
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...
d
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
, he was
excommunicated
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
from the Catholic Church. He continued to compose without interruption, for example ''
Gesang der Verklärten'',
Op. 71.
In 1907, Reger was appointed musical director at the
Leipzig University Church, a position he held until 1908, and professor at the
Royal Conservatory in Leipzig. In 1908 he began to compose ' (The 100th Psalm), Op. 106, a setting of Psalm 100 for mixed choir and orchestra, for the 350th anniversary of
Jena University
The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany.
Th ...
. Part I was premiered on 31 July that year. Reger completed the composition in 1909, premiered in 1910 simultaneously in
Chemnitz and
Breslau.
In 1911 Reger was appointed ''
Hofkapellmeister
(, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...
'' (music director) at the court of Duke
Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen, also taking charge of music at the
Meiningen Court Theatre. He continued with his master class at the Leipzig conservatory. In 1913 he composed four
tone poems on paintings by
Arnold Böcklin
Arnold Böcklin (16 October 182716 January 1901) was a Swiss symbolist painter.
Biography
He was born in Basel. His father, Christian Frederick Böcklin (b. 1802), was descended from an old family of Schaffhausen, and engaged in the silk trade ...
(''Vier Tongedichte nach Arnold Böcklin''), including ''Die Toteninsel'' (''
Isle of the Dead''), as his
Op. 128.
He gave up the court position in 1914 for health reasons. In response to
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, already in 1914 he was planning to compose a choral work, commemorating those lost in the war. He began to set the Latin
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
but abandoned the work as a fragment. He composed eight motets as his ''
Acht geistliche Gesänge für gemischten Chor'' (Eight Sacred Songs, Op. 138), embodying "a new simplicity". In 1915 he moved to
Jena
Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a po ...
, commuting once a week to teach in Leipzig. In Jena he composed the ''
Hebbel Requiem'' for soloist, choir and orchestra.
Reger died of a heart attack while staying at a hotel in Leipzig on 11 May 1916. The
proofs
Proof most often refers to:
* Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition
* Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength
Proof may also refer to:
Mathematics and formal logic
* Formal proof, a co ...
of ''Acht geistliche Gesänge'', including "
Der Mensch lebt und bestehet nur eine kleine Zeit", were found next to his bed. Six years after Reger's death, his funeral urn was transferred from his home in Jena to a cemetery in Weimar. In 1930, on the wishes of Reger's widow Elsa,
his remains were moved to a grave of honour in
Munich Waldfriedhof
The Munich Waldfriedhof is one of 29 cemeteries of Munich in Bavaria, Germany. It is one of the larger and more famous burial sites of the city, known for its park-like design and tombs of notable personalities. The Waldfriedhof is considered th ...
.
Reger had also been active internationally as a conductor and pianist. Among his students were
Joseph Haas
Joseph Haas (19 March 1879 – 30 March 1960) was a German late romantic composer and music teacher.
Biography
He was born in Maihingen, near Nördlingen to teacher Alban Haas from his second marriage, being half-brother to the theologian a ...
,
Sándor Jemnitz
Sándor Jemnitz, also known as Alexander Jemnitz (9 August 1890 in Budapest – 8 August 1963 in Balatonföldvár), was a Hungarian composer, conductor, music critic and author.
Biography
Jemnitz studied composition with János Koessler at ...
,
Jaroslav Kvapil
Jaroslav Kvapil (25 September 1868 in Chudenice, Kingdom of Bohemia – 10 January 1950 in Prague) was a Czech poet, theatre director, translator, playwright, and librettist. From 1900 he was a director and Dramaturg at the National Theatr ...
,
Ruben Liljefors
Ruben Mattias Liljefors (30 September 1871, Uppsala – 4 March 1936, Uppsala) was a Swedish composer and conductor, brother of the artist Bruno Liljefors.Niclas HögmanRuben Liljefors – en biografi CD-uppsats 2003, University of Uppsala
...
,
George Szell and
Cristòfor Taltabull Cristòfor Taltabull (28 July 1888 - 1 May 1964) was a Spanish composer and pedagogue who was instrumental in the reconstruction of musical life in Catalonia after the Spanish Civil War.
Biography
Taltabull was born in Barcelona. He came from an ...
. He was the cousin of
Hans von Koessler.
Works
Reger produced an enormous output in just over 25 years, nearly always in abstract forms. His work was well known in Germany during his lifetime. Many of his works are
fugues or in
variation form, including the ''
Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart'' based on the opening theme of
Mozart's
Piano Sonata in A major, K. 331.
Reger wrote a large amount of music for
organ
Organ may refer to:
Biology
* Organ (biology), a part of an organism
Musical instruments
* Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone
** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument
** Hammond ...
, the most popular being the ''Benedictus'' from the collection
Op. 59 and his ''Fantasy and Fugue on
BACH'',
Op. 46. While a student under
Hugo Riemann in
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 ...
, Reger had already met the German organist,
Karl Straube
Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger.
Career
Born in Berlin, Straube stu ...
; their association as colleagues and friends began in 1898, with Straube premiering many of Reger's organ works, such as the
Three chorale fantasias, Op. 52.
Reger recorded some of his works on the
Welte Philharmonic organ, including excerpts from
52 Chorale Preludes, Op. 67. He also composed various secular organ works, including the
Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue, Op. 127. It was dedicated to Straube, who gave its first performance in 1913 to inaugurate the
Wilhelm Sauer organ at the opening of the
Breslau Centennial Hall.
Reger was particularly attracted to the fugal form and created music in almost every genre, save for
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 ...
and the
symphony (he did, however, compose a
Sinfonietta, his Op. 90). A similarly firm supporter of
absolute music, he saw himself as being part of the tradition of
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
Brahms. His work often combined the classical structures of these composers with the extended harmonies of
Liszt and
Wagner, to which he added the complex
counterpoint of
Bach. Reger's organ music, though also influenced by Liszt, was provoked by that tradition.
Some of the works for solo string instruments turn up often on recordings, though less regularly in recitals. His solo piano and two-piano music places him as a successor to Brahms in the central German tradition. He pursued intensively Brahms's continuous development and free
modulation, whilst being rooted in Bach-influenced polyphony.
Reger was a prolific writer of vocal works,
Lied
In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
er, works for mixed chorus,
men's chorus and female chorus, and extended choral works with orchestra such as ''
Der 100. Psalm
' (The 100th Psalm), Op. 106, is a composition in four movements by Max Reger in D major for mixed choir and orchestra, a late Romantic setting of Psalm 100. Reger began composing the work in 1908 for the 350th anniversary of Jena University. T ...
'' and ''
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...
'', a setting of a poem by
Friedrich Hebbel
Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist.
Biography
Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the '' Gelehrtenschule des Johann ...
, which Reger dedicated to the soldiers of World War I. He composed music to texts by poets such as
Gabriele D'Annunzio,
Otto Julius Bierbaum,
Adelbert von Chamisso,
Joseph von Eichendorff
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 178826 November 1857) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism.Cf. J. A. Cuddon: ' ...
,
Emanuel Geibel,
Friedrich Hebbel
Christian Friedrich Hebbel (18 March 1813 – 13 December 1863) was a German poet and dramatist.
Biography
Hebbel was born at Wesselburen in Dithmarschen, Holstein, the son of a bricklayer. He was educated at the '' Gelehrtenschule des Johann ...
,
Nikolaus Lenau,
Detlev von Liliencron,
Friedrich Rückert
Friedrich Rückert (16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages.
Biography
Rückert was born in Schweinfurt and was the eldest son of a lawyer. He was educated at the local '' Gymnasiu ...
and
Ludwig Uhland. Reger assigned opus numbers to major works himself.
His works could be considered retrospective as they followed classical and baroque compositional techniques such as fugue and
continuo. The influence of the latter can be heard in his chamber works which are deeply reflective and unconventional.
Reception
In 1898
Caesar Hochstetter, an arranger, composer and critic, published an article entitled "Noch einmal Max Reger" ("Max Reger once again") in a music magazine (''Die redenden Künste'' 5 no. 49, pp. 943 f). Caesar recommended Reger as "a highly talented young composer" to the publishers. Reger thanked Hochstetter with the dedications of his piano pieces ''Aquarellen'',
Op. 25, and ''Cinq Pièces pittoresques'',
Op. 34.
Reger had an acrimonious relationship with
Rudolf Louis, the music critic of the ''Münchener Neueste Nachrichten'', who usually had negative opinions of his compositions. After the first performance of the Sinfonietta in A major,
Op. 90, on 2 February 1906, Louis wrote a typically negative review on 7 February. Reger wrote back to him: "''Ich sitze in dem kleinsten Zimmer in meinem Hause. Ich habe Ihre Kritik vor mir. Im nächsten Augenblick wird sie hinter mir sein!''" ("I am sitting in the smallest room of my house. I have your review before me. In a moment it will be behind me!"). Another source has the German composer
Sigfrid Karg-Elert
Sigfrid Karg-Elert (November 21, 1877April 9, 1933) was a German composer in the early twentieth century, best known for his compositions for pipe organ and reed organ.
Biography
Karg-Elert was born Siegfried Theodor Karg in Oberndorf am Neckar, ...
as the targeted critic of this letter.
Arnold Schoenberg
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 ...
was an admirer of Reger's. A letter he sent to
Alexander von Zemlinsky in 1922 states: "Reger...must in my view be done often; 1, because he has written a lot; 2, because he is already dead and people are still not clear about him. (I consider him a genius.)"
Films
The documentary ''Max Reger – Music as a perpetual state,'' by Andreas Pichler and Ewald Kontschieder, Miramonte Film, was released in 2002. It was the first factually based film documentation about Max Reger. It was produced in cooperation with the
Max-Reger-Institute
The Max-Reger-Institute (MRI) is a musicological research institute and archive in Karlsruhe, Germany, dedicated to the work of the composer Max Reger, a representative of German music around the turn of the 20th century. An associated foundation, ...
.
''Max Reger: The Last Giant'', a documentary film about the life and works of Max Reger, is included on a 6 DVD set entitled ''Maximum Reger'' released in December 2016 to mark the 100th anniversary of Reger's death. The set was produced by Fugue State Films and in addition to the documentary includes excerpts from Reger's most important works for orchestra, piano, chamber ensemble and organ, with performances by Frauke May,
Bernhard Haas
Bernhard Haas (born 1964) is a German organist, music theorist and academic.
Life
Haas studied organ, piano, harpsichord, sacred music, composition and music theory in Cologne, Freiburg and Vienna. He won several international prizes at or ...
, Bernhard Buttmann and the
Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt.
References
Bibliography
* Albright, Daniel, ed. (2004)
''Modernism and music: an anthology of sources.''University of Chicago Press. .
* Anderson, Christopher (2003). ''Max Reger and Karl Straube: Perspectives on an Organ Performing Tradition.'' Aldershot, Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. .
* Bittmann, Antonius (2004). ''Max Reger and Historicist Modernisms.'' Baden-Baden: Koerner. .
*
Bloesch-Stöcker, Adele (1973). ''Erinnerungen an Max Reger.'' Bern: H. Bloesch.
*
* Cadenbach, Rainer (1991). ''Max Reger und Seine Zeit.'' Laaber: Laaber-Verlag. .
* Grim, William (1988). ''Max Reger: A Bio-Bibliography.'' Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. .
* Häfner, Roland (1982). ''Max Reger, Klarinettenquintett op. 146''. Munich: W. Fink Verlag. .
*
*
*
* Liu, Hsin-Hung (2004). "A Study on Compositional Structure in Max Reger ''Phantasie für Orgel über den Choral, "Hallelujah! Gott zu loben, bleibe meine Seelenfreud!"''" D.M.A. dissertation. Seattle: University of Washington.
* Mead, Andrew (2004). "Listening to Reger". ''The Musical Quarterly'' 87, no. 4 (Winter): 681–707.
* Mercier, Richard (2008). ''The Songs of Max Reger: A Guide and Study''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. .
* Reger, Elsa von Bagenski (1930). ''Mein Leben mit und für Max Reger: Erinnerungen von Elsa Reger''. Leipzig: Koehler & Amelang.
* Reger, Max (2006). Selected Writings of Max Reger'', edited and translated by Christopher Anderson. New York: Routledge. .
* Schreiber, Ottmar, and Ingeborg Schreiber (1981). ''Max Reger in seinen Konzerten'', 3 vols. Veröffentlichungen des Max-Reger-Institutes (Elsa-Reger-Stiftung) 7. Bonn: Dümmler. .
*
*
*
*
* Williamson, John (2001). "Reger, (Johann Baptist Joseph) Max(imilian)". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by
Stanley Sadie and
John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
Special Issue on Max Reger– ''
The Musical Quarterly'', Volume 87, Issue 4
* Brauss, Helmut, (1994), Max Reger's Music For Solo Piano. University of Alberta Press.
External links
*
Max Reger Portraitat
RAI Radio
*
Max Reger: Werkausgabe Carus-Verlag
*
*
Aus der Jugendzeit Op. 17at
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
Robarts Library
Max Reger(in German) Deutsche Biographie
Max-Reger-Portalmaxreger.info
The Max Reger Foundation of America, New York CityMeiningen (in German)
Max Reger Carus-Verlag
Max Reger on bach-cantatas.comPiano recital without Pianist or Max Reger plays Max Reger MDR
The portal for the Reger-year 2016reger2016.de
* Jürgen Schaarwächter
Monumental verinnerlicht / Zwischen Romantik und Moderne: Max Regers Bedeutung für die evangelische Kirchenmusik(in German) zeitzeichen.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reger, Max
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