Carl Bergmann (born Ebersbach,

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Saxo ...

, April 12, 1821; died New York, August 10, 1876) was a

German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

cellist and conductor.

Biography

In 1827, he began studies with Adolph Zimmerman in

Zittau Zittau ( hsb, Žitawa, dsb, Žytawa, pl, Żytawa, cs, Žitava, Upper Lusatian Dialect: ''Sitte''; from Slavic "'' rye''" (Upper Sorbian and Czech: ''žito'', Lower Sorbian: ''žyto'', Polish: ''żyto'')) is the southeasternmost city in the Ge ...

, and later he studied with organist-composer Adolph Hesse in Breslau. By 1842, he was conducting and playing the cello in Breslau. Eventually, Bergmann conducted orchestras in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Breslau,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, and

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. Motivated by his implication in the

revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

in Vienna,Wittke (1952), p. 295. Bergmann came to the United States in 1850 as first cellist in the Germania Orchestra, a touring band of young German musicians, mostly refugees. When the conductor of that orchestra resigned the same year, Bergmann took over. The Germania Orchestra subsequently based itself in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

before disbanding in 1854 after giving 800 concerts over its career. During this period Bergmann directed the Germanians in performances with the

Handel and Haydn Society The Handel and Haydn Society is an American chorus and period instrument orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. Known colloquially as 'H+H', the organization has been in continual performance since its founding in 1815, the longest-serving suc ...

of that city, including the Boston premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. After this Bergmann went to Chicago and was immediately invited to direct the Chicago Philharmonic Society. However, he left after giving only two concerts because the Chicago musicians intrigued against him. In 1854, he went to New York City to conduct the Männergesangverein Arion, a choral group of German-born men. When Theodore Eisfeld, conductor of the New York Philharmonic Society, became sick for the last concert of the 1854–1855 season, Bergmann replaced him, directing

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

'' overture. This concert was so successful that Bergmann became sole conductor for the 1855–1856 season.Thomas (1905), p. 36 In 1859 he conducted the American premiere of ''

'' at the Stadt Theater. It was the first performance of a

opera in America. He also played cello in a renowned piano quintet that included Theodore Thomas on first violin and William Mason on piano. In addition to the Philharmonic, he also conducted a choral group, the New York Harmonic Society which later became the Mendelssohn Union. Bergmann organized and conducted a German music festival, held in the Winter Garden Theatre, in 1855, and in 1856 introduced German opera at

Niblo's Garden Niblo's Garden was a theater on Broadway and Crosby Street, near Prince Street, in SoHo, Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1823 as "Columbia Garden" which in 1828 gained the name of the ''Sans Souci'' and was later the property of ...

. He conducted Italian as well as German opera in New York. Eisfeld returned to conduct the Philharmonic Society for the 1856–1857 and 1857–1858 seasons, but Bergmann returned to the podium the next season, and shared the podium with Eisfeld between 1859 and 1865. In 1865 Eisfeld returned to Europe, and Bergmann continued as sole conductor of the Philharmonic Society until his death in 1876. Bergmann's life and career declined after 1870. Bergmann suffered from

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

. Since 1864, there had been a rival orchestra conducted by Theodore Thomas to contend with. And the

panic of 1873 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the ...

exacerbated the Philharmonic's financial problems. In 1876, the Philharmonic board requested his resignation, and his wife, whose name has been lost to history, died. In his autobiography, Theodore Thomas described Bergmann as "a talented musician and a fair 'cello player" but went on to criticize him as follows: George Upton wrote:

Conductors of the New York Philharmonic Society, 1855–1876

* 1855–1856 Bergmann * 1856–1858 Theodore Eisfeld * 1858–1859 Bergmann * 1859–1865 Bergmann and Eisfeld * 1865–1876 BergmannThomas (1905), p. 149

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bergmann, Carl 1821 births 1876 deaths People from Döbeln People from the Kingdom of Saxony American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) German-American Forty-Eighters Music directors of the New York Philharmonic 19th-century conductors (music) 19th-century American musicians