Hans Bronsart von Schellendorf (11 February 18303 November 1913) was a classical musician and composer who studied under Franz Liszt.

Biography

Hans Bronsart von Schellendorf (also called Hans von Bronsart)Music Web International
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Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n military family, and educated at

Berlin University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

. He studied piano with Adolph Jullack. He went to

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

in 1853 where he met Franz Liszt and became familiar with all the musicians in Liszt's circle at the time, including Hector Berlioz and Johannes Brahms. It is a measure of his close relationship with Liszt that it was he who played the solo part in the first Weimar performance of Liszt's 2nd Piano Concerto, with the composer conducting. When the concerto was published, Liszt dedicated it to Bronsart. After having trained for several years with Liszt, he worked as a conductor in

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 Berlin, and then took the post of general manager of the Royal Theatre in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

from 1867 to 1887. He held a similar post in Weimar from 1887 until his retirement in 1895. He met his second wife

Ingeborg Bronsart von Schellendorf Ingeborg Bronsart von Schellendorf (born Ingeborg Maria Wilhelmina Starck, 24 August 1840 in Saint Petersburg, died 17 June 1913 in Munich) was a Finnish-German composer. Life Ingeborg Starck was the daughter of Finnish parents Margareta Åkerman ...

(née Ingeborg Lena Starck) (1840–1913), also a composer, in Weimar. They married in 1861. Bronsart von Schellendorff died in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

in 1913.

Compositions

Bronsart von Schellendorf's compositions include * Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 1 * Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, Op. 10 * Symphony No. 1 ''In die Alpen'' for choir and orchestra (lost) * Symphony No. 2 ''Schicksalsgewalten'' (lost) * ''Fruhlings-Fantasie'' for orchestra * ''Christnacht'', cantata * ''Der Corsar'', opera * String Sextet * solo piano pieces. His piano concerto was much favoured by

Hans von Bülow Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for es ...

, who rated the work as the "most significant one of the so-called Weimar school". It was recorded in 1973 by Michael Ponti, and in 2017 by Emmanuel Despax for Hyperion. Both Bronsart and his wife receive many mentions in Liszt's letters. Liszt clearly held their compositions in high regard. In a letter of 12 May 1879, to

Walter Bache Walter Bache (; 19 June 184226 March 1888) was an English pianist and conductor noted for his championing the music of Franz Liszt and other music of the New German School in England. He studied privately with Liszt in Italy from 1863 to 1865, ...

, he writes "On 5th June Bülow conducts the first concert there, at which Bronsart's beautiful and valuable ''Fruhlings-Fantasie'', Bülow's music to

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

'', and my ''

Faust Symphony ''A Faust Symphony in three character pictures'' (german: Eine Faust-Symphonie in drei Charakterbildern), S.108, or simply the "''Faust Symphony''", is a choral symphony written by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Go ...

'' will be performed."

References

* Walker, Alan. ''Franz Liszt, the Weimar Years: 1848–1861''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press softcover. 1993 revision of a 1989 original pub. . (Bronsart is mentioned a number of times, Starck-Bronsart on p. 187.) * ''Adelslexikon'' Vol. II, in: Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Vol. 58 of all, C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg an der Lahn (Germany) 1974, * Liszt's letters covering this period with many references to the Bronsarts a
Project Gutenberg

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bronsart von Schellendorf, Hans 1830 births 1913 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century German composers 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century German male musicians 20th-century classical composers 20th-century German composers 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians German Romantic composers German male classical composers German classical pianists German male conductors (music) German pianists German male pianists Male classical pianists Pupils of Franz Liszt