Joseph Rupert Rudolf Marx (11 May 1882 – 3 September 1964) was an

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

, teacher and

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or gover ...

Life and career

Marx was born in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...

and pursued studies in philosophy, art history, German studies, and music at

Graz University The University of Graz (german: link=no, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz, ), located in Graz, Austria, is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-oldest university in Austria. History The univer ...

, earning several degrees including a doctorate in 1909. His thesis was an expansion of a 1907 scholarly study of tonality, in which he coined the term "atonality".Berkant Haydin, Stefan Esser (Joseph Marx Society, 2009)
Chandos, liner notes to "Joseph Marx: Orchestral Songs and Choral Works
Retrieved 23 October 2014 He began composing seriously in 1908 and over the next four years he produced around 120 songs. In 1914 he joined the faculty of the Vienna Music Academy, later becoming the institution's director in 1922. When the school was reorganized as the Hochschule für Musik in 1924 he was appointed to the position of rector, holding that post for three years. Some of his notable students include Johann Nepomuk David, Lucijan Marija Škerjanc,

Paul Ulanowsky Paul Alexander Theodore Ulanowsky (March 4, 1908, Vienna – August 4, 1968, New York, NY) was an Austrian-American pianist, accompanist, vocal coach, and music educator of Austrian Jewish and Ukrainian-Jewish descent. He began his career as the ...

, Ivana Lang,

Alois Melichar Alois Melichar (18 April 1896, in Vienna – 9 April 1976, in Munich) was an Austrian composer, conductor, arranger, and music critic. He was a student of Joseph Marx at the Vienna Academy of Music, then of Franz Schreker at the Hochschule fü ...

, Clara Wildschut and

Hisatada Otaka Hisatada Otaka (Japanese: 尾高尚忠; 26 September 1911 – 16 February 1951) was a Japanese composer and conductor. He was the conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra from 1942 to 1951. Otaka was born in Japan and studied in musical arts earl ...

. From 1931 to 1938 he was music critic for the ''Neues Wiener Journal'' and following

World War II 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 ...

he was critic for the '' Wiener Zeitung''. A collection of Marx's criticisms and essays, ''Betrachtungen eines romantischen Realisten'' was published in Vienna in 1947. Just before he died he published a book on acoustics, tonality, aesthetics and musical philosophy entitled ''Weltsprache Musik'' (Vienna, 1964). As a composer Marx is chiefly remembered for his vocal music, particularly his more than 150

lieder 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 ...

. Although most of his songs used piano accompaniment, about two dozen of them used symphonic accompaniment. His style is characterized by Slavonic and Italian elements, often with an impressionistic kind of lyricism. His output in the 1920s and early 1930s was focused on orchestral works, followed by a period devoted primarily to

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 ...

for the remainder of his career. In an interview given to Elyse Mach ("Great Contemporary Pianists Speak for Themselves"; Dover Books on Music),

Jorge Bolet Jorge Bolet (November 15, 1914October 16, 1990) was a Cuban-born American virtuoso pianist and teacher. Among his teachers were Leopold Godowsky, and Moriz Rosenthal – the latter an outstanding pupil of Franz Liszt. Life Bolet was born in Havan ...

said that the "Romantic Piano Concerto" by Joseph Marx was his favorite among the great virtuoso concertos because of the enormous show of strength required from the soloist. Marx died in his home city of

, aged 82.

Works

Vocal works

Choral music: * ''Ein Neujahrshymnus'' (A New Year's Hymn) for mixed chorus and orchestra (1914) * ''Berghymne'' (Mountain Hymn) for mixed chorus and orchestra (1910) * ''Herbstchor an Pan'' (Autumn Chorus to Pan) for mixed chorus, boys' chorus, organ and orchestra (1911) * ''Morgengesang'' (Morning Chant) for male chorus and orchestra (1910) * ''Abendweise'' (Evening Melody) for male chorus, brass orchestra, timpani and organ (1912) * ''Gesang des Lebens'' (Song of Life) for male chorus and organ (1914) Songs/Orchestral songs * approx. 150 Lieder such as ''Nachtgebet'' and ''Marienlied'', two dozen of which are also available as orchestral songs *''Verklärtes Jahr'' (Transfigured Year) for medium voice and orchestra (orchestral song cycle, 1932, also available with piano accompaniment)

Instrumental works

Orchestral music: * ''Eine Herbstsymphonie'' (Autumn Symphony, 1921) * ''Eine symphonische Nachtmusik'' (Symphonic Night Music, 1922) * ''Idylle - Concertino über die pastorale Quart'' (1925) * ''Eine Frühlingsmusik'' (Spring Music, 1925) * ''Nordland-Rhapsodie'' (Nordic Rhapsody, 1929) * ''Alt-Wiener Serenaden'' (Old Vienna Serenades, 1941) * ''Sinfonia in modo classico'' for string orchestra (1944) * ''Partita in modo antico'' for string orchestra (1945) * ''Feste im Herbst'' (Autumnal Revelries, 1946) Concertos: * ''"Romantic Piano Concerto"'' in E major (1919–20) * ''"Castelli Romani"'' for piano and orchestra in E-flat major (1929–30)

Other works

* ''Six piano pieces'' (1916) *String Quartet in A major (1936, rev. in 1948 as ''Quartetto Chromatico'') *''Quartetto in modo antico'' (1938) *''Quartetto in modo classico'' (1941) *Two violin sonatas *Works for cello and piano *"Trio-Phantasie" *Three works for piano quartet *Organ pieces *Unpublished piano pieces *Works for voice and chamber ensemble

References

External links

www.joseph-marx-society.org - Official website of the Joseph Marx Society

www.joseph-marx.org - Huge website on the composer Joseph Marx
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Joseph 1882 births 1964 deaths 20th-century classical composers 20th-century male musicians Austrian male classical composers Austrian Romantic composers Composers for piano Composers from Graz People from the Duchy of Styria University of Graz alumni 19th-century male musicians