Agnes Zimmermann (5 July 184714 November 1925) was a German concert
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...
and
composer who lived in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.
Biography
Agnes Marie Jacobina Zimmermann was born in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...
. Her family moved to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, and she was enrolled at the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...
at the age of nine, where her teachers were
Charles Steggall
Charles H. Steggall (3 June 1826 in London – 7 June 1905 in London) was an English hymnodist and composer.
Early life
The son of R. W. Steggall (of the London-based harness and saddlery maker Whippy, Steggall and Fleming), Charles Stegg ...
and
Cipriani Potter
Philip Cipriani Hambly Potter (3 October 1792 – 26 September 1871) was an English musician. He was a composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. After an early career as a performer and composer, he was a teacher in the Royal Academy of Musi ...
. Later she studied under
Ernst Pauer and
Sir George Macfarren
Sir George Alexander Macfarren (2 March 181331 October 1887) was an English composer and musicologist.
Life
George Alexander Macfarren was born in London on 2 March 1813 to George Macfarren, a dancing-master, dramatic author and journalist, wh ...
. Zimmermann received the Kings Scholarship from 1860 to 1862 and made her public debut 1863 at
The Crystal Palace
The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...
playing Beethoven's ''Emperor Concerto''.
After ending her studies, Zimmermann went on a tour of Germany, followed by concert tours in 1879, 1880, 1882 and 1883. She published her own editions of Sonatas by
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
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
and compositions by
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
.
Zimmermann moved in with feminist Lady
Louisa Goldsmid after the latter's husband, barrister Sir
Francis Goldsmid died in 1878. Zimmermann was said to have given eighteen years of "devoted attention" to Goldsmid and it has been speculated that this was a lesbian relationship.
During the 1880 decade, she composed Variations on Mendelssohn's ‘ ‘Hirtenlied’ (Shepherd's Song).
Several notable composers dedicated works to her, including
George Alexander Macfarren
Sir George Alexander Macfarren (2 March 181331 October 1887) was an English composer and musicologist.
Life
George Alexander Macfarren was born in London on 2 March 1813 to George Macfarren, a dancing-master, dramatic author and journalist, w ...
's ''Three Sonatas'' (1880) and
Michele Esposito's ''Ballades'', Op. 59 (1907).
Zimmermann died in London in 1925.
Works
Zimmermann composed music for chamber orchestra, piano solos, and vocal pieces.
Selected works include:
*Three sonatas for piano and violin, Opp. 16, 21 and 23
*''Cello Sonata'', Op. 17 (published 1872 by Schott)
[See ''Hofmeisters Monatsberichte'', May 1872, page 102.]
*''Trio for piano, violin and cello'', Op. 19
*''Presto alla Tarantella'', Op. 15
* Variations on Mendelssohn's ‘Hirtenlied’ (1880)
References
https://www.musichaven.co.uk/scores/variations-on-mendelssohn's-'hirtenlied'
External links
*
* https://www.musichaven.co.uk/scores/variations-on-mendelssohn's-'hirtenlied'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmermann, Agnes
1845 births
1925 deaths
19th-century classical composers
19th-century German composers
19th-century classical pianists
20th-century classical composers
Women classical composers
German classical composers
German women composers
German classical pianists
German women pianists
German music educators
Jewish classical composers
20th-century German composers
Women music educators
Women classical pianists
20th-century women composers
19th-century women composers
20th-century German women
19th-century women pianists
20th-century women pianists