Bernhard Porst (8 April 1857 – 1926''Persönliches''. In '' Zeitschrift für Musik'' 93 (1926) 10, .) was a German ''

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (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 has evolved considerably in i ...

'' and

music educator Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origina ...

Life

Porst came from the capital and royal seat of Weimar (

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach () was a German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was raised to a grand duchy in 1815 by resolutio ...

). There he first attended the Grand Ducal . From 1873 to 1876, he was at 's Orchesterschule. As one of his most advanced piano students, he was privileged to participate in the lessons of

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

. After his education, he became a music house teacher for the children of the

Landgrave Landgrave (, , , ; , ', ', ', ', ') was a rank of nobility used in the Holy Roman Empire, and its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), and ' ("count palatine") are of roughly equal rank, subordinate to ' ("duke"), and su ...

of Hesse. For a time, he lived in

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

for this purpose. Porst then worked at the theatre in

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

. After his military service he went to the theatre in Danzig. In 1883 he came to

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

music director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

of the municipal theatre, where he was responsible for

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

and

Spieloper In the 19th century, Spieloper (, 'opera play') was understood to mean a light opera genre, developed from Singspiel. Works typical of the genre include those by Albert Lortzing, such as ''Zar und Zimmermann'', and Otto Nicolai's ''The Merry Wives ...

. As second ''Kapellmeister'', he then stood on the podium alongside Richard Hagel and Egon Pollak. Later he also worked as a concert conductor. In 1918, the Elberfeld Kapellmeister

Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Ger ...

succeeded him, having previously retired for health reasons. From 1907 to 1925, as Heinrich Klesse's successor, he was director of the "Opera School". at the

University of Music and Theatre Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest univ ...

. From 1886, Porst was married to the soprano Ottilie Andes (1864–1909).

Awards

In 1905, he was awarded the by Heinrich XXVII the hereditary prince of the

Principality of Reuss-Gera The Principality of Reuss-Gera (), officially called the Principality of the Reuss Junior Line () after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of Reuss. It was one of the successor states of the Imperial C ...

.''Chronik''. In ''Neue Zeitschrift für Musik'' 72 (1905) 26/27, .

References

External links

*
Porst, Bernhard
on BMLO {{DEFAULTSORT:Porst, Bernhard German music educators Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig 1857 births 1926 deaths Musicians from Weimar

Life

Awards

Further reading

References

External links