Berthold Damcke (6 February 1812 – 15 February 1875) was a German

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 ...

, pianist,

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

, music educator,

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

and newspaper

correspondent A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...

Hugo Thielen Hugo Thielen (born 1946) is a German freelance author and editor, who is focused on the history of Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, in a lexicon of the city, another one especially of its art and culture, and a third of biographies. He co-au ...

: ''Damcke, Berthold.'' In ', .

Wilibald Gurlitt Wilibald Gurlitt (1 March 1889, Dresden – 15 December 1963, Freiburg) was a German musicologist. Gurlitt, son of the art historian Cornelius Gurlitt, attended the St. Anne Semi-Classical Secondary School (''Annenrealgymnasium'') in Dresde ...

(editor): ''Damcke, Berthold.'' In ''

Riemann Musiklexikon The Riemann Musiklexikon (RML), is a music encyclopedia founded in 1882 by Hugo Riemann. The 13th edition appeared in 2012. History The Riemann Musiklexikon is the last undertaking of an individual to write a comprehensive encyclopedia in the fi ...

'', 12th completely revised edition in three volumes, volume 1: ''Personenteil A–K.'' B. Schott’s Söhne, Mainz 1959, .

Life

Damcke was born in the so-called "

French period In Northern European historiography, the term French period (, , ) refers to the period between 1794 and 1815 during which most of Northern Europe was controlled by Republican or Napoleonic France.Eduard Rothert''Rheinland-Westfalen im Wechsel d ...

" in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. He first studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and later music in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

as a pupil of Aloys Schmitt who was appointed court organist and chamber musician of the Duke Adolph von Cambridge in Hanover in 1826 as well as

Ferdinand Ries Ferdinand Ries (baptised 28 November 1784 – 13 January 1838) was a German composer. Ries was a friend, pupil and secretary of Ludwig van Beethoven. He composed eight symphony, symphonies, a violin concerto, nine piano concertos (the first ...

. In 1834, Damcke made an appearance in his hometown " ..probably for a short time" as

violist The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the v ...

in the

Kingdom of Hanover The Kingdom of Hanover () was established in October 1814 by the Congress of Vienna, with the restoration of George III to his Hanoverian territories after the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleonic era. It succeeded the former Electorate of Hanover, and j ...

court orchestra, which at that time still existed in the and was located in the east wing of the

Leineschloss The Leine Palace (), situated on the Leine in Hanover, Germany, is a former residence of the Hanoverian dukes, electors and kings. It is now the seat of the parliament () of Lower Saxony. The first building on the site was a Franciscan friar ...

. However, he continued to study the piano and

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, also composing his first choral works. Later, Damcke moved to

Bad Kreuznach Bad Kreuznach () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach (district), Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a spa town, known for its medieval bridge dating from around 1300, the Alte Nahebrücke (Bad Kreuznach), Alte Nahebrücke, ...

where he conducted the local ''Musikverein'' and the ''Liedertafel'' and wrote the

Oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

''Deborah''. In 1837, Damcke went to

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, where he conducted the Philharmonische Gesellschaft Potsdam as well as the ''Gesangsverein für Opernmusik'', with which he performed his ''Christmas Oratorio'' in 1840 and in the following year the ''

Psalm 23 Psalm 23 is the 23rd psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "The Lord is my shepherd". In Latin, it is known by the incipit, "". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and ...

'' as well as an ''

Ave Maria The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical pa ...

''. Also still in 1841, Damcke took over the position of conductor in

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

. There, his opera ''

Das Käthchen von Heilbronn ' (''Katie of Heilbronn or The Trial by Fire'') (1807–1808) is a "great historical knightly play" (German: ') in five acts by the German playwright Heinrich von Kleist. The action of the drama takes place in Swabia during the Middle Ages. Per ...

'' after

Heinrich von Kleist Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist (; 18 October 177721 November 1811) was a German poet, dramatist, novelist, short story writer and journalist. His best known works are the theatre plays ''The Prince of Homburg'', '' Das Käthchen von Heilbronn'' ...

was premiered in 1845.Notwithstanding this, up to this point there have been considerable deviations and/or additions to Damcke's vita in contemporary sources such as the stays in Berlin and the award of a gold medal for art; see, for example, Carl Friedrich von Ledebur: ''Tonkünstler-Lexicon Berlin's from the oldest times to the present''. Unchanged reprint of the original edition, Ludwig Rauh, Berlin 1861; H. Schneider, Tutzing/Berlin 1965,
online
on Google Books In 1845, Damcke went to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

as a piano teacher, where he also developed a rich activity as a sensitive music critic and wrote extensive articles for the German-language '' St. Petersburgische Zeitung''. In 1855, he moved to Brussels. From 1859, Damcke lived and worked in Paris, where he wrote for various German and Russian journals. He also worked as a teacher, both privately and at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), or the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (; CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue Jean Ja ...

. One of his private pupils was

Georges Pfeiffer Georges Jean Pfeiffer (12 December 1835 – 14 February 1908) was a French composer, pianist, and music critic. He was a much sought-after chamber music partner in the second half of the nineteenth century in Paris. Life Pfeiffer was born in Ver ...

. Damcke was friends with

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

whom he had sponsored and whom he had already met in 1847 on the occasion of his guest performance in St. Petersburg. In Paris, he also taught under the later

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of Fanny Pelletan, who conceptually developed the complete edition of

Christoph Willibald Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; ; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of th ...

's works, suggested by Berlioz, and presented its first three volumes,Reinmar Emans, Ulrich Krämer (editors): ''Musikeditionen im Wandel der Geschichte'' (''Bausteine zur Geschichte der Edition'', vol. 5). De Gruyter, Berlin/Boston (Massachusetts), , and , 2015,
online
on

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical charac ...

on which Damcke collaborated. Damcke died in Paris at age 63 and is buried at

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (, , formerly , ) is the largest cemetery in Paris, France, at . With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the ...

Bibliography

* Carl Friedrich von Ledbur: ''Tonkünstler-Lexicon Berlin’s von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf die Gegenwart.'' Unchanged reprint of the original edition by Ludwig Rauh, Berlin 1861, H. Schneider, Tutzing/Berlin, 1965, .
online
* ''

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language '' Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and th ...

5'', (with a catalogue of works)

Notes

References

External links

Berthold Damcke
on Kotte autographs *
Biography
on Archive.com
Berthold Damcke
on

IMSLP The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public domain, public-domain sheet music, music scores. The project use ...

Berthold Damcke (1812 - 1875)
on The LiederNet Archive
Berthold Damcke
on Musicalics
Damcke
on Oxford index {{DEFAULTSORT:Damcke, Berthold 1812 births 1875 deaths 19th-century German pianists Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Paris German conductors (music) German classical pianists German male classical pianists German music critics German Romantic composers Musicians from Hanover 19th-century German male musicians