
Carl Baermann (24 October 1810 – 23 May 1885) was a
clarinetist
The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...
and composer from Munich, Germany.
Life and career
He was the son of noted
clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
virtuoso
A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...
Heinrich Baermann and . As a child he was taught the clarinet and the
basset horn by his father. He played occasionally in the Munich court orchestra when he was 14 years old, and was appointed its second clarinetist in 1832. When his father retired in 1834, Carl succeeded his father as principal clarinetist. He held that position until he retired in 1880.
He toured Europe with his father in 1827, 1832 and 1838. In 1833 they premiered
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...
's ''Konzert Stücke'', Opp. 113 & 114, (''Concert Pieces'') to great acclaim. Carl Baermann's compositions, 88
opus number
In music, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's publication of that work. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among ...
s, were popular with clarinet virtuosos.

Baermann developed the Baermann-Ottensteiner
key system for the clarinet, which was based on the
Müller
Müller may refer to:
Companies
* Müller (company), a German multinational dairy company
** Müller Milk & Ingredients, a UK subsidiary of the German company
* Müller (store), a German retail chain
* GMD Müller, a Swiss aerial lift manufacturi ...
system. The system was very popular during the late 19th century, partly because of Baermann's ''Vollständige Clarinett-Schule'' (''Complete School for the Clarinet''), one of the leading methods for teaching the clarinet, written between 1864 and 1875.
Compositions
* ''Concerto Militaire'' for clarinet and orchestra, Op. 6
* ''Fantaisie brillante'' for clarinet and piano, Op. 7
* ''Variations brillantes'' for clarinet and piano, Op. 8
* ''La nuit étoilée'' (Starry Night Fantasy) for clarinet and piano, Op. 13
* ''Duo Concertant'' for two clarinets and piano, Op. 33
* ''Conzertstück,'' for clarinet and piano/orchestra, Op. 44
* ''Travestie'' for clarinet and piano, Op. 45
* ''Conzertstück No. 1'' for clarinet and piano/orchestra, Op. 49
* ''Vollständige Clarinett-Schule'' (''Complete Clarinet Method'') Opp. 63 and 64
# ''Historical and Theoretical'', Op. 63
# ''Preparatory Studies'', Op. 63
# ''Daily Studies'', Op. 63
# ''Short Pieces'', Op. 64
# ''Solos'', Op. 64
Carl Baermann (son)
Carl Baermann had a son, also named (9 July 1839 in Munich – 17 January 1913 in
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...
), a pianist who studied his instrument at the
Royal Bavarian Music School with Christian Wanner and Andreas Wohlmuth (1809–1884), and composition with
Franz Lachner and
Peter Cornelius in Munich.
He later became a student and friend 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 ...
. He taught at the Royal Bavarian Music School, being made professor there in 1876. On 22 December 1881, he made his US debut as a pianist in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, where he remained active as a pianist and teacher. Among his students were
Amy Beach
Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (September 5, 1867December 27, 1944) was an American composer and pianist. She was the first successful American female composer of large-scale art music. Her "Gaelic" Symphony, premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra ...
,
Lee Pattison,
Frederick Converse,
Dai Buell and
George Copeland.
He composed a number of works for piano solo and with orchestra;
Pamela Weston. "Carl Baermann (iii)"
in Grove Music Online
''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 t ...
among his published works of the former include ''12 Etüden'', Op. 4 (in Offenbach by the firm Johann André, 1887) and ''Polonaise pathétique'' (1914).
References
External links
*
*
*
''Complete Studies for Clarinet'', Op. 64 on iTunes (Sabine Grofmeier & Ulugbek Palvanov)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baermann, Carl
German clarinetists
German male classical composers
German Romantic composers
1810 births
1885 deaths
Pupils of Franz Liszt
19th-century German classical composers
19th-century German male musicians
Musicians from the Kingdom of Bavaria