Carl Bohm (also known by Karl Bohm and his pseudonym Henry Cooper; 11 September 1844 – 4 April 1920) was a German

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

and

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 ...

. Bohm is regarded as one of the leading German songwriters of the 19th century, and wrote such works as ''Still as the Night'', ''Twilight'', ''May Bells'', ''Enfant Cheri'' and ''The Fountain''. According to the ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Bohm was "a German composer of great fecundity and the highest salability... He occupied an important position in the musical commonwealth inasmuch as his publisher, N. Simrock, declared that the profits on his compositions provided the capital for the publication of those of

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

." Bohm's specialty was music in a lighter vein, very different from the dark, brooding and introspective works of Brahms. Bohm, like

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

, was more than just a songwriter, composing in most genres. His

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

, mostly

quartets In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

and piano trios, were popular not only amongst amateurs, but also among touring professional groups who were in need of a sure-fire audience pleaser. Edition Silvertrust (see references) states that Bohm "was certainly very well known during his lifetime. Yet today, his name brings nothing but blank stares." This curious obscurity is borne out more than ever by the fact that ''

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 ...

'' contains no article about him. Nonetheless, his Sarabande in G minor remains a standard teaching piece for intermediate violinists and violists.

Selected works

w:de:Carl Bohm * ''Lieder'' (op. 326; including Nr. 27: "Still wie die Nacht“) * ''Salon-Kompositionen'' (op. 327) * ''Klaviertrio G-dur.'' (Forelle; op. 330 Nr.2) * ''Perpetuo Mobile'' (Kleine Suite 6) * ''Introduction and Polonaise'' * ''Moto Perpetuo'' * ''Hausmusik'' * ''Spanischer Tanz'' * ''The Fountain'' (op. 221) (G major) * ''Op.99 Petit Rondeau Brillant'' (G major) * ''Op.102 La Zingana - Hungarian Mazurka'' * ''Op.114 No.5 Sextet From Lucia (Donizetti)'' * ''Op.135 May Bells * '' Op.213 Charge of the Uhlans - Grand Galop Militaire'' * ''Op.266 If Thou Thy Heart Wilt Give Me - Melodie'' * ''Op.270 Song of the Swallow'' * ''Op.281 Fairy Dance'' * ''Op.282 Frolic of the Butterflies - Kosender Falter'' * ''Op.302 No.5 La Grace'' * ''Op.305 No.b2 The Dance Queen - Polonaise'' * ''Op.327 No.14 Seguidilla - Spanish Song'' * ''Op.357 No.3 Brise printaniere - Polka brillante'' * ''Op.357 No.4 Rosetta - Fantasie-Mazurka'' * ''Op.362 No.1 Soldaten kommen (Soldiers are Coming) March'' * ''Sarabande in G minor for solo violin''

Notes and references

* Some of the information on this page appears on the website of Edition Silvertrust but permission has been granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

External links

* * * * *Some of Bohm's violin pieces are available a
Free violin music
* 1844 births 1920 deaths 19th-century German musicians 19th-century German male musicians 20th-century German male musicians German Romantic composers German male classical composers {{Germany-composer-stub