Christian Kalkbrenner
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Christian Kalkbrenner ( Hann. Münden, September 22, 1755 – Paris, August 10, 1806) 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 ...
, violinist, organ and keyboard player, and composer. Almost an exact contemporary of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
, he was a prolific composer in many fields and a force in the musical world. He rose to high honours at the courts of the Prussian Kings. For unknown reasons, Kalkbrenner left his position as Kapellmeister to Prince Henry of Prussia and went first to
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
and later on to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. He was the father of Friedrich Wilhelm Kalkbrenner, one of the great piano virtuosos of the first half of the 19th century.


Biography

Christian Kalkbrenner was born in Münden,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Münden, nowadays called Hann. Münden, an old town with a historic inner city, is situated 17 kilometres north-east of
Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...
. Kalkbrenner had his first musical education from his father who was town musician (Stadtmusikus) in the Hessian town of Kassel. Kalkbrenner learned to play
violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...
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 ...
. In violin he was taught by Carl Rodewald; his organ teacher was Johannes Becker (born 1726), the Hessian court organist. By the time he was seventeen Kalkbrenner sang in the choir of the French opera house of Kassel where he also played the violin. In 1777 he dedicated a
symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...
to Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel. In 1784 Kalkbrenner was received into the
Philharmonic Academy of Bologna The Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna ("philharmonic academy of Bologna"; sometimes known in English as the Bologna Academy of Music) is a music education institution in Bologna, Italy. The Accademia de' Filarmonici was founded as an associ ...
by virtue of a four-part
mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
he had mailed to the society. This was a very high honour and suggests the high quality of Kalkbrenner's compositions. Mozart had been received into the same society on 9 October 1770 only after a lengthy examination in which he was aided by
Padre Martini Giovanni Battista or Giambattista Martini, (24 April 1706 – 3 August 1784), also known as Padre Martini, was an Italian Conventual Franciscan friar, who was a leading musician, composer, and music historian of the period and a mentor to Mozart ...
. In the same year Kalkbrenner married the socially well connected widow of an army captain who had died as a soldier in the United States. In 1788 or 1789, some time after the death of landgrave Frederic II of Hesse, Kalkbrenner was named Kapellmeister of
Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt Frederica Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt (; 16 October 1751 – 25 February 1805) was Queen of Prussia and Electress of Brandenburg as the second wife of King Frederick William II. Life Frederica Louisa was the daughter of Louis IX, Landgrav ...
, Queen of Prussia. From 1790, Kalkbrenner served Prince Henry of Prussia at
Rheinsberg Rheinsberg () is a town and a municipality in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in Brandenburg, in north-eastern Germany. It is located on lake and the river Rhin, approximately north-east of Neuruppin and north-west of Berlin. History Freder ...
castle in the same capacity. Henry of Prussia was the younger brother of
Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...
. In 1796 Kalkbrenner renounced all of his positions at the Rheinsberg court and left Germany for good. It is not clear why Kalkbrenner did this. Certainly this was a major step that required careful consideration. The Rheinsberg castle, situated about 100 kilometres to the north-west of
Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, was something of a backwater in the late 18th century. The means of the court theatre, where Kalkbrenner staged his operas, were limited, the surroundings provincial, and the budget restricted. Nevertheless, this was a secure position with one of the major German princes, an enlightened philosopher-sovereign whom
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Freiherr von Steuben ( , ; born Friedrich Wilhelm Ludolf Gerhard Augustin Louis Freiherr von Steuben; September 17, 1730 – November 28, 1794), also referred to as Baron von Steuben, was a German-b ...
recommended to
Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...
as a candidate for the American Presidency. Henry's portrait as drawn by an eminent biographer of his older brother Frederick the Great is not unflattering: :"Like Frederick he (Prince Henry of Prussia) was a man of many and varied talents, cultivated, musical and intelligent. Like Frederick he established at Rheinsberg a brilliant court, rivalling the king's own. Like Frederick he was enchanted by France and things French – and, being without final responsibility, could indulge a prejudice in that direction without risk of it becoming mistaken for a policy.... Small in stature he was both charming and vain; and had a most attractive wife...whom he later deserted, caring little for her as a woman." In 1796 the Kalkbrenner family surfaced in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
where they stayed for two years. Naples was home to the famous
Teatro di San Carlo The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and ...
, then one of the largest opera houses in the world, seating 3,300. This was still the great age of the Neapolitan Opera. Other German composers like
Johann Adolph Hasse Johann Adolph Hasse (baptised 25 March 1699 – 16 December 1783) was an 18th-century German composer, singer and teacher of music. Immensely popular in his time, Hasse was best known for his prolific operatic output, though he also composed a co ...
,
Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (5 September 1735 – 1 January 1782) was a German composer of the Classical era, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He received his early musical training from his father, and later from his half-brother, Carl ...
, and particularly
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 ...
had successfully preceded Kalkbrenner to Naples and there is reason to believe that he hoped to establish himself as a composer of Neapolitan operas there. However, no proof has yet established that he composed or staged an opera in Naples. In 1799 Kalkbrenner made his way to Paris where he managed to become ''Maître des Chœurs et des Écoles'' at the
Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...
. In 1803 he rearranged Mozart's ''
Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...
'' for the Paris Opera interpolating pieces he composed himself. Together with Ludwig Wenzel Lachnith, a Bohemian horn player and composer, he produced a number of infamous pasticcios for the Paris Opera. These were operas cobbled together using music from different composers, among them Mozart and
Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
. Jointly with Lachnith, Kalkbrenner staged ''Les Mystères d'Isis'', (a botch that was justly parodied as ''Les Misères d'ici''), a travesty of Mozart's ''
Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...
'', at the Paris Opera. Kalkbrenner, having served at German courts where the court language was French, was probably bilingual or at least completely fluent in French. It is somewhat surprising, though, that Kalkbrenner attained this much coveted position in revolutionary France after spending most of his life at courts that were distinctly hostile to the French Revolution. Kalkbrenner died unexpectedly in 1806 in Paris. His death seems to have come as a great blow to his son who subsequently withdrew from the concert life and music in general for several years.


Historical assessment

Christian Kalkbrenner was a very talented all-round musician and a good composer, well versed in all music matters. He must also have been a shrewd courtier who knew how to advance in the tight knit aristocratic society of the latter 18th century, where observing the etiquette and being on good terms with the right and influential people, most of them aristocrats, was what mattered most. Coming from a humble background (as the family name clearly suggests ) and with Jewish roots, he rose within a relatively short time to one of the preeminent positions in 18th century musical Germany. Having spent his whole life at smaller European courts that were decidedly hostile towards the French Revolution, he nevertheless managed within a few years to attain a respected position in post-revolutionary France. He was the father and first teacher of Friedrich Wilhelm Kalkbrenner, one of the most famous and influential pianists and piano teachers in the first half of the 19th century.


Works

Today there is little information on Kalkbrenner's works. Marmontel maintains that it was large.Marmontel (1878), 99, writes: ''Plusieurs ouvrages lyriques, cantates, oratorios, écrits sur l'histoire de la musique, forment l'œuvre relativement considérable du père de F. Kalkbrenner.'' Translation: "Several lyrical works (operas), cantatas, oratorios and articles on musical history, make up the fairly considerable work of the father of F(riedrich) Kalkbrenner."


Operas

* ''Démocrite'', opera buffa, 3 acts, Rheinsberg 1792 * ''La Femme et le secret'', opera, Rheinsberg * ''Lanassa'', grand opéra, Rheinsberg * ''La Veuve du Malabar'', opera, Rheinsberg * ''La Descente des Français en Angleterre'', opera in one act, (Italy?) 1798 * ''Olympie (Guillard)'', grand opéra in 3 acts, Paris 1798 * ''Scène de Pygmalion'', scène avec orchestre, Paris 1799 * ''Scène tirée des poésies d'Ossian'', Paris 1800


Other works

* 2 symphonies * piano concerto * piano sonatas * oratorios, masses. * ''Theorie der Tonkunst'' (1789) * ''Kurzer Abriss der Geschichte der Tonkunst'' (1792).


Notes and references


Sources

* ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik''. (Ungekürzte elektronische Ausgabe der ersten Auflage). (1949–1987). München: Bärenreiter. * Fraser, David. ''Frederick the Great''. London: Penguin, 2000. * Marmontel, Antoine Francois. ''Les Pianistes Célèbres''. Paris: Imprimerie Centrale des Chemins de Fer A. Chaix et Cie, 1878. * Nicholas, Jeremy. ''Booklet of Hyperion CD recording of Kalkbrenner Piano Concertos No. 1, Op. 61 and No. 2, Op. 127.'' Published by
Hyperion Records Hyperion Records is a British classical music record label. It was independent until February 2023, when it was acquired by the Universal Music Group. Under Universal, Hyperion is one of the three main classical record labels, alongside Decca a ...
Ltd., Booklet Editor, Tim Parry. London, 2006. ASIN B000GPI26S * Schenk, Erich. ''Mozart - Eine Biographie'' (''Mozart - A Biography''). Munich: Goldmann. No year given, probably 1978 (Original Edition Vienna, Amalthea, 1955). *
Walther Killy Walther Killy (26 August 191728 December 1995) was a German literary scholar who specialised in poetry, especially that of Friedrich Hölderlin and Georg Trakl. He taught at the Free University of Berlin, the Georg-August-Universität Götting ...
,
Rudolf Vierhaus Rudolf Vierhaus (29 October 1922 – 13 November 2011) was a German historian who mainly researched the Early modern period. He had been a professor at the newly founded Ruhr University Bochum since 1964. From 1971, he was director of the in Gött ...
. ''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopäde'' (''German Biographic Encyclopaedia''). Bd. (Vol.) 5. K-G. 10 Bde. (Vols.) Munich: KG Saur, 1999.


External sources


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' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalkbrenner 1755 births 1806 deaths People from Hann. Münden German conductors (music) German male conductors (music) German expatriates in France German opera composers German male opera composers