Ferdinand Hellmesberger (24 January 1863 – 15 March 1940) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and

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 ...

Biography

He was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

to Joseph Hellmesberger, Sr. Joseph Hellmesberger, Jr. was his brother. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory with

Karl Udel Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cachoe ...

(cello) and

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

(

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

). He was a member of the Vienna Hofburgkapelle from 1879. From 1883 he became a member of the

Hellmesberger Quartet The Hellmesberger Quartet was a string quartet formed in Vienna in 1849. It was founded by Joseph Hellmesberger Sr. and was the first permanent named String Quartet. Composition Violinist Leopold Jansa had started a string quartet in 1845. Hellmes ...

. In 1884, aged twenty-one, he became teacher at the Vienna Conservatory and in 1889 he became professor, which he remained until 1902. He was later, in 1896, solo cellist at the court opera. In 1902 he became

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 ...

at the

Vienna Volksoper The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...

under Carl Rainer Simons. In 1905 he took on as

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

conductor at the Königlichen Oper 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 ...

. From 1910 and on he worked as Kurkapellmeister in

Abbazia Opatija (; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Croatia, town and a municipality in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in northwestern Croatia. The traditional seaside resort on the Kvarner Gulf is known for its Mediterranean climate and its historic bu ...

(now in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

Baden bei Wien Baden (Central Bavarian: ''Bodn''), unofficially distinguished from Baden (disambiguation), other Badens as Baden bei Wien (Baden near Vienna), is a spa town in Austria. It serves as the capital of Baden (district of Austria), Baden District in t ...

, Marienbad (now in

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

), and

Karlsbad Karlsbad may refer to: *Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic (formerly known by its German name Karlsbad) *Karlsbad (Baden), Germany *Melluži Melluži is a residential area and neighbourhood in the city of Jūrmala, Latvia Latvia, officially the ...

(now in Czech Republic) At the time of his death in Vienna, he was the last of a family that played an important role in the Vienna musical life. Among his students at the Vienna Conservatory was Franz Schmidt.

References

* Material from biographies under External links

External links

Biography
(in German)

Biographies of Hellmesberger family members
(in German) 1863 births 1940 deaths Austrian conductors (music) Austrian male conductors (music) Austrian cellists

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

Musicians from Vienna {{Austria-conductor-stub