Friedrich Seitz (12 June 1848,

Günthersleben-Wechmar Günthersleben-Wechmar is a former municipality in the German state ( Bundesland) of Thuringia in the district of Gotha. Since July 2018, it is part of the municipality Drei Gleichen.Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( ), was an Ernestine duchy in Thuringia ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Thuringia and Bavaria in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to ...

– 22 May 1918) was a German

Romantic Era Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...

composer. He was a violinist who served as a

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

, who wrote

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 ...

and eight student concertos for the violin.

Life

Seitz was born in Frankfurt in 1848 and began studying music at a young age. He received his musical education at the Frankfurt Conservatory, where he studied with some of the leading musicians of the day. Seitz studied violin under

Karl Wilhelm Uhlrich 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 ...

Sondershausen Sondershausen () is a town in Thuringia, central Germany, capital of the Kyffhäuserkreis district, situated about 50 km (30 mi) north of Erfurt. On 1 December 2007, the former municipality Schernberg was merged with Sondershausen. Until 1918 i ...

, Germany; he later married Uhlrich's daughter. He became a student of in 1874. He became music director at

and thereafter became a concertmaster at

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

. In 1884 he was the Hofkonzertmeister (conductor of the court orchestra) at

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

. Seitz was also a highly respected violinist and taught at several music academies during his career. He was known for his technical proficiency and expressive playing style, and many of his students went on to become successful musicians in their own right. He wrote all his violin concertos for his students, to help them improve their technique. Seitz was a prolific composer and wrote a wide range of music, including operas, symphonies, chamber music, and solo works for various instruments. However, it is his violin concertos that are perhaps his most enduring works. Movements from Seitz's student concerti (No. 2 and No. 5) have become more widely known by virtue of their inclusion in the Suzuki violin method instructional material.

Selected compositions

*''Schüler-Konzert Nr. 1'' (Pupil's Concerto No. 1) in D major for violin and piano, Op. 7 *''Schüler-Konzert Nr. 2'' (Pupil's Concerto No. 2) in G major for violin and piano, Op. 13 *''Schüler-Konzert Nr. 3'' (Pupil's Concerto No. 3) in G minor for violin and piano, Op. 12 *''Schüler-Konzert Nr. 4'' (Pupil's Concerto No. 4) in D major for violin and piano, Op. 15 *''Sechs leichte Vortragsstücke in Form einer Suite'' f. V. od. Vcello (1. Lage) m. Pfte. Magdeburg, Rathke. 1896. :# Frohe Wanderschaft (A Pleasant Walk) :# In der Waldmühle (The Woodland Mill) :# Bei der Grossmutter (With Grandmother) :# Zigeuner kommen (Gipsies Are Coming) :# Auf dem Kinderball (The Children's Ball) :# Sehnsucht nach der Heimat (Longing for Home) *''Schüler-Klaviertrio Nr. 1'' (Pupil's Piano Trio No. 1) in C major for violin, cello and piano, Op. 18 * ''Romanze und Intermezzo'', Op. 21 *''Schüler-Konzert Nr. 5'' (Pupil's Concerto No. 5) in D major for violin and piano, Op. 22 (1909) * ''Konzert in einem Satz zum Studium und Konzertgebrauch'' (Concerto in One Movement for Study and Concert Use) in A minor for violin and piano or orchestra, Op. 25 *''Drei Grabgesänge für gefallene Krieger'' for mixed chorus, Op. 28; poetry by August Sieghardt *''Schüler-Konzert Nr. 6'' (Pupil's Concerto No. 6) in G major for violin and piano, Op. 31 *''Schüler-Konzert Nr. 7'' (Pupil's Concerto No. 7) in D minor for violin and piano, Op. 32 *Quartet in G Major for 2 violins (or violin and viola), cello and piano, Op. 35 *''Konzertstück'' (Concert Piece) in A major for violin and piano, Op. 36 *''Schüler-Konzert Nr. 8'' (Pupil's Concerto No. 8) in G major for violin and piano, Op. 38 *Short works for violin and piano (Opp. 41, 45, 46) *''Ungarische Rhapsodie'' (Hungarian Rhapsody) for violin and piano, Op. 47 *''Schüler-Konzert Nr. 8'' ic(Pupil's Concerto No. 8) in A major for violin and piano, Op. 51 * ''Die Passion'', Oratorio for soloists, chorus, orchestra and organ * ''Zwei neue Vortragsstücke'' for violin and piano :# Andante espressivo :# Allegro vivace *''Schüler-Klaviertrio Nr. 2'' (Pupil's Piano Trio No. 2) for violin, cello and piano *''Schüler-Klaviertrio Nr. 3'' (Pupil's Piano Trio No. 3) for violin, cello and piano

External links

Some information about Seitz
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seitz, Fritz 1848 births 1918 deaths 19th-century German classical composers 20th-century German classical composers Concertmasters People from Gotha (district) People from Saxe-Coburg and Gotha German Romantic composers German male classical composers 20th-century German composers 19th-century German composers 20th-century German male musicians 19th-century German male musicians German male classical violinists German classical violinists