Fritz Reuter (9 September 1896 – 4 July 1963) was a German musicologist,
music educator
Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do original ...
, composer and ''
Kapellmeister
(, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (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 ha ...
''. Reuter was one of the most important German music educators of the 20th century. After studying music and musicology in Dresden and Leipzig, with Teichmüller,
Riemann, Schering and Abert, he received his doctorate in 1922 (Dr. phil.).
In 1945, he was appointed
Kapellmeister
(, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (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 ha ...
at the Volksoper in Dresden.
In 1949, he was appointed as the first professor of music education at a German university (University of Halle).
He was also director of institutes at the
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg and the
Humboldt University Berlin.
In 1955, he was one of the initiators of the first
Hallische Musiktage
The Hallische Musiktage are a festival specialised on contemporary music, based in Halle (Saale). Founded in 1955, it is held annually in November, the second-oldest German festival of contemporary music after the Donaueschinger Musiktage.
Hans S ...
.
Life
Origin and music studies
Born in
Löbtau
Löbtau is a quarter or ''Stadtteil'' in south-west Dresden, Germany. It is part of the ''Stadtbezirk'' Cotta. It borders the quarters of Friedrichstadt, Cotta, Gorbitz
Gorbitz is an area in south-west Dresden, Germany. It is part of the '' Stad ...
, now part of Dresden,
Reuter came from a
Saxon
The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic
*
*
*
*
peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
artisan family from the
Ore Mountains.
[ Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). A tribute on the occasion of his 100th birthday''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Music Education Research''. Vol. 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , , here .] He was born as the son of the
master builder
A master builder or master mason is a central figure leading construction projects in pre-modern times (a precursor to the modern architect and engineer).
Historically, the term has generally referred to "the head of a construction project in the ...
and
carpenter
Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, Shipbuilding, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. ...
Friedrich August Reuter (born 1868)
[Erich H. Müller (ed.): ''Deutsches Musiker-Lexikon''. W. Limpert-Verlag, Dresden 1929.] in a working-class suburb.
His father worked his way up to become the owner of a construction business.
Reuter's mother Johanna, ''née'' Noack (born 1878), had
Sorbs Roots
and was the driving force in his musical education.
He received piano lessons from Max Stranssky and
Richard Schmidt, both teachers at the
Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden
' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...
, as well as theory lessons from
Paul Walde.
Schmidt also introduced him to Baroque music by
Johann Sebastian Bach, which Reuter learned to love.
He passed an exam in 1912 and later taught
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
and piano himself at the "Dresdner Lehranstalt für Musik", founded by Walde in 1914. Reuter came into early contact with the music pedagogy of the Dresden music school director
Richard Kaden
Richard Ferdinand Kaden (10 February 1856 – 9 July 1923) was a German violinist, violist, music educator, musicologist and composer.
Life
Born in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, Kaden came from a Freiberg miner family. In 1856 he was born as on ...
– his '
[Walter Clemens, Werner Busch: ''Zum Gedenken an Fritz Reuter''. In Heinz Wegener (editor): ''Gedenkschrift Fritz Reuter'' (''Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Gesellschafts- und sprachwissenschaftliche Reihe'' 15 (1966) 3). pp. I-VI, here: P. I.] – which stood in a line of tradition with the approaches of the philosopher
Karl Christian Friedrich Krause.
Reuter first attended the Bürgerschule, and in 1916 he passed the
Abitur
''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
at the in Dresden.
During the First World War (1916/17) he was trained as an infantryman (
grenadier
A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word '' grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited fr ...
) in Dresden, but was not called up for military service.
Unwilling to take over his father's business, he broke with his parental home
and began studying music instead. He financed this through two "Riemann scholarships", which he received for the best annual musicological works,
as well as interrupting his studies as a
répétiteur at the famous Dresden circus
Sarrasani (1917) and as a theatre conductor
in
Allenstein
Olsztyn ( , ; german: Allenstein ; Old Prussian: ''Alnāsteini''
* Latin: ''Allenstenium'', ''Holstin'') is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with county rights. ...
/
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
.
[Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). A tribute on the occasion of his 100th birthday''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Music Education Research''. Vol. 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , , here: p. 21.] At the same time, Reuter studied in Leipzig at the
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig and at the
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig.
[ Association of German Composers and Musicologists, Music Information Centre (ed.): ''Komponisten und Musikwissenschaftler der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. Short biographies and lists of works''. 2nd expanded edition, Verlag Neue Musik, Berlin 1968, .] His teachers included among others
Otto Weinreich
Otto Karl Weinreich (1886–1972) was a German classical philologist. He is noted for his study of the ''Lukan Befreiungswunder'' through his work ''Gebet und Wunder''.
Weinrich's works were focused on the so-called liberation miracles such as t ...
and
Robert Teichmüller
Robert Teichmüller (4 May 1863, in Braunschweig – 6 May 1939, in Leipzig) was a German concert pianist and music educator.
He studied piano and music theory with Carl Reinecke at the Leipzig Conservatory where he later became a faculty member ...
in piano,
Stephan Krehl in composition and
Bernhard Porst in bandmaster training, as well as
Hugo Riemann
Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann (18 July 1849 – 10 July 1919) was a German musicologist and composer who was among the founders of modern musicology. The leading European music scholar of his time, he was active and influential as both a musi ...
, Hermann Abert and
Arnold Schering in musicology. He also studied German with
Albert Köster
Albert Johannes Köster (7 November 1862 – 29 May 1924) was a German Germanist and theater scholar.
Life
Born in Hamburg as the son of a wine wholesaler, Köster attended the Johanneum in Hamburg, where he passed the Abitur in 1882. He then ...
and
Eduard Sievers
Eduard Sievers (; 25 November 1850, Lippoldsberg – 30 March 1932, Leipzig) was a philologist of the classical and Germanic languages. Sievers was one of the ''Junggrammatiker'' of the so-called "Leipzig School". He was one of the most influent ...
and philosophy and pedagogy with
Eduard Spranger
Eduard Spranger (27 June 1882 – 17 September 1963) was a German philosopher and psychologist. A student of Wilhelm Dilthey, Spranger was born in Berlin and died in Tübingen. He was considered a humanist who developed a philosophical pe ...
,
Theodor Litt
Theodor Litt (27 December 1880 – 16 July 1962) was a German culture and social philosopher as well as a pedagogue.
In the debate with Dilthey, Simmel and Cassirer, Litt developed an independent approach in cultural philosophy and philosophic ...
,
Johannes Volkelt
Johannes Immanuel Volkelt (21 July 1848 in Lipnik near Biala, Austrian Galicia – 8 May 1930 in Leipzig) was a German philosopher.
Biography
He was educated at Vienna, Jena, and Leipzig. He became professor of philosophy at Basel in 1883 and ...
and
Hans Driesch.
In 1922, he was awarded a
Dr. phil.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
from the University of Leipzig for his dissertation ''Die Geschichte der deutschen Oper in Leipzig am Ende des 17. und am Anfang des 18. Jahrhunderts (1693–1720)''. The referees for the thesis were
Hermann Abert
Hermann Abert (; 25 March 1871 – 13 August 1927) was a German historian of music.
Life
Abert was born in Stuttgart, the son of Johann Josef Abert (1832–1915), the ''Hofkapellmeister'' of that city.
From 1890 to 1896 he studied classical ...
and
Rudolf Kötzschke
Rudolf Kötzschke (8 July 1867 – 3 August 1949) was a German historian who founded the Seminar for Regional History and Settlement Studies in Leipzig, the first regional history institution at a German university.
Life and career
Born in Dr ...
.
Lecturer in Leipzig
As a sideline, Reuter initially also worked as a
music critic
''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mus ...
for the ''Leipziger Musik- und Theater-Zeitung'', which appeared in 1921.
Because of his activity as a composer, he became a teacher of music theory at the Royal or State Conservatory of Music in Leipzig in 1921.
There, on Riemann's recommendation, he introduced the
basso continuo
Basso continuo parts, almost universal in the Baroque era (1600–1750), provided the harmonic structure of the music by supplying a bassline and a chord progression. The phrase is often shortened to continuo, and the instrumentalists playing th ...
into theory teaching. He also devoted himself to the psychological foundation of
ear training.
In addition, from 1922 he was active at the of the Leipzig Conservatory, where he taught ecclesiastical composition and music theory as well as the history of
church music.
In addition, in 1924/25 he took on a teaching position for the pedagogy of school music at the University of Leipzig.
From 1932 he also taught music history. As a result of a report by Reuter in the 1920s, the
Sächsischer Landtag introduced the school subject "music" at
Volksschules and higher schools.
[Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). A tribute on the occasion of his 100th birthday''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Music Education Research''. Vol. 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , , here .] In 1925, moreover, he became a member of the examination board for the musical state examination at the University of Leipzig.
In addition to his university lectureship, Reuter passed the
state examination
The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, teachers, pharmacists, food chemists, psychotherapists and jurists (i.e., lawyers, judges, p ...
for the higher teaching profession in the subjects of music and German in 1931.
[Walter Clemens, Werner Busch: ''Zum Gedenken an Fritz Reuter''. In Heinz Wegener (Red. Ed.): ''Gedenkschrift Fritz Reuter'' (''Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Gesellschafts- und sprachwissenschaftliche Reihe'' 15 (1966) 3). , here .]
In particular, due to his ''Daghestanian Suite for Orchestra'' (1927), composed for the
Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
, and his conducting of Leipzig (''Michaelsche Chöre''), he lost his teaching positions after the ''
Machtergreifung
Adolf Hitler's rise to power began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919 when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He rose to a place of prominence in the early years of the party. Be ...
'' by the
Nazis in 1933.
He also maintained contacts with Jewish musicians (et al.
Alfred Szendrei of the
Leipzig Symphony Orchestra, whose ''Dirigierkunde'' he was to publish in 1956) and social democratic politicians.
[Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). A tribute on the occasion of his 100th birthday''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Music Education Research''. Vol. 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , , here .] His works were banned from performance and the
Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft cancelled current contracts with Reuter.
Szendrei, who gave the world premieres of his Cello Concerto (1929 together with the cello virtuoso
Fritz Schertel
Friedrich Schertel (13 February 1890 – 5 April 1945) was a German cello virtuoso.
Life
Born in Schweinfurt, Schertel was the youngest son of the bank accountant and later State bank director Sigmund Schertel and his wife Marie Schertel, ''né ...
at the ) and his cantata ''Huttens letzte Tage'' (1930 together with the baritone
Karl Kamann) had been responsible for, attested to the composer's "strong talent" in his autobiographical notes in 1970. Reuter and Szendrei became friends and – interrupted by the Second World War – maintained correspondence.
Saxon school service
To make a living
and because he wanted to resume his profession,
he accommodated himself to those in power
and, with effect from 1 May 1933 he joined the
National Socialist German Workers' Party member number 2.429.811) relatively early.
[Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945''. 2nd ed., Kopf, Kiel 2009, , p. 6104.] In 1934, he additionally became a member of the party organisations
Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt and in the
Nationalsozialistischer Lehrerbund.
After the stations as and
assessor
An assessor may be:
* ''Assessor'' (fish), a genus of fishes
* Assessor (law), the assistant to a judge or magistrate
* Assessor (Oxford), a senior officer of the University of Oxford
* Assessor (property), an expert who calculates the value of pr ...
he became
Studienrat for music and German at the
in Leipzig- in 1934.
There he built up a pupils'
wind orchestra.
In 1937, he moved to the in Dresden
and was given the "supervision of school music affairs" in the
Gau Saxony.
In 1944, he was promoted to
Oberstudienrat.
Until 1945, he taught at a secondary school in Dresden-Plauen.
The music historian
Fred K. Prieberg Fred K. Prieberg (3 June 1928 in Berlin – 28 March 2010 in Neuried) was a German musicologist. He was a pioneer in the field of history of music and musicians under the Nazi regime.
Works Independent publications
* ''Musik unterm Strich. Pano ...
(2009) classified individual statements in older articles on Reuter as "
pseudohistory
Pseudohistory is a form of pseudoscholarship that attempts to distort or misrepresent the historical record, often by employing methods resembling those used in scholarly historical research. The related term cryptohistory is applied to pseudoh ...
". For example, he had held no "prominent offices" before 1933 – apart from his teaching duties – and then made a career in the teaching profession in the Third Reich.
Fred K. Prieberg Fred K. Prieberg (3 June 1928 in Berlin – 28 March 2010 in Neuried) was a German musicologist. He was a pioneer in the field of history of music and musicians under the Nazi regime.
Works Independent publications
* ''Musik unterm Strich. Pano ...
: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945''. 2nd ed, Kopf, Kiel 2009, , . On the other hand, in the 1940s, Reuter proposed to succeed
Günther Ramin (
Thomaskantor
(Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor ...
) as artistic director of the
Gymnasium Leipzig, which had been founded by the National Socialists in 1941.
Professor in Halle and Berlin
After the Second World War in 1945, he was initially dismissed from the teaching profession.
He became a member of the
Free German Trade Union Federation
The Free German Trade Union Federation (german: Freier Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 and 1990. As a mass organisa ...
and was engaged by the Soviet occupation forces as
dramaturge
A dramaturge or dramaturg is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and printed programmes (or helps others with these tasks), consults auth ...
and ''
Kapellmeister
(, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (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 ha ...
'' at the Volksoper in Dresden-,
the later .
In 1946, his
denazification
Denazification (german: link=yes, Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by remo ...
took place, so he was able to prove, among other things, that he had supported a Jewish woman and had been under surveillance by the
Gestapo
The (), abbreviated Gestapo (; ), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one or ...
.
According to his student
Günther Noll (1997), he maintained contact "with his Jewish friends and helped them to escape, despite the existential dangers involved, also hiding them at his home".
In 1949, he was appointed
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...
with a teaching assignment by the at the request of the Faculty of Education of
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg.
Unlike other former NSDAP members of the faculty, he did not become a member of a
block party
A block party or street party is a party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual solidarity and enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which ofte ...
in the GDR. In addition, Reuter taught
music theory
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...
and
composition
Composition or Compositions may refer to:
Arts and literature
* Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography
*Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...
at the from 1950. In 1952, he was appointed professor with
chair
A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vari ...
at the University of Halle.
Furthermore, he presided over the Institute for Music Education there as founding director from 1949 to 1955. In Halle, Reuter established a year-long specialist course for music teachers who had served in the war and could thus catch up on their specialist qualifications.
From 1955 until his Soviet-critical departure in 1962
[Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). A tribute on the occasion of his 100th birthday''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Music Education Research''. Volume 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , , here: . 16/ref> he headed the Institute for Music Education at the Faculty of Education of the ]Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin (german: link=no, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public university, public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany.
The university was established ...
. There he campaigned for the construction of a new concert hall. Reuter's successor in Berlin was his student Werner Busch.
From 1951 until he was replaced by Walther Siegmund-Schultze in 1955, Reuter was the first chairman of the Halle-Magdeburg district association of the .[Gilbert Stöck: ''Neue Musik in den Bezirken Halle und Magdeburg zur Zeit der DDR. Kompositionen, Politik, Institutionen''. Schröder, Leipzig 2008, , .] Alongside Walter Draeger, Gerhard Wohlgemuth Gerhard Wohlgemuth (16 March 1920 in Frankfurt – 26 October 2001 in Halle (Saale)) was a List of classical composers in the German Democratic Republic, German composer and literary editor. He wrote several film scores.Hallische Musiktage
The Hallische Musiktage are a festival specialised on contemporary music, based in Halle (Saale). Founded in 1955, it is held annually in November, the second-oldest German festival of contemporary music after the Donaueschinger Musiktage.
Hans S ...
, held in 1955, as a board member of the Halle Working Group. It was also he who, in October 1954, had for the first time "concretised" the previously "raised idea of such music days.[Gilbert Stöck: ''Neue Musik in den Bezirken Halle und Magdeburg zur Zeit der DDR. Kompositionen, Politik, Institutionen''. Schröder, Leipzig 2008, , / Fn. 352.]
In the GDR, Reuter worked for a time as head of department and chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council for Music Education at the Ministry of Higher and Technical Education (East Germany) as well as a member of the Scientific Council at the . Ultimately, it is thanks to him that music education became a university discipline.
Family and estate
Fritz Reuter was of Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
denomination and was considered "deeply religious".[Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). A tribute on the occasion of his 100th birthday''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Music Education Research''. Volume 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , , here .] He had been married to the singer since 1924 Erna Sophie, ''née'' Votteler (1896–1968), married and father of four children; his son Rolf Reuter
Rolf Reuter (7 October 1926 – 10 September 2007) was a German conductor.
Life
Reuter was born as son of the composer Fritz Reuter in Leipzig. After studying music at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Dresden he began his caree ...
(1926–2007) became a conductor. A year after his retirement, he died in 1963 in Dresden and was buried in the Protestant in Dresden-Plauen
Plauen (; Czech: ''Plavno'') is, with around 65,000 inhabitants, the fifth-largest city of Saxony, Germany after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest city in the Sa ...
.
His estate
Estate or The Estate may refer to:
Law
* Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations
* Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries.
** The Estates, representat ...
(about nine metres of shelves) with autographs, letters among others is in the music department of the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
This is a list of the state libraries (german: Landesbibliothek) for each of the Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany. These libraries hold the right for legal deposit for the publications in their respective state.
Landesbibliothek
S ...
– Preußischer Kulturbesitz. On the 25th anniversary of Reuter's death (1988), a small exhibition on his person was opened at the same place.
Further documents are located among others in the Saxon State and University Library Dresden
The Saxon State and University Library Dresden (full name in german: Sächsische Landesbibliothek – Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden), abbreviated SLUB Dresden, is located in Dresden, Germany. It is both the regional library (german: ...
, the in Schwerin, the university library of the , the Monacensia
The Monacensia, or ''Monacensia in Hildebrandhaus'', is the literary archive and a research library of the city of Munich, the capital of Bavaria, Germany, which is devoted to preserving and providing public access to the city's cultural history ...
of the and the as well as the Steven Swanson Collection in Frisco, Texas. A correspondence with his West Berlin colleague Hermann Grabner Hermann Grabner (12 May 1886 – 3 July 1969) was an Austrian composer and music teacher.
Career
Grabner was born in Graz. He studied law at the University of Graz graduating in 1909. In parallel, he studied music with Leopold Suchsland u ...
(former Leipzig ) from 1951/52 was published in the ''Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Gesellschafts- und sprachwissenschaftliche Reihe''.
Work
In the 1920s, Reuter was politicised by the German Youth Movement
The German Youth Movement (german: Die deutsche Jugendbewegung) is a collective term for a cultural and educational movement that started in 1896. It consists of numerous associations of young people that focus on outdoor activities. The movement ...
, whereby he tended to belong to the "left-wing" current. Under National Socialism and later under Socialism, he adapted both as a composer and as a scientist. According to Ludwig Holtmeier
Ludwig Holtmeier (born in 1964) is a German music theorist and piano player.
Life
Holtmeier studied piano at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and at the Conservatoire de musique de Genève and Conservatoire de musique de Neuchâtel and pass ...
(2005), he "served the politically correct genres" in any case, experimenting with various cantatas as early as the late 1920s. His wide-ranging compositional œuvre ( compiled a catalogue of works for the ''Gedenkschrift Fritz Reuter'' in 1966) amounts to ca. 300 works, some of which were destroyed during the war.[Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). A tribute on the occasion of his 100th birthday''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Music Education Research''. Volume 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , , here .] He composed vocal music (among others a , seven cantatas, a mass
Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...
, solo Lieder), stage music (among others four opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...
s, two melodramas) and instrumental music (among others three symphonies, one concerto each for cello, violin
The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...
and organ, several orchestral suites, piano and organ music). Reuter's compositional path was marked "from a late romantic-expressionist beginning to melodic-sentence conciseness on the basis of polyphonic voice leading", as Dieter Härtwig (2005) noted. According to Gilbert Stöck (2008), in the GDR Reuter "sometimes distanced himself critically from some dogmas of Socialist Realism
Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...
" and pursued a neo-Romantic style. Noll attested that the composer certainly had a penchant for "progressive stylistics". Thus he was among others featured in concerts of the "New Music Section" of the Dresden chapter of the Cultural Association of the GDR
The Cultural Association of the GDR (german: Kulturbund der DDR, KB) was a federation of local clubs in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It formed part of the Socialist Unity Party-led National Front, and sent representatives to the Volksk ...
(1949) and the Hallische Musiktage
The Hallische Musiktage are a festival specialised on contemporary music, based in Halle (Saale). Founded in 1955, it is held annually in November, the second-oldest German festival of contemporary music after the Donaueschinger Musiktage.
Hans S ...
(1955) played. He had his first major success with the cantata ''Der Struwwelpeter'' (1930). On a text by Ernst Wiechert
Ernst Wiechert (18 May 1887 – 24 August 1950) was a German teacher, poet and writer.
Biography
Wiechert was born in the village of Kleinort, East Prussia, (now Piersławek, Poland).
He was one of the most widely read novelists in Germany ...
, he created the oratorio ''Das Spiel vom deutschen Bettelmann'' around 1934. Prieberg addressed problematic compositions by Reuter during the National Socialist era, such as the ''Sudetendeutsche Suite'' (1939), published by the Reichsverband für Volksmusik, whose title celebrated the cession
The act of cession is the assignment of property to another entity. In international law it commonly refers to land transferred by treaty. Ballentine's Law Dictionary defines cession as "a surrender; a giving up; a relinquishment of jurisdict ...
of the Sudetenland
The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and sk, Sudety) is the historical German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the ...
. Furthermore, individual works such as ''Der Mütter Kreis'' (1935) were performed at relevant cultural events, such as the NS-Frauenschaft
The National Socialist Women's League (german: Nationalsozialistische Frauenschaft, abbreviated ''NS-Frauenschaft'') was the women's wing of the Nazi Party. It was founded in October 1931 as a fusion of several nationalist and Nazi
Na ...
and the Militant League for German Culture
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin " ...
. In 1937, he was presented alongside other Saxon composers at the "Gaukulturwoche" Saxony in Bautzen under Reichskulturkammer
The Reich Chamber of Culture (''Reichskulturkammer'') was a government agency in Nazi Germany. It was established by law on 22 September 1933 in the course of the ''Gleichschaltung'' process at the instigation of Reich Minister Joseph Goebbels as ...
president Peter Raabe
Peter Raabe (27 November 1872 – 12 April 1945) was a German composer and conductor.
Biography
Raabe graduated from 3 schools: the Higher Musical School in Berlin; and the universities of Munich; and Jena. In 1894–98 Raabe worked in Königs ...
. Between 1945 and 1949, several stage works were written among others the new arrangements of Pergolesi Pergolesi is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, (1710–1736), Italian composer, violinist, and organist
*Michael Angelo Pergolesi
Michael Angelo Pergolesi () was an Italian decorative artist from th ...
's Intermezzo
In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...
''La serva padrona
''La serva padrona'', or ''The Maid Turned Mistress'', is a 1733 intermezzo by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736) to a libretto by Gennaro Federico, after the play by Jacopo Angello Nelli. It is some 40 minutes long, in two parts without ...
'' (1947) from 1733 and the 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 ...
''Henrikje'' (1947) by Inka Unverzagt. In 1948, the comic opera
Comic opera, sometimes known as light opera, is a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending and often including spoken dialogue.
Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th-century Italy. By the 1730s, a n ...
''Ein Funken Liebe'' (c. 1940) was premiered
A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition.
A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its fi ...
at the Dresden Volksoper. Considered highly developed is its reception (1948/49) of Goethe's
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treatis ...
Singspiel ''Jest, Cunning and Revenge'', Reuter's music was also performed in the GDR by the concert orchestra of his hometown, the Dresden Philharmonic
The Dresdner Philharmonie (Dresden Philharmonic) is a German symphony orchestra based in Dresden. Its principal concert venue is the ''Kulturpalast''. The orchestra also performs at the Kreuzkirche, the Hochschule für Musik Dresden, and the ...
.
Reuter was a renowned music theorist
Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the " rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (k ...
. Following the efforts of Salomon Jadassohn
Salomon Jadassohn (13 August 1831 – 1 February 1902) was a German pianist, composer and a renowned teacher of piano and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory.
Life
Jadassohn was born to a Jewish family living in Breslau, the capital of the ...
in the late 19th century, his ''Methodik des musiktheoretischen Unterrichts'', published in 1929, was groundbreaking. As early as 1926, he drew attention to the alienation of composition theory and music theory. From this he concluded that music theory had to become more scientific and pedagogical. Like his friend and colleague Sigfrid Karg-Elert
Sigfrid Karg-Elert (November 21, 1877April 9, 1933) was a German composer in the early twentieth century, best known for his compositions for pipe organ and reed organ.
Biography
Karg-Elert was born Siegfried Theodor Karg in Oberndorf am Neckar, ...
, he advocated a polaristic and functional harmony
In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...
. Thus, Reuter's textbook
A textbook is a book containing a comprehensive compilation of content in a branch of study with the intention of explaining it. Textbooks are produced to meet the needs of educators, usually at educational institutions. Schoolbooks are textboo ...
''Practical Harmonics of the 20th Century'' (1952) was directly based on his ''Polaristic Theory of Sound and Tonality''. Magret Hager (2005) called Reuter's work a "manifesto
A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...
of polarism" His efforts in the GDR drew a scholarly discourse in the journal ''Musik und Gesellschaft
''Musik und Gesellschaft'' was a music magazine in the German Democratic Republic. It was published monthly from 1951 to 1990 in East Berlin by .
History
The journal was published from the first issue in March 1951 onwards by Ernst Hermann Me ...
'', in which Siegfried Bimberg
Siegfried Bimberg (5 May 1927 – 2 July 2008) was a German composer, conductor and musicologist
Life
Born in Halle (Saale), After his return from the war and captivity, Bimberg completed his pedagogical studies. After working briefly at a one- ...
, Christoph Hohlfeld and Johannes Piersig also participated. The dispute culminated in conflict with Georg Knepler of the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler"
' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...
, who saw in Reuter a contradiction to dialectical materialism
Dialectical materialism is a philosophy of science, history, and nature developed in Europe and based on the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Marxist dialectics, as a materialist philosophy, emphasizes the importance of real-world c ...
. In the end, Hermann Grabner Hermann Grabner (12 May 1886 – 3 July 1969) was an Austrian composer and music teacher.
Career
Grabner was born in Graz. He studied law at the University of Graz graduating in 1909. In parallel, he studied music with Leopold Suchsland u ...
's monistic theory of function, which had its origins with Riemann, prevailed due to factual considerations.
Holtmeier described him as one of the "founding fathers
The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...
" of music education in Germany. After Walter Clemens and Werner Busch, he "acquired an international reputation" in the field. Already in the Weimar Republic
The German Reich, commonly referred to as the Weimar Republic,, was a historical period of Germany from 9 November 1918 to 23 March 1933, during which it was a constitutional federal republic for the first time in history; hence it is also r ...
he gave the first music pedagogical impulses, especially alongside Walter Kühn and Georg Schünemann
Georg Schünemann (13 March 1884 – 2 January 1945) was a German musicologist.
Life
Born in Berlin, Schünemann, the son of a rector, was awarded a doctorate after studying music in 1907 with his dissertation on the ''history of conducting''. ...
. Early on, Reuter rendered outstanding services to the "scientific foundation" of music education. Reuter published, among other things. In 1926, he published an elementary work on music teacher training (''Musikpädagogik in Grundzügen''). In 1929, his name appeared in '' Hugo Riemanns Musik-Lexikon''. Like Richard Wicke, he then attained an exposed position in music education in the GDR. Wilfried Gruhn
Wilfried Gruhn (born 15 October 1939) is a German violinist, musicologist, music educator, and professor emeritus at universities in Germany and abroad. His focus is the music education of small children. He founded and directed the Gordon Instit ...
(1993) called him the ''Nestor
Nestor may refer to:
* Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology
Arts and entertainment
* "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses''
* Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, L ...
of GDR music education'' A 1973 GDR dissertation saw him as a ''pathfinder
Pathfinder may refer to:
Businesses
* Pathfinder Energy Services, a division of Smith International
* Pathfinder Press, a publisher of socialist literature
Computing and information science
* Path Finder, a Macintosh file browser
* Pathfinder ( ...
for a socialist school music education'' In the 1950s he called for the inclusion of empirical social research
Social research is a research conducted by social scientists following a systematic plan. Social research methodologies can be classified as quantitative and qualitative.
* Quantitative designs approach social phenomena through quantifiable ...
in the discipline. Already in the 1930s, he developed a distaste for musical modernity
Modernity, a topic in the humanities and social sciences, is both a historical period (the modern era) and the ensemble of particular socio-cultural norms, attitudes and practices that arose in the wake of the Renaissancein the "Age of Reas ...
, especially Neue Musik
Neue Musik (English ''new music'', French ''nouvelle musique'') is the collective term for a wealth of different currents in composed Western art music from around 1910 to the present. Its focus is on compositions of 20th century music. It is char ...
. Reuter saw the traditional use of tonality
Tonality is the arrangement of pitches and/or chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, attractions and directionality. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or triadic chord with the greatest stability is cal ...
and consonance
In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unpl ...
as the standard for music education.[Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). A tribute on the occasion of his 100th birthday''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Music Education Research''. Vol. 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , , here ] Similar to Theodor W. Adorno
Theodor W. Adorno ( , ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, sociologist, psychologist, musicologist, and composer.
He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical ...
, he also rejected light music and jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...
. Reuter argued with Plato
Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institutio ...
's Ethos doctrine. According to Gerd Rienäcker
Gerd Rienäcker (3 May 1939 – 3 February 2018) was a German musicologist.
Life
Rienäcker was born on 3 May 1939 in Göttingen as son of the chemist . Rienäcker studied musicology from 1959 to 1964 (minor subject: "art science'") with Ernst ...
(2010), he belonged, along with Hans-Georg Görner, Georg Trexler and Wilhelm Weismann, to a circle "that discredited contemporary music-making in the GDR through conservatism
Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in r ...
of various stripes".
Compositions
He composed the operas ''Ein Funken Liebe'' (1948) and ''Scherz, List und Rache'' (1949); the melodrama ''Der Hase und der Igel'' (1961); the cantata ''Arbeit ist Leben'' (1960) and other choral works; 3 symphonies; chamber music; songs.
Students
During his time as a university lecturer he supervised 19 dissertations (among them: Siegfried Bimberg
Siegfried Bimberg (5 May 1927 – 2 July 2008) was a German composer, conductor and musicologist
Life
Born in Halle (Saale), After his return from the war and captivity, Bimberg completed his pedagogical studies. After working briefly at a one- ...
, Hella Brock
Hella Maria Brock (''née'' Siegmund-Schultze; 3 October 191930 November 2020) was a German music educator, musicologist, and an internationally known Edvard Grieg scholar. Brock was professor of music and English studies at the Leipzig Univers ...
, Walter Clemens, Werner Felix
Werner Felix (30 July 1927 – 24 September 1998) was a German music historian and Bach scholar. He was rector of the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar and the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig as well as president of the of the DDR ...
, Hans John, Rolf Lukowsky
Rolf (Rudolf) Lukowsky (14 July 1926 – 25 July 2021) was a German composer and choral director.
Youth and education
Lukowsky's father Josef was organist and choirmaster at the Catholic . Already as a schoolboy, Lukowsky sang in the and in th ...
, Günther Müller, Günther Noll, Johannes Georg Pahn) and four habilitation theses (Siegfried Bimberg, Hella Brock, Werner Busch and Rolf Lukowsky).[Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). A tribute on the occasion of his 100th birthday''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Music Education Research''. Vol. 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , here .]
Among his pupils, including conductors and composers, were his son Rolf Reuter furthermore Heinz Roy[Ulrich Pogoda: ''Sorbische Orgelmusik – ein Überblick''. In: Madlena Norberg, Peter Kosta (ed.): ''Sammelband zur sorbischen, wendischen Kultur und Identität'' (= ''Podstupimske pśinoski k Sorabistice''. Nr. 8). Universitäts-Verlag, Potsdam 2008, , pp. 80–84, here: p. 82.] and Manfred Schubert
Manfred Schubert is a retired East German slalom canoeist who competed in the 1950s and 1960s. He won twelve medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with four golds (C-1: 1957, 1961, 1963; C-1 team: 1963), six silvers (C-1: 1959; C-1 ...
[Annette Thein, Schubert, Manfred, Biographie in: ]Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...
, hrsg. von Laurenz Lütteken, Kassel, Stuttgart, New York 2016ff., zuerst veröffentlicht 2005, online veröffentlicht 2016, https://www.mgg-online.com/mgg/stable/377151 in Berlin, Günter Bust
Günter Bust (12 July 1930 – 27 May 2005) was a German music educator and composer.
Life
Born in , today Magdeburg, Bust first attended the 23rd Magdeburg Community School, then the from 1941 to 1945. After the Bombing of Leipzig, the scho ...
, Günter Fleischhauer
Günter Fleischhauer (8 July 1928 – 12 February 2002) was a German musicologist.
Life
Born in Magdeburg, Fleischhauer attended the . From 1947 to 1952, he studied classical philology with , music education with Fritz Reuter and musicology wi ...
,[Günter Fleischhauer. Fleischhauer, Günter, Biographie in: ]Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...
, hrsg. von Laurenz Lütteken, Kassel, Stuttgart, New York 2016ff., veröffentlicht November 2020, https://www.mgg-online.com/mgg/stable/375943 Horst Irrgang
Horst Irrgang (1929 – 1997) was a German composer, conductor and musicologist.
Life and career
Born in Magdeburg, Irrgang studied school music in Weimar from 1948 to 1954, German studies at Jena University and music education (with Fritz ...
, Erhard Ragwitz, Gerhard Wohlgemuth Gerhard Wohlgemuth (16 March 1920 in Frankfurt – 26 October 2001 in Halle (Saale)) was a List of classical composers in the German Democratic Republic, German composer and literary editor. He wrote several film scores.Carlferdinand Zech
Carlferdinand Zech (14 December 1928 – 16 September 1999) was a German musicologist, composer and choir conductor.
Early life
Born in Potsdam, Zech attended Franckesche Stiftungen in Halle an der Saale. From 1939 to 1943, he was a member of ...
in Halle an der Saale and Benno Ammann, Herbert Collum, Musja Gottlieb, Hans Heintze
Hans Heintze (4 February 1911 – 5 March 2003) was a German Kantor and organist.
Life
Born in , Lower Saxony, Heintze grew up in Bremen, where he received his Abitur at the . In 1929, he began studying classical philology at the University ...
,[Walter Clemens, Werner Busch: ''Zum Gedenken an Fritz Reuter''. In Heinz Wegener (Red. Ed.): ''Gedenkschrift Fritz Reuter'' (''Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Gesellschafts- und sprachwissenschaftliche Reihe'' 15 (1966) 3). pp. I-VI, here p. V.] Franz Konwitschny
Franz Konwitschny (14 August 1901, Fulnek, Moravia – 28 July 1962, Belgrade) was a German conductor and violist of Moravian descent.
He started his career on the viola,Schwinger playing in the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Wilhelm Furtwä ...
, Lars-Erik Larsson
Lars-Erik Vilner Larsson (15 May 190827 December 1986) was a Swedish composer, conductor, radio producer, and educator. He wrote three of the most popular works (each a suite) in Swedish art music: ''A Winter's Tale'' (; 1937–1938), the ''Pa ...
, Werner Neumann
Werner Neumann (21 January 1905, Königstein – 24 April 1991, Leipzig) was a German musicologist. He founded the Bach-Archiv Leipzig on 20 November 1950 and was a principal editor of the Neue Bach-Ausgabe, the second edition of the complete w ...
, Assen Najdenow
Assen Najdenow ( bg, Асен Найденов; 12 September 1899 – 10 September 1995) was a Bulgarian conductor.
Life
Najdenov was born in 1899 in Varna on the Black Sea. In his childhood, he learned the violin and the piano. In 1905, his un ...
, Otto Riemer, Peter Schacht
Peter Schacht (1 July 1901 – 25 January 1945) was a German composer.
Life
Born in Bremen, Schacht came from a wealthy Bremen merchant family. In his hometown he attended the humanistic Gymnasium, being particularly interested in mathematical ...
[Ludwig Holtmeier. Schacht, Peter, Biographie in: ]Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...
, hrsg. von Laurenz Lütteken, Kassel, Stuttgart, New York 2016ff., zuerst veröffentlicht 2005, online veröffentlicht 2016, https://www.mgg-online.com/mgg/stable/14144 and Georg Trexler[Gernot Maria Grohs. Trexler, Georg Max, Biographie in: ]Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...
, hrsg. von Laurenz Lütteken, Kassel, Stuttgart, New York 2016ff., veröffentlicht November 2016, https://www.mgg-online.com/mgg/stable/370526 in Leipzig.
Honours and awards
* 1955 Musikpreis für Komposition der Stadt Halle for his ''Concerto for Violin and Orchestra'' (1953)[Ludwig Holtmeier, Reuter, Fritz, Biographie in: ]Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...
, hrsg. von Laurenz Lütteken, Kassel, Stuttgart, New York 2016ff., zuerst veröffentlicht 2005, online veröffentlicht 2016, https://www.mgg-online.com/mgg/stable/47586 [Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). A tribute on the occasion of his 100th birthday''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Music Education Research''. Vol. 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , , here .] — The Cologne musicologist Paul Mies (1965) noted in an : 'The work iolin Conertoshows Reuter's artistry in the most beautiful light; it is masterful'.
* 1961 Vaterländischer Verdienstorden
The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstandin ...
in Silber der DDR — On the occasion of his 65th birthday (1961), a Festschrift
In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the ...
was presented to him by his pupil Siegfried Bimberg
Siegfried Bimberg (5 May 1927 – 2 July 2008) was a German composer, conductor and musicologist
Life
Born in Halle (Saale), After his return from the war and captivity, Bimberg completed his pedagogical studies. After working briefly at a one- ...
. The celebrations in the new music hall of the Humboldt University of Berlin were attended by the Rector Kurt Schröder
Kurt Schröder (1888–1962) was a German composer and conductor. Schröder composed a number of film scores. During the 1930s he worked in Britain for Alexander Korda's London Film Productions, and scored the company's breakthrough hit ''The Pr ...
, the Dean of the Faculty of Education Kurt Haspas and the Deputy Hans Pischner
Hans Pischner (20 February 1914 – 15 October 2016) was a German harpsichordist, musicologist, opera director, and politician active in the German Democratic Republic. He encouraged the creation of musical and artistic cultural institutions in Eas ...
took part. In addition, Reuter received the Patriotic Order of Merit
The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...
in Silver from the State Council of East Germany
The State Council of East Germany (German: ''Staatsrat der DDR'') was the collective head of state of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1960 to 1990.
Origins
When the German Democratic Republic was founded in October 1949, its ...
for his cultural-political services.
At the Humboldt University in Berlin, the ''Fritz-Reuter-Saal'' in the ' 24 was named after the music teacher. In 1958, a Alexander Schuke Potsdam Orgelbau
Carl Alexander Schuke (14 August 1870 – 16 November 1933) was a German organ builder and from 1894 to 1933 owner and manager of the . The company still exists today.
Life
Born in , Kingdom of Prussia, Schuke was the son of the pastor Karl ...
was also installed in it.[Markus Voigt: ''Orgelbewegung in der DDR. An examination of a contrasting economic, cultural and political environment from 1945 to 1990'' (Schriftenreihe Studien zur Musikwissenschaft, vol. 17). Kovač, Hamburg 2009, , .] Posthumously, a commemorative concert was dedicated to him at the Konzerthaus on his 100th birthday.
Publications
Publisher
* ''Klavierübung''. 2 Teile in einem Heft, Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle 1951.
* ''Alte Programm-Musik für Klavier''. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle 1951.
* ''Dirigierkunde'' (by Alfred Szendrei). 3. revised edition, VEB Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1956.
Books
* ''Das musikalische Hören auf psychologischer Grundlage''. C. F. Kahnt, Leipzig 1925; 2nd edition 1942.
* ''Musikpädagogik in Grundzügen''. Quelle & Meyer, Leipzig 1926.
* ''Zur Methodik der Gehörübungen und des Musikdiktats''. C. F. Kahnt, Leipzig 1927.
* ''Praktische Gehörbildung auf Grundlage der Tonika-Do-Lehre''. C. F. Kahnt, Leipzig 1928.
* ''Harmonieaufgaben nach dem System Sigfrid Karg-Elerts''. C. F. Kahnt, Leipzig 1928.
* ''Die Beantwortung des Fugenthemas. Dargestellt an den Themen von Bachs Wohltemperiertem Klavier''. C. F. Kahnt, Leipzig 1929.
* ''Methodik des musiktheoretischen Unterrichts auf neuzeitlichen Grundlagen''. E. Klett, Stuttgart 1929; Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle 1950; 2nd edition 1950.
* ''Der Kuckuck und der Esel. Kinderlieder – Bilderbuch – Klavierschule''. Drawings by Erich Weber-Links, Compiler: Kurt Herzog. Junne, Main among others 1947.
* ''Praktisches Partitur-Spielen''. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle/Saale 1951; 2nd edition, VEB Hofmeister, Leipzig 1954.
* ''Praktisches Generalbass-Spielen''. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle/Saale 1951; 2nd edition, VEB Hofmeister, Leipzig 1955.
* ''Praktische Harmonik des 20. Jahrhunderts. Konsonanz- und Dissonanzlehre nach dem System von Sigfrid Karg-Elert mit Aufgaben''. Mitteldeutscher Verlag, Halle 1951.
* ''Grundlagen der Musikerziehung''. VEB Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1962; Bulgarian translation 1968.
Recording
* ''Sonate für Violine und Klavier (Lausitzer Sonate) / Phantastische Suite für Flöte und Klavier op. 6 / Der Hase und Der Igel'' (Eterna/Nova, 1965) with Rolf Reuter, Barbara Reuter-Rau, Heinz Fügner, Ursula Wendler-Reuter and the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig – 1963 und 1964 recordings
Further reading
Reference works
* Gabriele Baumgartner: ''Reuter, Fritz''. In Gabriele Baumgartner, Dieter Hebig
Dieter Hebig (born 23 February 1957) is a German archivist and historian.
Life
Born in Heilbad Heiligenstadt, Hebig comes from the Thuringian region of Eichsfeld. After attending school, he completed a vocational training with a high school di ...
(ed.): ''Biographisches Handbuch der SBZ/DDR. 1945–1990.'' Vol. 2: ''Maaßen–Zylla''. Addendum to Volume 1, K. G. Saur Verlag
K. G. Saur Verlag is a German publisher that specializes in reference information for libraries. The publishing house, founded by Karl Saur, is owned by Walter de Gruyter and is based in Munich.
In 1987, K. G. Saur was acquired by Reed Interna ...
, Munich 1997, , .
* Carl Dahlhaus
Carl Dahlhaus (10 June 1928 – 13 March 1989) was a German musicologist who was among the leading postwar musicologists of the mid to late 20th-century. A prolific scholar, he had broad interests though his research focused on 19th- and 20t ...
, Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht
Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht (5 January 1919 – 30 August 1999) was a German musicologist and professor of historical musicology at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg.
Life
Eggebrecht was born in Dresden. His father was a Protestant minis ...
(ed.): '' Brockhaus-Riemann-Musiklexikon. In vier Bänden und einem Ergänzungsband''. Vol. 3: ''L–Q''. Schott, Mainz 1989, .
* Paul Frank, Wilhelm Altmann
Wilhelm Altmann (4 April 1862 – 25 March 1951) was a German historian and musicologist.
Altmann was born in Adelnau (Odolanów), Province of Posen, and died in Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in ...
: ''Kurzgefasstes Tonkünstler-Lexikon. Für Musiker und Freunde der Musik''. Fortgeführt von Burchard Bulling, Florian Noetzel, Helmut Rösner. Zweiter Teil: ''Ergänzungen und Erweiterungen seit 1937''. Vol. 1: ''L–Z''. 15th edition, Heinrichshofen, Wilhelmshaven 1978, , .
* Walter Habel (ed.): '' Das Deutsche Who’s Who''. 12th edition by Wer ist's? Arani, Berlin 1955.
* Dieter Härtwig: Reuter, Fritz. In Friedrich Blume
Friedrich Blume (5 January 1893, in Schlüchtern, Hesse-Nassau – 22 November 1975, in Schlüchtern) was professor of musicology at the University of Kiel from 1938 to 1958. He was a student in Munich, Berlin and Leipzig, and taught in the last ...
(ed.): ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...
'' (MGG). First edition, volume 11 (Rasch – Schnyder von Wartensee). Bärenreiter/Metzler, Kassel among others 1963,
*
* Siegmund Helms, Reinhard Schneider, Rudolf Weber: ''Neues Lexikon der Musikpädagogik''. Personenteil, Bosse, Kassel 1994, , pp. 191f.
* Ludwig Holtmeier
Ludwig Holtmeier (born in 1964) is a German music theorist and piano player.
Life
Holtmeier studied piano at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold and at the Conservatoire de musique de Genève and Conservatoire de musique de Neuchâtel and pass ...
: Reuter, Fritz. In Ludwig Finscher (ed.): ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart''. Second edition, personal part, volume 13 (Paladilhe – Ribera). Bärenreiter/Metzler, Kassel among others 2005, , Sp. 1588–1590
Online-edition
subscription required for full access)
* Ernst Klee
Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was concer ...
: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945.'' Vollständig überarbeitete Ausgabe, Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Frankfurt 2009, , .
* Volker Klimpel
Volker Klimpel (born 27 December 1941) is a German surgeon and medical historian.
Life
Born in Weimar, Klimpel studied medicine at the Leipzig University and the . He was admitted to the medical profession in Erfurt in 1967 and received his ...
: ''Berühmte Dresdner. Historisch-biographisches Handbuch bedeutender Persönlichkeiten, geboren in Dresden''. Hellerau-Verlag, Dresden 2002, , .
* Wilhelm Kosch
Wilhelm Franz Josef Kosch (2 October 1879 – 20 December 1960) was an Austrian historian of literature and theatre and lexicographer. The lexicon that he conceived and later revised several times, the ' is a references in the field of German lit ...
: ''Deutsches Theater-Lexikon
The ''Deutsche Theater-Lexikon'' is, according to its subtitle, a "biography and bibliography manual". The encyclopedia lists stage actors from the German-speaking area.
The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek leads the ''Deutsche Theater-Lexikon'' und ...
. Biographisches und bibliographisches Handbuch''. Vol. 3: ''Pallenberg–Singer''. De Gruyter
Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature.
History
The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...
, Berlin 1992, .
* Erich H. Müller (ed.): ''Deutsches Musiker-Lexikon''. W. Limpert-Verlag, Dresden 1929.
* Fred K. Prieberg Fred K. Prieberg (3 June 1928 in Berlin – 28 March 2010 in Neuried) was a German musicologist. He was a pioneer in the field of history of music and musicians under the Nazi regime.
Works Independent publications
* ''Musik unterm Strich. Pano ...
: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945''. 2. Ed., Kopf, Kiel 2009, , .
* Horst Seeger
Horst Seeger (6 November 1926 – 2 January 1999), pseudonyme ''Horst Schell'', was a German musicologist, music critic, dramaturg, librettist and opera director.
Leben
Born in Erkner, Seeger studied musicology at the Humboldt University of Ber ...
: ''Das grosse Lexikon der Oper. Über 12000 Stichwörter und Erklärungen''. Pawlak, Herrsching 1985, , .
* Horst Seeger: ''Musiklexikon. In zwei Bänden''. Vol. 2: ''L–Z''. Deutscher Verlag für Musik VEB, Leipzig 1966, S. 337f.
* Wolfgang Suppan: ''Das neue Lexikon des Blasmusikwesens''. Edited in conjunction with the Bund Deutscher Blasmusikverbände, 3rd edition of the Lexikon des Blasmusikwesens., Freiburg-Tiengen 1988, , .
* , Musik-Informationszentrum (ed.): ''Komponisten und Musikwissenschaftler der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik. Kurzbiographien und Werkverzeichnisse''. 2nd extended edition, Verlag Neue Musik, Berlin 1968, .
* 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 Göt ...
(ed.): ''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie
The ''Deutsche Biographische Enzyklopädie'' (''DBE'') is a biographical dictionary published by Walther Killy and Rudolf Vierhaus (from the third to fourth volume), the first edition of which was published from 1995 to 2003 in 13 volumes by K ...
''. Vol. 8: ''Poethen–Schlüter''. 2nd, revised and expanded edition, K. G. Saur Verlag
K. G. Saur Verlag is a German publisher that specializes in reference information for libraries. The publishing house, founded by Karl Saur, is owned by Walter de Gruyter and is based in Munich.
In 1987, K. G. Saur was acquired by Reed Interna ...
, Munich 2007, , .
Essays and individual studies
* Günther Eisenhardt: ''Fritz Reuters Engagement für die Harmonologik Karg-Elerts''. In: Thomas Schinköth (ed.): ''Sigfrid Karg-Elert und seine Leipziger Schüler. Die Referate des Kolloquiums der Karg-Elert-Gesellschaft in Leipzig vom 1. bis 3. November 1996'' (''Mitteilungen der Karg-Elert-Gesellschaft''. 1997/98). Von Bockel, Hamburg 1999, , .
* Jonathan Gammert: ''Polarismus als Politikum. Die Musiktheorie Fritz Reuters und Sigfrid Karg-Elerts als Gegenstand einer ideologischen Kritik''. In ''Musiktheorie'' 29 (2014) 1, .
* William Geissler: ''Fritz Reuter. Seine Entwicklung vom bürgerlichen Kapellmeister, Komponisten und Musikwissenschaftler zum Wegbereiter für eine sozialistische Schulmusikpädagogik''. Dissertation A, Universität Halle 1973.
* Magret Hager: ''Fritz Reuters Praktische Harmonik des 20. Jahrhunderts. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Musiktheorie''. In Ariane Jessulat, Andreas Ickstadt, Martin Ullrich (ed.): ''Zwischen Komposition und Hermeneutik. Festschrift für Hartmut Fladt''. Königshausen und Neumann, Würzburg 2005, , .
* Wolfgang Martin: ''Studien zur Musikpädagogik der Weimarer Republik. Ansätze einer Theorie des Musiklernens bei W. Kühn, F. Reuter, G. Schünemann und R. Wicke'' (''Musikpädagogik''. Vol. 19). Schott, Mainz among others 1982, .
* Günther Noll: ''Fritz Reuter (1896–1963). Eine Hommage anläßlich seines 100. Geburtstages''. In Rudolf-Dieter Kraemer (ed.): ''Musikpädagogische Biographieforschung. Fachgeschichte – Zeitgeschichte – Lebensgeschichte'' (''Musikpädagogische Forschung''. Vol. 18). Verlag Die Blaue Eule, Essen 1997, , .
* Heinz Wegener (editorial processing): ''Gedenkschrift Fritz Reuter''. In ''Wissenschaftliche Zeitschrift der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Gesellschafts- und sprachwissenschaftliche Reihe'' 15 (1966) 3, (with contributions by Theodor Hoelty-Nickel, Siegfried Borris
Siegfried Borris (born Siegfried Jakob Boris Zuckermann; 4 November 1906 – 23 August 1987) was a German composer, musicologist and music educator. He became a lecturer at the Musikhochschule Berlin in 1929, but his career was interrupted during ...
, Heinrich Besseler Heinrich Besseler (April 2, 1900 – July 25, 1969) was a German musicologist born in Hörde. He is particularly known for his colossal work, ''Die Musik des Mittelalters und der Renaissance'' (1931), which provided a new perspective on historical ...
, Walther Siegmund-Schultze, Alfred Szendrei, Herbert Schulze among others).
References
External links
*
*
Reuter, Fritz (1896–1963) on Kalliope
auf dem Theaterzettelportal "Theater und Musik in Weimar 1754–1969"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reuter, Fritz
20th-century German composers
20th-century classical composers
German opera composers
German music educators
Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg faculty
Humboldt University of Berlin faculty
University of Music and Theatre Leipzig faculty
Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver
Nazi Party members
1896 births
1963 deaths
Musicians from Dresden
20th-century German musicologists