Friedrich Wilhelm Stein (17 December 1879 – 14 November 1961) was a German theologian, conductor, musicologist and church musician. He found in an archive in

Jena Jena (; ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 in ...

the score of the so-called '' Jena Symphony'', which he published as possibly a work by the young

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

. After a long period in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

from 1919 to 1933, teaching at the

Kiel University Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public University, public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ...

and as

Generalmusikdirektor A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

, he had a leading position in the

Reichsmusikkammer The Reich Chamber of Music (''Reichsmusikkammer'', abbreviated as RMK) was a government agency which operated as a statutory corporation controlled by the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda that regulated the music industry in Nazi G ...

of the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

in Berlin.

Career

Born Friedrich Wilhelm Stein in Gerlachsheim, Stein first studied theology in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and Berlin. He graduated with the ''Staatsexamen'' in Karlsruhe in 1902. He then studied with Philipp Wolfrum who, being both a conductor and conductor, became a model for his own work. Stein played organ concerts, but still studied music and musicology with

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungary, Hungarian conducting, conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter ...

and Hans Sitt at the Leipzig Conservatory until 1906. In Leipzig he had close contact with

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

and

Karl Straube Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, Straube stu ...

. Stein worked in

from 1906 as an organist for the town and the university. He found in an archive in Jena the orchestral parts of the so-called '' Jena Symphony'', which he published in 1911, thinking that it might have been written by

. He found the name "Beethoven" in two parts, and summarized: "As we do not as yet know of anyone, amongst the followers of Haydn and Mozart towards the end of the 19th century, to whom we could attribute such a composition, which heralds the Master ...". The work was performed as one by Beethoven, until H. C. Robbins Landon, a scholar of

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 ...

and

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 ...

, found in 1957 manuscript portions of the symphony in the Landesarchiv in

Rudolstadt Rudolstadt is a town in the German federal state Thuringia, within the Thuringian Forest, to the southwest, and to Jena and Weimar to the north. The former capital of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, the town is built along the River Saale inside a wide ...

, by

Friedrich Witt Friedrich Jeremias Witt (8 November 1770 – 3 January 1836) was a German composer and cellist. He is perhaps best known as the likely author of a Symphony in C major known as the Jena Symphony, once attributed to Ludwig van Beethoven. Biography ...

. Stein's dissertation in 1910 was ''Geschichte des Musikwesens in Heidelberg bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts'' (History of music in Heideberg until the end of the 18th century). In 1914 he succeeded Reger as court director of music in

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 26,000 (2024).

. As an academic teacher, he was ''

Außerordentlicher Professor Academic ranks in Germany are the titles, relative importance and power of professors, researchers, and administrative personnel held in academia. Overview Appointment grades * (Pay grade: ''W3'' or ''W2'') * (''W3'') * (''W2'') * (''W2'', ...

'' in Jena from 1913.Josef Wulf: Kultur im Dritten Reich. Musik. 1989, S. 18 In 1919 he was appointed ''Außerordentlicher Professor'' for musicology in Kiel, and from 1928 also in Ordinarius. In Kiel he was also the organist at the St. Nikolai, Kiel until 1923 and ''

'' from 1925 to 1933. In 1932 he became a member of the

Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur The Militant League for German Culture (German: ''Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur'', ''KfdK''), was a nationalistic Antisemitism, anti-Semitic political society during the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era. It was founded in 1928 as the ''Nationalsoz ...

. In July 1933, he became ''Reichsleiter der Fachgruppe Musik'' of the ''Kampfbund'', responsible for music. Under the Nazis, he was director of the Musikhochschule in Berlin. Among his students was

Sergiu Celibidache Sergiu Celibidache (; ; 13 August 1996) was a Romanian people, Romanian Conducting, conductor, composer, musical theorist, and teacher. Educated in his native Romania, and later in Paris and Berlin, Celibidache's career in music spanned over fi ...

. After World War II, he lost all his functions and worked freelance. He was later president of the ''Verband für evangelische Kirchenmusik''. Stein died in Berlin.

References

Literature

* Albrecht Dümling: ''Die Gleichschaltung der musikalischen Organisationen im NS-Staat.'' In: Dietrich Schuberth (ed.): ''Kirchenmusik im Nationalsozialismus – Zehn Vorträge.'' Kassel 1995. * Max Hinrichsen: ''Festgabe für Fritz Stein, zur Vollendung seines 80. Lebensjahres am 17. Dezember 1959'', Bonn : Max-Reger-Institut, 1959. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stein, Fritz German male conductors (music) 20th-century German musicologists Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin Academic staff of the University of Kiel Nazi Party members Musicians from Kiel 1879 births 1961 deaths