Fritz Steinbach (17 June 1855 – 13 August 1916) was a German conductor and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

who was particularly associated with the works of

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

. Born in Grünsfeld, he was the brother of conductor Emil Steinbach. He studied at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...

and in Vienna. Among his teachers were Martin Gustav Nottebohm and Anton Door. In 1886, he succeeded

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

as the conductor of the Meiningen Court Orchestra. He remained there until 1902, during which time he often collaborated with Brahms and gave frequent guest performances at the court of Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. From 1898 to 1901, he was President of the Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein. He was the music director of the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne from 1902 to 1914. He served as the director of the Lower Rhenish Music Festival in 1904, 1907, 1910, and 1913. He taught conducting at the Cologne Conservatory where his pupils included Adolf Busch (in composition),

Fritz Busch Fritz Busch (13 March 1890 – 14 September 1951) was a German conductor. Busch was born in Siegen to a musical family and studied at the Cologne Conservatory. After army service in the First World War, he was appointed to senior posts in two G ...

(in conducting), Allard de Ridder, Karl Elmendorff,

Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Ger ...

, Franz Mittler, Karl Aagard Østvig, Albert van Raalte and

Erwin Schulhoff Erwin Schulhoff (; 8 June 189418 August 1942) was an Austro-Czech composer and pianist. He was one of the figures in the generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated by the rise of the Nazi regime in Germ ...

. His pupil Walter Blume continued his researches into Brahms. Steinbach met Johannes Brahms in 1875, and the two maintained a relationship until Brahms's death; Steinbach's performances of Brahms's music repeatedly won praise from the composer. Although Steinbach performed music by composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Mahler, and Reger, he was most prominently associated with Brahms, influencing younger conductors such as

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orche ...

and

Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was a British conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...

. In general, Steinbach's conducting favored the Classical, rhythm-focused style of Hans Richter over the Romantic, lyrically-driven style of conductors such as

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 ...

, although Steinbach's flexibility of

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

also attracted admirers. He died in Munich. He was the great-uncle of Peter Maag.

References

Sources

* Kuratorium Meiningen: ''Stadtlexikon Meiningen'', Bielsteinverlag Meiningen, 2008.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinbach, Fritz 1855 births 1916 deaths 19th-century German composers 20th-century German composers German conductors (music) German male conductors (music) Artists from Meiningen 19th-century German musicians 19th-century German male musicians Musicians from the German Empire Kapellmeisters of the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne