Heinrich Reimann (March 12, 1850 – May 24, 1906), was a German

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

, 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 ...

. Reimann was born in Rengersdorf,

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, and was a son of Ignaz Reimann, also a musician. Reimann studied at the

University of Breslau A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

and was awarded a degree in

classical philology Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek and Roman literature and their original languages, ...

in 1875, having simultaneously studied organ with the Silesian composer and organist Moritz Brosig (1815–1887). It was only in 1886 that Reimann changed his profession to music, becoming active in Berlin as an organist, choral conductor, and write on subjects from

Byzantine music Byzantine music () originally consisted of the songs and hymns composed for the courtly and religious ceremonial of the Byzantine Empire and continued, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, in the traditions of the sung Byzantine chant of East ...

through Wagner and contemporary composition. Reimann was appointed official organist for the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

where he performed on the Schlag und Söhne organ (1888), and became instructor in music theory and organ at the Klindworth-Schwarwenka-Conservatory; he was later appointed organist at the

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church (), mostly known simply as the Memorial Church (German: ''Gedächtniskirche'' ) is a Protestant church affiliated with the Evangelical Church in Berlin, Brandenburg and Silesian Upper Lusatia, a regional body ...

in 1895 (where

Wilhelm Sauer Wilhelm Carl Friedrich Sauer (23 March 1831 – 9 April 1916) was a German pipe organ builder. One of the famous organ builders of the Romantic period, Sauer and his company W. Sauer Orgelbau built over 1,100 organs during his lifetime, amongst ...

's largest organ to date—Opus 660—was installed). In fact, Reimann was responsible for the addition of a fourth manual to the organ in 1897 in the form of an enclosed echo division (German: Fernwerk), which spoke through a soundproof duct and stone wall to a screen directly above the nave of the church. Reimann was one of the first organ teachers of

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 ...

(the latter studying perhaps on the Schlag und Söhne organ), who became Reimann's assistant at the Gedächtniskirche upon Reimann's appointment. It was Reimann who first introduced Straube to the music of

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 ...

(then a student of

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 mus ...

in composition at Weiden). Reimann died in

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 ...

. :With the exception of his birth/death information and his appointment at the Klindworth-Schwarwenka-Conservatory, all of the other information is supported in the following text: Anderson, Christopher. ''Max Reger and Karl Straube: Perspectives on an Organ Performing Tradition''. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2003.

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* 1850 births 1906 deaths 19th-century German classical composers 20th-century German classical composers German classical organists People from the Province of Silesia German Romantic composers German male classical composers 20th-century German male musicians 19th-century German male musicians German male classical organists 19th-century German organists 19th-century German musicologists {{organist-stub