Hermann Paul Maximilian Abendroth (19 January 1883 – 29 May 1956) was a German conductor.

Early life

Abendroth was born on 19 January 1883, at

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, the son of a bookseller. Several other members of the family were artists in diverse disciplines. After finishing his school studies at the '' Frankfort Gymnasium'', Abendroth traveled to

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and at the wish of his father undertook the first year of an apprenticeship as a book dealer, but he then switched to studying music at the conservatory of Munich, the ''Münchner Konservatorium'', from 1900 to 1903, studying theory and composition with Ludwig Thuille, piano with Anna Hirtzel-Langenham, and developing his conducting skills working with Felix Mottl. Hermann Abendroth at

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Initial career

Still an undergraduate, Hermann Abendroth's first stable assignment of conducting was from 1903 to 1904, for the ''Orchestral Society of Munich''. From 1905 to 1911, he moved to

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

, highlighting as the ''

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (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 has evolved considerably in i ...

'' of the Theater Lübeck. From 1911 to 1914, he was the ''

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 ...

'' (''General music director'') of the city of

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

. From 1915 to 1934, he was the Kapellmeister of the Gürzenich Orchestra

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, and then also director of the Cologne Conservatory (1925–1934), which was reformed with his help, to become the '' Cologne Musikhochschule''. He also became the general music director of Cologne in 1918, and was a professor in 1919. He also was the general music director of

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

, from 1930 to 1933. In 1922, Abendroth was the director of the Lower Rhenish Music Festival. He was invited to conduct in other countries as well, and visited the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and conducted the USSR State Symphony Orchestra in 1925, 1927 and 1928. From 1926 to 1937, he visited England and regularly conducted the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

. Abendroth is known for performing classical and romantic compositions, including

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 ...

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

, and Bruckner. He also conducted other contemporary pieces in their premieres, for instance for Bartok and

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

Nazi Germany

In 1934, the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

seized the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

of Cologne, and the liberally minded Abendroth was promptly removed from the public function and detained. Nonetheless, other personalities of the arts interceded, and Abendroth was restituted into the public function, to head the department of education of the Nazi '' Reichsmusikkammer''. Accepting such charge, Abendroth was criticized for relinquishing his ideals. Nevertheless, he formally joined the Nazi Party in 1937. In 1934, Hermann Abendroth was appointed

of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, replacing

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a Germany, German-born Conducting, conductor, pianist, and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French people, French cit ...

, who was dismissed by the newly installed

Nazi 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 ...

authorities because he refused the Nazi dictature and of being

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

. From 1934 to 1945, Abendroth also was professor of the Leipzig conservatory (1941–1945 Leipzig Musikhochschule). In 1943 and 1944, he took part in the traditional

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival () is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of stage works by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived and promoted the idea of a special ...

, conducting ''Die Meistersinger'', its only opera for those two years.

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

officialized and organized the festivity.

East Germany

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Communist new authorities of

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

rescinded all Abendroth's contracts of Leipzig, and so - with his past of the Nazi Party - he wouldn't manage to get a new stable position anywhere else in Germany either. Abendroth then claimed that he had never attended any political meeting, and his fortune then would change at

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

, whose government appointed Abendroth for music director of

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

from 1945 to 1956. In 1950 and 1954, Abendroth was elected the

People's Chamber The Volkskammer (, "People's Chamber") was the supreme power organ of East Germany. It was the only branch of government in the state, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs were subservient to it. The Volkskammer was initial ...

of the GDR for a four-year mandate ending in 1954 as a representative of the

Cultural Association of the GDR The Cultural Association of the GDR (, 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 Volkskammer. The association had ...

. Such opportunity would help cleansing Abendroth's name, about his Nazi past, and so he returned to Leipzig, in charge of its Radio Symphony Orchestra, from 1949 to 1956. As Abendroth, a heavy smoker, was becoming a prominent artist of

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, he was the only person allowed to smoke within the building of the

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

of Leipzig, by the Communist authorities. Abendroth toured throughout the Communist Europe. He was the first German invited to conduct in the

after the war, and also toured

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In 1951, he conducted for the Prague Spring International Music Festival. From 1953 to 1956, he conducted Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (East Berlin). Ironically, such new celebrity status of Abendroth awoke suspicion about his new political affinity, and some locations of

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

banned his presentations -such as in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

- and the release of Abendroth's records on the Eterna

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product. Labels are most often affixed to packaging and containers using an adhesive, or sewing when affix ...

was quite limited in Western Europe.

Death

Hermann Abendroth died of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, during a surgical procedure, 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 ...

, on 29 May 1956. A

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

was then granted for him.

Records

Abendroth was amongst the first German music directors who released studio records regularly. His production spanned from mid-1920s, until his death. Nowadays, Abendroth is being successfully rediscovered by a collection of CDs, published since mid-1990s, consisting mainly of his works for the ''Radio Symphony Orchestra'' of Leipzig of since 1953.

Awards

* 1935 Commemorative Medal in gold of the '' Gesellschaft zur Beförderung gemeinnütziger Tätigkeit'' (Society for the Furtherance of Charitable Activities) of Lübeck (together with

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...

) * 1937 Commander's Cross of the Order of St. Sava * 1944

War Merit Cross The War Merit Cross () was a state decoration of Nazi Germany during World War II. By the end of the conflict it was issued in four degrees and had an equivalent civil award. A " de-Nazified" version of the War Merit Cross was reissued in 1957 ...

, Second Class without swords *1946 Thuringian State: Certificate of appointment for the recognition of outstanding services to the revival of the artistic tradition of Weimar * 1949 National Prize of East Germany for Arts and Letters, 2nd class * 1952 Member of the Music Section of the German Academy of the Arts * 1952 Honorary Member of the Mecklenburgische Staatskapelle,

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

* 1953 Honorary citizen of the city of

(on the occasion of his 70th birthday) * 1953 Honorary Senator of the

Friedrich Schiller University Jena The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The university was established in 1558 and is cou ...

, for his seventieth birthday * 1954

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 (East Germany) * 19?? Honorary Member of the Professional Association German professional choir director *

Postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

with his likeness, in 1957, a year after his death

Detail of career

Initial career

**1900–1903: Munich Conservatory ''Münchner Konservatorium'' **1903–1904: Munich Orchestral Society ''Münchner Orchesterverein'' *

**1905–1911: conducting for the Society of the Friends of Music, ''Vereins der Musikfreunde Lübeck'' **1907–1911: Kapellmeister of the Theater Lübeck **1910–1911: conducting the ''Philharmonischen Chor'' *

**1911–1914: Municipal Director of Music, ''städtischer Musikdirektor'' *

**1915–1934: conducting the '' Gürzenich Orchestra'' **1915–1925: he was Direktor of the Cologne Conservatory, ''Kölner Konservatorium'' **1918: Städtischen Generalmusikdirektor of the city **1919: Professor **1925–1934: Director of ''

Hochschule für Musik Köln ' (, 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 t ...

'', school of music of Cologne *Touring **1920: Mahler Festival of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

**1922: Direktor of '' Lower Rhenish Music Festival'' **1924:

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

(Poland), conducting (October 1924) the Łódź Symphonic Orchestra"Łódź w Ilustracji" 'Lodz in Illustration'' 24 X 1924, no. 19, p. 8 (in way to USRR; photo portrait) **1925,1927,1928:

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, conducting the State Symphony Orchestra **1926–1937:

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, conducting the

**1930–1933: Generalmusikdirektor of city *

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 ...

**1909–1945:

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra 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� ...

, conducting it in eighty occasions.

Nazi Germany

* National offices **1933–1945: Director of the ''Fachschaft Musikerzieher'', choir director of the Reichsmusikkammer **1938: Chief conductor at the Hessian State Theatre of

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the ...

**1941: Chief Director of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

- Mainische State Orchestra, at

**1943 & 1944: conducting the

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

**1934–1945:

of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig **1934–1945: Professor of the conservatory, '' Landeskonservatorium der Musik zu Leipzig'' **1941: Professor of the ''Musikhochschule''

Communist Germany

**1945–1956: Music director of

**1945–1956: conducting the ''Staatskapelle'' **1946: he became a regional Staatsrat **

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

, of the Liszt Museum of Weimar. *

**1949–1956: conducting the Radio Symphony Orchestra, ''Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester'' *

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

**1953–1956: conducting the '' Radio Symphony Orchestra of Berlin'' *Touring **1951:

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Spring International Music Festival **1951:

**1954:

, conducting the ''State Symphony Orchestra''

References

External links

*
Hermann Abendroth discography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abendroth, Hermann 1883 births 1956 deaths Musicians from Frankfurt Musicians from Hesse-Nassau Nazi Party members Members of the Provisional Volkskammer German male conductors (music) Members of the Academy of Arts, Berlin Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Recipients of the National Prize of East Germany Commanders of the Order of St. Sava 20th-century German conductors (music) 20th-century German male musicians East German musicians Kapellmeisters of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra Kapellmeisters of the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne Chief conductors of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra