Hermann Riedel (b. 1847

Burg bei Magdeburg Burg (; also known as Burg bei Magdeburg to distinguish from other places with the same name) is a town of about 22,400 inhabitants on the Elbe–Havel Canal in northeastern Germany, northeast of Magdeburg. It is the capital of the Jerichower L ...

, d. 6 October 1913

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

) was a German

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 ...

. Riedel studied piano and composition at the Vienna Conservatory with

Josef Dachs Josef Dachs (30 September, 1825 – 6 June, 1896) was an Austrian pianist and music teacher born in Regensburg. He received his music education from Simon Sechter and Carl Czerny, worked as the concert pianist and premiered many of his own wo ...

and

Felix Otto Dessoff Felix Otto Dessoff (14 January 1835 – 28 October 1892) was a German conductor and composer. Biography Dessoff was born to a Jewish family in Leipzig; his father was a cloth merchant. His musical talent was recognized by Franz Liszt, who then a ...

. In 1874, he became a pianist correpetiteur at the

Vienna Hofoper The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival architecture, Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from ...

. In 1878, he settled in

, where he was made music director of the Royal Opera. From 1882 to 1911, he was

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 Braunschweig court orchestra and director of the

court theatre A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts general ...

ensemble. Riedel is most notable as the author of ''Der Trompeter von Säkkingen'' (The Trumpeter of Säckingen), a cycle of songs written to a popular epic poem by

Joseph Victor von Scheffel Joseph Victor von Scheffel (16 February 1826 – 9 April 1886) was a German poet and novelist. His novel '' Ekkehard'' (1855) became one of the most popular German novels in the 19th century. Biography He was born at Karlsruhe. His father, a reti ...

. He also composed 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 ne ...

''Der Ritterschlag'' (The Knight's Dubbing), as well as a series of works of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

References

German composers 1847 births 1913 deaths People from Burg bei Magdeburg Music in Braunschweig University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni 19th-century German musicians {{germany-composer-stub