Joachim Kaiser (18 December 1928 – 11 May 2017) was a German musicologist, critic, and journalist. He worked as a senior editor and cultural critic for the ''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...

'' from 1959, contributing reviews and articles on music, literature, and theatre. From 1977 to 1996, he was a professor of music history at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart.

Life

Kaiser was born in Milken,

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

(now ''Milki'', Poland) on 18 December 1928. He was the son of a country doctor. He became interested in Literature and music at an early age, and began to play the piano at age eight. After the flight and expulsion of Germans from Central and Eastern Europe 1945–1950, he attended the Wilhelm-Gymnasium (Hamburg). He then studied

musicology 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, ...

German studies German studies is an academic field that researches, documents and disseminates German language, literature, and culture in its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies therefore often focus on German culture, German h ...

, philosophy, and sociology at the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, and the Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen. Among his fellow students were musicologists

Carl Dahlhaus Carl Dahlhaus (10 June 1928 – 13 March 1989) was a German musicologist who was among the leading postwar musicologists of the mid to late 20th-century. #Selected bibliography, A prolific scholar, he had broad interests though his research foc ...

and Rudolf Stephan. Kaiser's career as a critic began in 1951. On his review of the

Theodor W. Adorno Theodor W. Adorno ( ; ; born Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund; 11 September 1903 – 6 August 1969) was a German philosopher, musicologist, and social theorist. He was a leading member of the Frankfurt School of critical theory, whose work has com ...

publication: ''Music and Catastrophe. About the "Philosophy of New Music",''

Mathias Döpfner Mathias Döpfner (born 15 January 1963) is a German businessman, author, art collector, and journalist. He is the CEO and 22% owner of media group Axel Springer SE. From 2016 to 2022 he was president of the Federal Association of Digital Publish ...

described him as one of "the best known and most successful Adorno students ever". Beginning in 1953, Kaiser took part in

Group 47 Gruppe 47 (Group 47) was a group of participants in German writers' meetings, invited by Hans Werner Richter between 1947 and 1967. The meetings served the dual goals of literary criticism as well as the promotion of young, unknown authors. In a ...

. In 1958, he was awarded a doctorate in German Studies at the University of Tübingen on the subject of ''

Franz Grillparzer Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the Burgtheater in Vienna. He ...

's dramatic style''. Kaiser worked in the cultural editorial department of the ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' from 1959. He was a member of the writers' association PEN-Zentrum Deutschland. Although Kaiser was known for his discussion of famous pianists (like

Arthur Rubinstein Arthur Rubinstein Order of the British Empire, KBE OMRI (; 28 January 1887 – 20 December 1982) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American pianist.

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (November 5, 1989) was a Russian and American pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all time, he was known for his virtuoso technique, timbre, and the public excitement engendered by his playing. Life ...

Glenn Gould Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; 25 September 19324 October 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was among the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann Sebastian ...

Sviatoslav Richter Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet and Russian classical pianist. He is regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time,Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his interpreta ...

and

Friedrich Gulda Friedrich Gulda (16 May 1930 – 27 January 2000) was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields. Biography Early life and career Born in Vienna the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano ...

), he spent a large portion of his time presenting young interpreters in the art of piano playing. Kaiser felt a special connection to the work of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, and supported and accompanied the new beginning of the

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 ...

in 1951 under the direction of Wagner's grandchildren, Wieland and Wolfgang. Kaiser married the translator and novelist Susanne Kaiser in December 1958. They had two children: the director Henriette Kaiser and the sports editor Philipp Kaiser. He lived in Munich on the edge of the

Englischer Garten The ''Englischer Garten'' (, ''English Garden'') is a large public park in the centre of Munich, Bavaria, stretching from the city centre to the northeastern city limits. It was created in 1789 by Sir Benjamin Thompson (1753–1814), later Coun ...

. In 2009, he donated his extensive private archive to the

Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach The Deutsches Literaturarchiv Marbach (DLA – German Literature Archive), established in 1955, in Marbach am Neckar Marbach am Neckar (, ) is a town about 20 kilometres north of Stuttgart. It belongs to the district of Ludwigsburg, the Stutt ...

as a ''

Nachlass ''Nachlass'' (, older spelling ''Nachlaß'') is a German language, German word, used in academia to describe the collection of manuscripts, notes, correspondence, and so on left behind when a scholar dies. The word is a compound word, compound in ...

(literary estate)''. Besides letters from Theodor W. Adorno and Alfred Andersch, this archive contained correspondence with

Ingeborg Bachmann Ingeborg Bachmann (; 25 June 1926 – 17 October 1973) was an Austrian poet and author. She is regarded as one of the major voices of German-language literature in the 20th century. In 1963, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature b ...

Ernst Bloch Ernst Simon Bloch (; ; July 8, 1885 – August 4, 1977; pseudonyms: Karl Jahraus, Jakob Knerz) was a German Marxist philosopher. Bloch was influenced by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and Karl Marx, as well as by apocalyptic and religious thinker ...

and

Heinrich Böll Heinrich Theodor Böll (; ; 21 December 1917 – 16 July 1985) was a German writer. Considered one of Germany's foremost post-World War II writers, Böll received the Georg Büchner Prize (1967) and the Nobel Prize for Literature (1972). Bio ...

. In May 2009, Kaiser began answering readers' questions weekly in his video column ''Kaiser's Classic Customer'' on the website of '' SZ-Magazin,'' which he had to give up two years later due to illness. The series has not been continued since. Joachim Kaiser died in Munich on 11 May 2017, aged 88.

Work

* ''Kleines Theatertagebuch.'' Rowohlt, Reinbek 1965 (with preface: ''Kritik als Beruf''). * ''Große Pianisten in unserer Zeit.''

Piper Verlag Piper Verlag is a German publisher based in Munich, printing both fiction and non-fiction works. It currently prints over 200 new paperback titles per year. Authors published by the company include Andreas von Bülow and Sara Paretsky. It is ow ...

, Munich 1965; New edition 1996, . * ''Beethovens 32 Klaviersonaten und ihre Interpreten.'' S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 1975, . * ''Erlebte Musik. Von Bach bis Stravinsky.'' Hoffmann und Campe, Hamburg 1977, . * ''Erlebte Musik. Teil 2. Von Wagner bis Zimmermann.'' DTV, Munich 1982, . * ''Mein Name ist Sarastro. Die Gestalten in Mozart's Meisteropern von Alfonso bis Zerlina.'' Piper, Munich 1984, . * ''Wie ich sie sah … und wie sie waren – Zwölf kleine Porträts.'' List, Munich 1985, . * ''Erlebte Literatur. Deutsche Schriftsteller in unserer Zeit.'' Piper, Munich 1988, . * ''Leben mit Wagner.'' Knaus, Munich 1990; New edition: Siedler, Munich 2013, . * ''„Vieles ist auf Erden zu thun.“ Imaginäre Gespräche (…).'' Piper, Munich 1991, . * ''Was mir wichtig ist.'' Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1996, . * ''Kaisers Klassik. 100 Meisterwerke der Musik.'' Schneekluth, Munich 1997, . * ''Kaisers Klassik. Da Capo.'' Schneekluth, Munich 1999, . * ''Von Wagner bis Walser. Neues zu Literatur und Musik.'' Pendo, Zürich 1999, . * ''"Ich bin der letzte Mohikaner".'' (autobiography, with Henriette Kaiser). Ullstein, Munich 2008, . Catalogue of works * Gesa Anssar, , : ''Kaiser-Verzeichnis.'' Allitera, Munich 2003, .

Lecture series

Kaiser's many years of lecturing activity at the

Gasteig The Gasteig is a currently closed cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig. Most ...

in Munich include his extensive series of lectures on specific artists and art forms, especially on the subject of music: * About

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 ...

in the 1970s; in Munich (Gymnasium Fürstenried, 60 lectures) * About Mozart's operas; in the 1990s in Vaterstetten * About

; i Munich Gasteig (

Carl Orff Carl Heinrich Maria Orff (; 10 July 1895 – 29 March 1982) was a German composer and music educator, who composed the cantata ''Carmina Burana (Orff), Carmina Burana'' (1937). The concepts of his Orff Schulwerk, Schulwerk were influential for ...

-Hall), from 1989 to 11 May 1993 (63 lectures) * About ''

Symphony A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...

and

Sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

between Beethoven,

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

Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

'' * The secret of great

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

– Beethoven and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

as creators of classical

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 ...

works; at the Gasteig in Munich; the series was transferred to "The great late works", from 18 September 2007 to 16 November 2010. From 11 October 1994 to 17 July 2007 Kaiser gave 206 lectures, totaling 322 lectures. With 170,000 listeners, Kaiser's lectures are considered as some of the most successful to date of the .

Radio series

During weekly radio broadcasts (one hour long, for example "Kaisers Corner" in Bayern4-Klassik), he dealt with Chopin for half a year and with "Beethoven – Werk und Wirkung" for a whole year. In addition to these broadcasts, there were regular word broadcasts, such as "Kaiser's Magazine Show".

Films

* ''Der letzte Kaiser.'' TV-

Feature Feature may refer to: Computing * Feature recognition, could be a hole, pocket, or notch * Feature (computer vision), could be an edge, corner or blob * Feature (machine learning), in statistics: individual measurable properties of the phenome ...

, 2008, 5:25 Min., Buch: Peter Gerhardt, Produktion:

Hessischer Rundfunk (; "Hesse Broadcasting"), shortened to HR (; stylized as hr), is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, A ...

, , First broadcast: 16 November 2008. * ''Musik im Fahrtwind.'' Dokumentarfilm, 2006, 87 Min., Written and directed by Henriette Kaiser, Production: Lemuel Film, First broadcast: 5 November 2006,

Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...

* ''Der Klassik-Kaiser.'' Dokumentarfilm, 1997, Buch und Regie: Eckhart Schmidt, Production: Raphaela Film GmbH * In the film ''Bruckners Entscheidung'' (1995) by Jan Schmidt-Garre Kaiser played the role of

Awards

* 1966:

Theodor Wolff Prize The Theodor Wolff Prize is a German journalism prize. It has been awarded annually since 1962 in five categories, equal prizes of €6,000, by the . In addition, at irregular intervals, journalists are awarded the Theodor Wolff Prize for their life ...

Preisverleihung 1966
/ref> * 1993: Officer's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

* 1993: Ludwig Börne Prize awarded for the first time * 1997: Cultural Honor Prize of the City of Munich * 2001:

Hildegard von Bingen Prize for Journalism The Hildegard von Bingen Prize for Journalism () is an annual journalism award. Since 1995, it is awarded by the Board of Trustees of the Hildegard von Bingen Prize. Former award winners are members of the Board of Trustees. The award was founded i ...

* 2004: for critics * 2009: * 2010:

, for his life's work * 2013: Distinction of the ', for his life's work

References

External links

*
AudioVideo: Folge 10, über Bach bzw. Beethoven (Goldberg- bzw. Diabelli-Variationen)
auf YouTube Interviews
"Ich weiß, dass ich sterben muss. Und zwar relativ bald".
In ''

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung The (; ''FAZ''; "Frankfurt General Newspaper") is a German newspaper founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt and is considered a newspaper of record for Germany. Its Sunday edition is the ''Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung'' ( ...

'', 12 December 2008, Nr.50, Interview in nine little parts
"Ich habe nichts gegen Dackel".
In the ''

'', 24 October 2005 Obituaries
''Langjähriger Feuilletonchef und SZ-Kritiker Joachim Kaiser ist tot.''
In the ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'', 11 May 2017 * tagesspiegel.de

* FAZ.net

* welt.de / Manuel Brug

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaiser, Joachim 1928 births 2017 deaths People from Giżycko County People from East Prussia 20th-century German journalists German music journalists German literary critics German music critics German music historians 20th-century German musicologists 21st-century German musicologists German theatre critics German columnists German Germanists Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Echo (music award) winners