Johanna Kinkel (8 July 1810 – 15 November 1858), born Maria Johanna Mockel, was a German composer, writer, pedagogue, and

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

Biography

Kinkel was born in

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 ...

to Catholic parents Marianna and Peter Joseph Mockel, a school teacher at the ''Bonner Lycée''. She composed her first musical work, "The Bird Cantata" (''"Die Vogelkantate"''), op. 1, in 1829 for her musical society in Bonn and the work was published in 1838 by Trautwein. She spent a few years living and composing in Berlin, where she attended salons and formed friendships with women such as

Bettina von Arnim Bettina von Arnim (born Elisabeth Catharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano; 4 April 178520 January 1859) was a German writer and novelist. Bettina (or Bettine) Brentano was a writer, publisher, composer, singer, visual artist, an illustrator, patr ...

and Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel. She maintained a career as a published composer and writer as well as a music pedagogue throughout her life. In 1832, Johanna Mockel married the 29 year old music and bookseller Johann Paul Matthieux. The marriage quickly turned restrictive and abusive as Matthieux forbade his young wife from any activity beyond her domestic duties and tyrannized her to her psychological limits. In 1840, she was divorced from the

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 ...

bookseller Matthieux. Her second marriage, in 1843, was to the German poet Gottfried Kinkel, with whom she had four children. Following the

1848 Revolutions The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

she was forced to abandon Germany and flee to London. She was found dead in her garden in 1858 from a fall; although suicide was suspected, there was no way to verify this. Her

tombstone A gravestone or tombstone is a marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. A marker set at the head of the grave may be called a headstone. An especially old or elaborate stone slab may be called a funeral stele, stela, or slab. The us ...

was inscribed ''Freiheit, Liebe und Dichtung'' (meaning ''Freedom, Love, and Poetry''). Kinkel was an author of considerable merit. She wrote on musical subjects, including regular review articles of music events for the ''Bonner Zeitung'', a newspaper she and her husband edited in cooperation with

Carl Schurz Carl Christian Schurz (; March 2, 1829 – May 14, 1906) was a German-American revolutionary and an American statesman, journalist, and reformer. He migrated to the United States after the German revolutions of 1848–1849 and became a prominent ...

. An autobiographical novel of hers, ''Hans Ibeles in London'', was published posthumously in 1860. She also had a substantial output of musical compositions. Many of these compositions were written for the ''Maikäferbund'' (''Maikäfer'' Group — the ''Maikäfer'' being the beetle '' Melolontha melolontha'' which emerges from the ground in May), a group of poets which she directed and Gottfried also helped lead. This group was founded in 1840 and lasted until the 1848 revolution. It had an annual festival. She also wrote music for her children which was published. In 1853, the German composer Elise Schmezer premiered her opera ''Otto der Schütz,'' which was based on earlier works by Alexandre Dumas and Johanna Kinkel. Johanna Kinkel Grave Brookwood

She died on 15 November 1858 in London and is buried in

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

with her daughters Marie Kinkel (January–February 1861) and Johanna Kinkel (1845–1863).

References

Bibliography

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, (3 volumes), New York: McClure Publ. Co., 1907. The first volume of Schurz's autobiography has many recollections of Johanna Kinkel, especially for the years 1848–1852 when he was most closely associated with the family. Johanna added depth to his knowledge of the piano and its repertoire, particularly

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 ...

and Chopin.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kinkel, Johanna 1810 births 1858 deaths 19th-century German composers 19th-century German writers 19th-century German women writers German-American Forty-Eighters Composers from the Kingdom of Prussia German autobiographers German revolutionaries German salon-holders Musicians from Bonn People from the Rhine Province German women autobiographers Burials at Brookwood Cemetery 19th-century German women composers Writers from Bonn

Biography

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links