Johannes Schüler (21 June 18943 October 1966) was a German conductor. He held leading positions at opera houses such as the

Berlin State Opera The Staatsoper Unter den Linden ( State Opera under the Lime Trees), also known as the Berlin State Opera (), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of P ...

and the Staatsoper Hannover. He promoted contemporary music, leading the world premieres of Alban Berg's Three Pieces for Orchestra in 1930, and Henze's ''

Boulevard Solitude ' is a ' (lyric drama) or opera in one act by Hans Werner Henze to a German libretto by Grete Weil after the play by Walter Jockisch, in its turn a modern retelling of Abbé Prévost's 1731 novel '' Manon Lescaut''. The piece is a reworking of ...

'' in 1952.

Life

Schüler was born in Vietz (now Witnica, Poland), the son of an organist. He studied at the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

and the Musikhochschule Charlottenburg from 1913 to 1914, and again after the World War, in which he served in the military from 1918 to 1920. He studied conducting with Rudolf Krasselt and composition with Paul Juon. In 1920, he began his career as second

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 ...

at the Stadttheater Gleiwitz in

Upper Silesia Upper Silesia ( ; ; ; ; Silesian German: ; ) is the southeastern part of the historical and geographical region of Silesia, located today mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic. The area is predominantly known for its heav ...

. In 1922, he changed to the Stadttheater Königsberg, and in 1924 for the first time to the Opernhaus Hannover, where he was Zweiter Kapellmeiser under Krasselt. In 1928, Schüler became Landesmusikdirektor in Oldenburg where he remained for four years. He became noted for his engagement with

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

, becoming one of the first to conduct Alban Berg's '' Wozzeck''. On 14 April 1930, he conducted the world premiere of Berg's Three Pieces for Orchestra, Op. 6, with the Oldenburger Landesorchester. He, along with his predecessor, Werner Ladwig, made Oldenburg a centre of contemporary music in Germany.Ernst Hinrichs: ''Schüler, Johannes.'' In: Hans Friedl among others (ed.): ''.'' Isensee, Oldenburg 1992, , pp. 651f.
Online
. In 1932, Schüler moved to the Halle Opera House. After the Nazis seized power in 1933, he was municipal music director in

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 ...

to 1936, and was appointed to the

in 1935. In 1937, he joined 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 ...

Ernst Klee Ernst Klee (15 March 1942, Frankfurt – 18 May 2013, Frankfurt) was a German journalist and author. As a writer on Germany's history, he was best known for his exposure and documentation of medical crimes in Nazi Germany, much of which was conce ...

: ''The Cultural Encyclopedia on the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945.'' S. Fischer, Frankfurt am Main 2007, , . and in 1938 was appointed by Hitler as "Staatskapellmeister", and the following year Generalintendant. On 3 October 1943, he performed with 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� ...

in occupied

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. Schüler conducted the first complete recording of Flotow's ''

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

'', with Erna Berger and Peter Anders in the leading roles. He conducted the last performance at the Berlin State Opera on 31 August 1944, Mozart's '' Figaro'', before all German theatres were closed because of World War II. Hitler listed him as Gottbegnadet, which saved him from military duties. After the war, he was responsible for the opera's rebuilding. He conducted the first Berlin performance of Hindemith's ''

Mathis der Maler ''Mathis der Maler'' (''Matthias the Painter'' is an opera by Paul Hindemith. The work's protagonist, Matthias Grünewald, was a historical figure who flourished during the Reformation, and whose art, in particular the Isenheim Altarpiece, inspi ...

'' at the State Opera in 1948. In 1949, he went to Hanover for the second time, where he was

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 ...

(GMD) until 1960. He conducted the world premiere of Henze's ''

'' on 17 February 1952, staged by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. He maintained relations with the Berlin State Opera as a regular guest conductor. He conducted Verdi's ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'' on 20 September 1945, directed by Wolf Völker. In 1954, he took part in the company's first guest appearance in Paris. In Berlin, he conducted Tchaikovsky's '' Eugen Onegin'' on 4 October 1955, staged by Erich-Alexander Winds, and '' Wozzeck'' on 14 December that year, directed by Werner Kelch with stage design by Hainer Hill. Schüler died in Berlin at the age of 72.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schuler, Johannes 1894 births 1966 deaths German conductors (music) Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Nazi Party members People from Gorzów County