Joseph Haas (19 March 1879 – 30 March 1960) was a German late romantic composer and music teacher.

Biography

He was born in Maihingen, near

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was ...

to teacher Alban Haas from his second marriage, being half-brother to the theologian and historian Alban Haas. At an early age he came into contact with music. He became a teacher himself and taught from 1897 to 1904 in Lauingen near the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. In his effort to pursue his musical inclination, he met

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

, with whom he took private lessons from 1904 in

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 ...

. He later followed him to

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 ...

in 1907 to study music at the

Leipzig Conservatory The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig () is a public university in Leipzig, Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssohn as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest music ...

. Among his teachers were

Karl Straube Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, Straube stu ...

and Adolf Ruthardt. In 1909 Haas finished his studies. In 1911, having had his first success as a composer and having won an

Arthur Nikisch Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungary, Hungarian conducting, conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter ...

scholarship, he became teacher of composition at the Stuttgart Conservatory, where he was named professor in 1916. From 1921 he taught at the ''Akademie für Tonkunst'' in Munich (today

Hochschule für Musik und Theater München The University of Music and Theatre Munich (), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts music school, conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is the former ''Führerbau'' of the NSDAP, locate ...

); he was professor there from 1924 to 1950. In 1921, together with

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

and Heinrich Burkard, he established the Donaueschinger Kammermusikaufführungen zur Förderung zeitgenössischer Tonkunst. In 1930, he became a member of the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts () was a state arts academy first established in 1694 by prince-elector Frederick III of Electorate of Brandenburg, Brandenburg in Berlin, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and later king in Kingdom of ...

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 ...

. After the

Second World War 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 ...

, he became president of the Munich ''Hochschule für Musik und Theater'', a position which he held until he became Emeritus Professor in 1950 and led the school's reconstruction after 1945. He died in

and was buried in the Munich Waldfriedhof.

Importance

As a composer

The work of Haas was entirely based on

tonality Tonality is the arrangement of pitch (music), pitches and / or chord (music), chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived ''relations'', ''stabilities'', ''attractions'', and ''directionality''. In this hierarchy, the single pitch or ...

. At first, he was strongly influenced by his mentor

, whose language of

polyphony Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice ( monophony) or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chord ...

and

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

also featured in Haas's music. During his lifetime, Haas was a successful and well known composer. In 1954, for his 75th birthday, numerous celebratory festivals took place in both

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

and

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 ...

. After his death, the presence of his works in concerts has dramatically decreased. In 1949, the composer's friend Rupert Egenberger established the ''Joseph-Haas-Gesellschaft'', dedicated to Haas and his work.

Selected works

Stage works * ''Die Bergkönigin'' (op. 70; 1927), music for a Christmas play 3 acts by Franziska Rodenstock * ' (op. 90; 1934–37), opera in 3 acts.

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

: Ludwig Strecker, premiere 24 November 1937 Staatstheater Kassel, conducted by

Robert Heger Robert Heger (19 August 1886 – 14 January 1978) was a German conductor and composer from Strasbourg, Alsace-Lorraine. Life and career He studied at the Conservatory of Strasbourg under Franz Stockhausen, then in Zurich under Lothar Kempt ...

* ' (op. 93; 1940–43), comic opera in 4 acts, libretto: Ludwig Strecker, premiere 2 July 1944

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Th ...

, conducted by Karl Elmendorff Oratorios * ''Die heilige Elisabeth'' (op. 84) * ''Christnacht'' (op. 85) * ''Das Lebensbuch Gottes'' (op. 87) * ''Das Lied von der Mutter'' (op. 91) * ''Das Jahr im Lied'' (op. 103) * ''Die Seligen'' (op. 106) Song cycles * ''Sechs Krippenlieder'' (op. 49). * ''Unterwegs'' (op. 65) after

Hermann Hesse Hermann Karl Hesse (; 2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a Germans, German-Swiss people, Swiss poet and novelist, and the 1946 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His interest in Eastern philosophy, Eastern religious, spiritual, and philosophic ...

* ''Gesänge an Gott'' (op. 68) after Jakob Kneip Masses, sacred music * ''Eine Deutsche Singmesse'' (op. 60) * ''Speyerer Domfestmesse'' (op. 80) * ''Christ-König-Messe'' (op. 88) * ''Münchener Liebfrauenmesse'' (op. 96) * ''Te Deum'' (op. 100) * ''Totenmesse'' (op. 101) * ''Deutsche Weihnachtsmesse'' (op. 105) * ''Deutsche Chormesse'' (op. 108) Orchestral works * ''Heitere Serenade'' (op. 41) * ''Variationen und Rondo über ein altdeutsches Volkslied'' (op. 45) * ''Variationensuite über ein altes Rokokothema'' (op. 64) * ''Ouvertüre zu einem frohen Spiel'' (op. 95) Chamber music * ''Streichquartett g-Moll'' (op. 8) * ''Violinsonate h-Moll'' (op. 21) * ''Divertimento D-Dur'' (op. 22) for string trio * ''Waldhornsonate F-Dur'' (op. 29) * ''Divertimento C-Dur'' (op. 30a) for string quartet * ''Kammertrio a-Moll'' (op. 38) for two violins and piano * ''Grillen'' (op. 40) for violin and piano * ''Streichquartett A-Dur'' (op. 50) * ''Kirchensonate F-Dur'' (op. 62/1) for violin and organ * ''Kirchensonate d-Moll'' (op. 62/2) for violin and organ Piano music * ''Wichtelmännchen'' (op. 27) * ''Gespenster'' (op. 34) * ''Hausmärchen'' (op. 35, op. 43, op. 53) * ''Eulenspiegeleien'' (op. 39) * ''Alte unnennbare Tage'' Elegien für Klavier (op. 42) * ''Sonate a-Moll'' (op. 46) * ''Zwei Sonaten'' (D-Dur, a-Moll) (op. 61) * ''Vier Sonatinen'' (C-Dur, d-Moll, G-Dur, F-Dur) (op. 94) * ''Klangspiele'', Zehn kleine Stücke für Klavier (op. 99) Organ music * ''Drei Präludien und Fugen'' (c-Moll, g-Moll, D-Dur) (op. 11) * ''Sonate c-Moll'' (op. 12) * ''Suite d-Moll'' (op. 20) * ''Suite A-Dur'' (op. 25)

As a teacher

Haas was an important music teacher. Among his numerous students are composers and conductors, such as Otto Jochum (1898–1969),

Karl Gustav Fellerer Karl Gustav Fellerer (7 July 1902 – 7 January 1984) was a German musicologist. His works include more than 600 scientific publications on catholic church music, Italian music from 1600 to the beginning of the 20th century, and music history of t ...

Eugen Jochum Eugen Jochum (; 1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987) was a German conducting, conductor, best known for his interpretations of the music of Anton Bruckner, Carl Orff, and Johannes Brahms, among others. Biography Jochum was born to a Roman Catholic ...

Karl Amadeus Hartmann Karl Amadeus Hartmann (2 August 1905 – 5 December 1963) was a German composer. A major figure of the musical life of post-war Germany, he has been described as the greatest German symphonist of the 20th century. Life Born in Munich, the son ...

, Karl Höller, Philipp Mohler (1908–1982), Cesar Bresgen, Ernst Kutzer (1918–2008), and

Wolfgang Sawallisch Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. Biography Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...

, and

Margarete Schweikert Margarete Schweikert (16 February 1887 – 13 March 1957) was a German composer, music critic, violinist, and pianist who composed chamber music, approximately 160 songs, and a children's operetta, The Frog King. Biography Schweikert was bor ...

References

* Translated from th
German Wikipedia article

External links

Joseph Haas site

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Joseph 1879 births 1960 deaths German Romantic composers Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Munich Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Burials at Munich Waldfriedhof Academic staff of the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart German male classical composers 20th-century German male musicians 19th-century German male musicians