Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) 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 ...
,
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear
* Conduction aphasia, a language disorder
Mathematics
* Conductor (ring theory)
* Conductor of an abelian variety
* Cond ...
, and
pianist
A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...
in the mid-
Romantic era
Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century. The purpose of the movement was to advocate for the importance of subjec ...
.
Biography
Reinecke was born in what is today the
Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, as until 1864 the town was under Danish rule. He received all his musical instruction from his father, (Johann Peter) Rudolf Reinecke (22 November 179514 August 1883), a music teacher and writer on musical subjects. Carl first devoted himself to violin-playing, but later on turned his attention to the piano. He began to compose at the age of seven, and his first public appearance as a pianist was when he was twelve years old.
At the age of 19, he undertook his first concert tour as a pianist in 1843, through Denmark and Sweden, after which he lived for a long time in
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 ...
, where he studied under
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...
,
Robert Schumann
Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...
and
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...
; he entered into friendly relations with the former two. After the stay in Leipzig, Reinecke went on tour with Königslöw and
Wilhelm Joseph von Wasielewski
Wilhelm may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm"
* Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
Other uses
* Wilhe ...
(later Schumann's biographer), in North Germany and Denmark. In 1846, Reinecke was appointed Court Pianist for
Christian VIII
Christian VIII (18 September 1786 – 20 January 1848) was King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814.
Christian Frederick was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick, a younger son of King Fred ...
in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...
. There he remained until 1848, when he resigned and went to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
Overall, he wrote four concertos for his instrument (and many
cadenza
In music, a cadenza, (from , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist(s), usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing virtuosic display ...
s for others' works, including a large set published as his
Opus
Opus (: opera
Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera ...
87), as well as concertos for violin, cello, harp and flute. In the winter of 1850/51,
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 ...
reports attending weekly "musical evenings" in Paris where Reinecke was in attendance.
In 1851, Reinecke became a professor at the
Cologne Conservatory
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and over 3.1 million people in the Cologne Bonn urba ...
. In ensuing years he was appointed musical director in
Barmen
Barmen is a former industrial metropolis of the region of Bergisches Land, Germany, which merged with four other towns in 1929 to form the city of Wuppertal.
Barmen, together with the neighbouring town of Elberfeld founded the first electric ...
, and became the academic, musical director and conductor of the
Singakademie
A Singakademie – originally a phenomenon of the German-speaking
German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and official (or co-official) la ...
at Breslau.
In 1860, Reinecke was appointed director of the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...
and professor of composition and piano 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 ...
. He led the orchestra for more than three decades, until 1895. He conducted premieres such as the full seven-movement version of
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 ...
's '' A German Requiem'' (1869). In 1865 the Gewandhaus-Quartett premiered his
piano quintet
In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly (since 1842) a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that ...
, and in 1892 his D major
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 ...
.
Reinecke is best known for his flute sonata "
Undine
Undines (; also ondines) are a category of elemental beings associated with water, stemming from the alchemical writings of Paracelsus. Later writers developed the undine into a water nymph in its own right, and it continues to live in modern l ...
", but he is also remembered as one of the most influential and versatile musicians of his time. He served as a teacher for 35 years, until his retirement in 1902. His students included
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...
,
Basil Harwood
Basil Harwood (11 April 1859 – 3 April 1949) was an organist and composer in the English church music tradition, best known today for his liturgical works, particularly his anthem ''O How Glorious is the Kingdom'' (1898) and his ''Service in ...
,
Charles Villiers Stanford
Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...
,
Christian Sinding
Christian August Sinding (11 January 18563 December 1941) was a Norwegian composer. He is best known for his lyrical work for piano '' Frühlingsrauschen'' (Rustle of Spring, 1896). He was often compared to Edvard Grieg and regarded as his succ ...
,
Leoš Janáček
Leoš Janáček (, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, Music theory, music theorist, Folkloristics, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian folk music, Moravian and other Slavs, Slavic music, includin ...
,
Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (; 29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the post-romantic era who also had a significant influence on his con ...
Johan Svendsen
Johan Severin Svendsen (30 September 184014 June 1911) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, he lived most of his life in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Svendsen's output includes two symphonies, a vi ...
,
Richard Franck
Richard Franck (3 January 1858 – 22 January 1938) was a German pianist, composer and teacher.
Life
He was born in Cologne and was the son of the German composer, pianist and teacher Eduard Franck. His father, who had studied with Felix Mendels ...
,
Felix Weingartner
Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian Conducting, conductor, composer and pianist.
Life and career
Weingartner was born in Zadar, Zara, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Dalmatia, Austrian Empire (now ...
,
Max Bruch
Max Bruch (6 January 1838 – 2 October 1920) was a German Romantic Music, Romantic composer, violinist, teacher, and conductor who wrote more than 200 works, including three violin concertos, the first of which has become a staple of the violin ...
,
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis
Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (; – ) was a Lithuanian composer, painter, choirmaster, cultural figure, and writer in Polish.
Čiurlionis contributed to symbolism and Art Nouveau, and was representative of the fin de siècle epoch. ...
Ernest Hutcheson
Ernest Hutcheson (20 July 1871 – 9 February 1951) was an Australian pianist, composer and teacher.
Biography
Hutcheson was born in Melbourne, and toured there as a child prodigy at the age of five. He later travelled to Leipzig and entere ...
Sofie Rohnstock
Sofie Rohnstock (25 December 1875 – 26 December 1964) was an Austrian composer who is best remembered for her ''String Trio in G Major'' (for violin, viola and cello), apparently the only one of her compositions to survive World War II.
Rohnstoc ...
,
August Winding
August Winding (24 March 183516 June 1899) was a Danish pianist, teacher and composer.
Life Early life and education
August Henrik Winding was born in Tårs, near Sandby on the island of Lolland.Elisabeth Wintzer,
Mykola Lysenko
Mykola Vitaliiovych Lysenko (; 22 March 1842 – 6 November 1912) was a Ukrainian composer, pianist, conductor and ethnomusicologist of the late Romantic period. In his time he was the central figure of Ukrainian music, with an ''oeuvre'' tha ...
, and many others.
After retirement from the conservatory, Reinecke devoted his time to composition, resulting in almost three hundred published works. He wrote several operas (none of which are performed today) including ''König Manfred''. During this time, he frequently made concert tours to
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and elsewhere. His piano playing belonged to a school in which grace and neatness were characteristic, and at one time he was probably unrivaled as a Mozart player and an accompanist. In 1904 at the age of 80, he made recordings of seven works playing on
piano roll
A piano roll is a music storage medium used to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. Piano rolls, like other music rolls, are continuous rolls of paper with holes punched into them. These perforations represent note contro ...
for the
Welte-Mignon
M. Welte & Sons, Freiburg and New York was a manufacturer of orchestrions, organs and reproducing pianos, established in Vöhrenbach by Michael Welte (1807–1880) in 1832.
Overview
From 1832 until 1932, the firm produced mechanical mu ...
company, making him the earliest-born pianist to have his playing preserved in any format. He subsequently made a further 14 for the Aeolian Company's "Autograph Metrostyle" piano roll visual marking system and an additional 20 for the Hupfeld DEA reproducing piano roll system.
Reinecke died in Leipzig at age 85.
Works
* Ballade for flute and orchestra in D minor, Op. 288 (1908) (his last opus number)
* Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 72, 1860
* Piano Concerto No. 2 in E minor, Op. 120, 1872
* Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 144, 1877
* Piano Concerto No. 4 in B minor, Op. 254, 1900
* Violin Concerto in G minor, Op. 141, 1877
* Serenade for strings in G minor, Op. 242, around 1898
* Trio for piano, oboe and horn in A minor, Op. 188, 1886
* Trio for piano, clarinet and viola in A, Op. 264
* Trio for piano, clarinet and horn in B-flat, Op. 274, 1905
* Octet for winds in B-flat, Op. 216, 1892
* Sextet for flute, oboe, clarinet, 2 horns and bassoon in B-flat, Op. 271
* Five string quartets (Op. 16 in E-flat, 1843; Op. 30 in F, 1851; Op. 132 in C, 1874; Op. 211 in D major, 1890; and Op. 287)
* Organ Sonata, Op. 284
* Piano Sonata for the left hand, Op. 179, 1884
* String Trio in C minor, Op. 249
* Sonata for flute (''Sonata Undine''), Op. 167, 1882
* Sonatas for cello and piano (three, in A minor, Op. 42, 1847-8; D major, Op. 89, 1866; and G major, Op. 238, 1897, recorded on cpo)
* Three light piano trios, Op. 159a
* Piano Trio, Op. 230
* ''Drei Fantasiestücke für Viola und Klavier'', Op. 43 (Three fantasy pieces for viola and piano)
* Symphony No. 1 in A Major, Op. 79
* Symphony No. 2 in C minor "Håkon Jarl", Op. 134, 1874
* Symphony No. 3 in G minor, Op. 227