Ludwig Strecker Jr., also Ludwig Strecker der Jüngere, (13 January 188315 September 1978) was a German

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectu ...

and an author of opera

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 ...

s which he wrote under the pen name Ludwig Andersen. He authored, and published through the

Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second-oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were foun ...

publishing house, two of the most successful German contemporary operas of the 1930s, Egk's '' Die Zaubergeige'' and Reutter's '' Doktor Johannes Faust''.

Life

Born Ludwig Emanuel Strecker in

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

, he was interested in poetry and literature early in life. He studied law at the

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

, the

Humboldt 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

Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, where he obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in 1906. After a stay abroad, Strecker became co-owner of the Schott music publishing house in Mainz in 1909, which his father

Ludwig Strecker Ludwig Philipp Carl Wilhelm Strecker (16 March 1853 – 19 December 1943) was a German businessman who owned the London-based music publishing house, Schott and Co., Limited. Career Strecker was born to Ludwig Theodor Strecker, a lawyer, and ...

had inherited from in 1874. Strecker and his brother Wilhelm Strecker became directors in 1920, and opened the publishing house for contemporary composers such as

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

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 ...

. They took over the management of Schott together when their father died in 1943. Under the pseudonym ''Ludwig Andersen'', he also worked as a

librettist 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. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

and translator of libretti. Among the libretti he wrote for notable composers of the period, and then published, were Werner Egk's '' Die Zaubergeige'', premiered in 1935 by the

Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...

, and Hermann Reutter's '' Doktor Johannes Faust'', premiered also in Frankfurt in 1936; the two works were among the most successful German contemporary operas during the Nazi regime, ''Die Zaubergeige'' being performed 198 times and ''Doktor Johannes Faust'' 116 times in Germany until 1945. This success established Schott as a leading publisher of stage works. Strecker translated Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari's opera '' Gli dei a Tebe'' for its world premiere at the

Staatsoper Hannover Hanover State Opera () is a German opera company based in Hanover, the state capital of Lower Saxony. The company is resident in the Hanover Opera House (), and is part of a publicly-funded umbrella performing arts organisation called Hanover S ...

in 1943. Strecker's first wife was Friedel Preetorius (1884–1938), the daughter of the Mainz entrepreneur and politician . Strecker died in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

at age 95.

Awards

* 1953:

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 ...

* 1955: of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

* Honorary senator of the

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz () is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. It has been named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. it had approximately 32,000 students enrolled in around 100 a ...

Librettos

* '. Music:

Hermann Reutter Hermann Reutter (; 17 June 19001 January 1985) was a German composer and pianist who worked as an academic teacher, university administrator, recitalist, and accompanist. He composed several operas, orchestral works, and chamber music, and especi ...

. Premiere 1933, revised version 1970 Stuttgart. * '' Die Zaubergeige''. Music:

Werner Egk Werner Egk (, 17 May 1901 – 10 July 1983), born Werner Joseph Mayer, was a German composer. Early career He was born in the Swabian town of Auchsesheim, today part of Donauwörth, Germany. His family, of Catholic peasant stock, moved to Augsb ...

. Premiere 1935

. * '' Doktor Johannes Faust''. Music: Reutter. Premiere 1936 Oper Frankfurt, revised version 1955 Stuttgart * '. Music:

Joseph Haas 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 to teacher Alban Haas from his second marriage, being half-brother to the theologian a ...

. Premiere 1937 Kassel. * '. Music: Haas. Premiere 1944 Dresden. * ', based on "

Hans My Hedgehog "Hans My Hedgehog" () is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm (KHM 108). The tale was translated as ''Jack My Hedgehog'' by Andrew Lang and published in ''The Green Fairy Book''. It is of Aarne-Thompson type 441. The tale follows ...

". Music: Cesar Bresgen. Premiere 1948 Esslingen, revised version 1951

Staatstheater Nürnberg The Staatstheater Nürnberg is a German theatre company in Nuremberg, Bavaria. The theatre is one of four Bavarian state theatres and shows operas, plays, ballets and concerts. History Its main venue, the opera house ("Opernhaus Nürnberg"), i ...

.''Der Igel als Bräutigam''

References

External links

"Strecker, Ludwig"
' (BMLO) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Strecker, Ludwig II German music publishers (people) German librettists Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 1883 births 1978 deaths Writers from Mainz Businesspeople from Mainz Leipzig University alumni Humboldt University of Berlin alumni

Life

Awards

Librettos

References

Further reading

External links