Otto Frickhoeffer (29 March 1892 – 9 April 1968) was a German composer and conductor.

Life

Born in

Bad Schwalbach Bad Schwalbach (; called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Geography Geographic location Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465&n ...

as the son of a medical officer, Frickhoeffer wanted to become a musician. Since the father insisted on studying medicine, Frickhoeffer enrolled at the

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München 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 ...

. In the summer semester of 1911 he became active in the Corps Brunsviga Munich. As he changed to the

Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

. Only when he had passed the there did his parents agree to a career as a pianist. The First World War interrupted the hopeful beginning. Not fully fit for service at the Western Front, he was used during his medical training to take care of wounded transports. When the war ended, his hands were no longer suitable for playing the piano. One way out was to study

musical composition Musical composition can refer to an Originality, original piece or work of music, either Human voice, vocal or Musical instrument, instrumental, the musical form, structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new pie ...

and

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

. From 1918 Frickhoeffer lived in Berlin as a singing teacher and composer.

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 ...

quotes from the Nazi reference work ''

Das Deutsche Führerlexikon Das or DAS may refer to: Organizations * Dame Allan's Schools, Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, England. * Danish Aviation Systems, a supplier and developer of unmanned aerial vehicles. * Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, a former Colombi ...

'' as having been involved in Frickhoeffer's political activities with the

Alldeutscher Verband The Pan-German League () was a Pan-German nationalist organization which was officially founded in 1891, a year after the Zanzibar Treaty was signed. Primarily dedicated to the German question of the time, it held positions on German imperia ...

and the

Citizens' Defense The ''Einwohnerwehr'', or "Citizens' Defense," also called the Civil Guard or Civil Defense, was a far-right paramilitary in Weimar Germany that existed in violation of the Treaty of Versailles from the German Revolution of 1918-19 until 29 June ...

after the First World War and was later a member of 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 ...

. In addition, he was head of the

Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur The Militant League for German Culture (German: ''Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur'', ''KfdK''), was a nationalistic Antisemitism, anti-Semitic political society during the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era. It was founded in 1928 as the ''Nationalsoz ...

(KfdK). In 1933 he took part in the festival ''Young Germany in Music'', which was organised by the Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur in

Bad Pyrmont Bad Pyrmont (, also: ; West Low German: ) is a town in the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont, in Lower Saxony, Germany, with a population close to 19,000. It is located on the river Emmer (Weser), Emmer, about west of the Weser. Bad Pyrmont is a popul ...

. From 1934 to 1936 he worked as conductor for the

Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft The Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft (RRG; ''Reich Broadcasting Corporation'') was a national network of German regional public radio and television broadcasting companies active from 1925 until 1945. RRG's broadcasts were receivable in all parts o ...

. The NSDAP sent him to the Reichssender Frankfurt as musical special representative. After

Gleichschaltung The Nazi term (), meaning "synchronization" or "coordination", was the process of Nazification by which Adolf Hitler—leader of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany—established a system of totalitarian control and coordination over all ...

, he was to support the political course by means of radio music. Works by German/Austrian composers –

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

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 ...

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 ...

Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his symphonies and sacred music, which includes Masses, Te Deum and motets. The symphonies are considered emblematic of the final ...

und

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

were requested. At the end of 1937 he became first Kapellmeister of the Frankfurter Rundfunk-Symphonie-Orchester (later hr-Sinfonieorchester). Then he followed

Hans Rosbaud Hans Rosbaud (22 July 1895 – 29 December 1962) was an Austrian conductor, particularly associated with the music of the twentieth century. Biography Rosbaud was born in Graz. As children, he and his brother Paul Rosbaud performed with thei ...

as chief conductor and head of the music department of the radio station from which the

Hessischer Rundfunk (; "Hesse Broadcasting"), shortened to HR (; stylized as hr), is the German state of Hesse's public broadcasting corporation. Headquartered in Frankfurt, it is a member of the national consortium of German public broadcasting corporations, A ...

emerged in 1945. In the post-war period in Germany, marginalized and not robustly inclined from the outset, Frickhoeffer had to endure difficult years. Paralysed by a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, he was bedridden from 1960 onwards. He died shortly after his 76th birthday in a Schwalbach nursing home.

Literature

: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945.''''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945.''
/ref> S. Fischer, Frankfurt, 2007, .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Frickhoeffer, Otto 1892 births 1968 deaths People from Bad Schwalbach 20th-century German composers German conductors (music) Corps students Militant League for German Culture members Alldeutscher Verband members German people of World War I Principal conductors of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony