Peter Heise (11 February 1830 – 12 September 1879) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

composer, best known for the

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

'' Drot og Marsk'' (''King and Marshal''). Heise's parents tried to press him into becoming a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solici ...

, but he scored highly in music at school, so he changed direction. He began writing songs at the age of 19. As a young man he collected several hundred folk songs directly from ordinary people. He used these tunes in ''Tornerose'' (Sleeping Beauty) and ''Bergliot'' (A Danish historical romance). He studied under

Niels Wilhelm Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Denmark, Danish composer, conducting, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day. Bio ...

, who was a major influence on his style. From 1857 to 1865 he was a teacher and organist at

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

Academy. He did a setting of Hans Christian Andersen's poem ''Jylland mellem tvende Have'' (Jutland between two seas) in 1860. The opera '' Drot og Marsk'' tells the story of the murder of a medieval king, and contains some folk ballads. It shows a

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

influence. His setting of the

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

song ''When I was and a little tiny boy'' and ''Five Erotic songs'' are also in print. Many of his songs, usually for soprano and piano, concern dreams, folk-tales and the Middle Ages. Although his instrumental works are almost uniformly excellent, because of the tremendous popularity of his songs, they were overlooked. Among his chamber music works are 6

string quartet The term string quartet can refer 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 violinist ...

s, a

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in classical chamber music. The term can also refer to a group of musi ...

, a

piano quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...

, and a number of instrumental sonatas His Piano Quintet in F Major, composed in 1869, was widely regarded as a major work. Unfortunately, the work remained in manuscript for 140 years. However, in 2009, the world premiere edition of the parts to the Quintet was published by Edition Silvertrust. They have also reprinted his

Cello Sonata A cello sonata is usually a sonata written for solo cello with piano accompaniment. The most famous Romantic-era cello sonatas are those written by Johannes Brahms and Ludwig van Beethoven. Some of the earliest cello sonatas were written in the 1 ...

(1867) and his Two Fantasy Pieces for Cello and Piano.

Personal life

He married Vilhelmine Hage (1838–1912), a daughter of the wealthy merchant Alfred Hage. The couple had no children. They moved from Sorø to Copenhagen in 1865. They first lived at

Kongens Nytorv Kongens Nytorv ( lit. "The King's New Square") is a public square in Copenhagen, Denmark, centrally located at the end of the pedestrian street Strøget. The largest square of the city, it was laid out by Christian V in 1670 in connection wi ...

18 (1866–1867) and then at

6 (demolished) from 1868 to 1879. They visited

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

in 1861–1862, 1867, 1868–1869 and 1879 and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

in the spring of 1865.

References

*
Peter Heise Piano Quintet, Cello Sonata and Fantasy Pieces
soundbites and discussion of works. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heise, Peter Heise 1830 births 1879 deaths 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Danish composers 19th-century male musicians Burials at Holmen Cemetery Danish classical composers Danish male classical composers Danish Romantic composers People from Copenhagen