Richard Franz Joseph Heuberger (18 June 1850 in
Graz, Austria – 28 October 1914 in
Vienna, Austria) was an
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
n
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 ...
of
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") is typically ...
s and
operettas, a music
critic
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...
, and teacher.
Heuberger was born in
Graz
Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...
, the son of a
bandage manufacturer.
He initially studied engineering, but gave it up in 1876, and turned to music. He studied at the
Graz Conservatory (where he studied with
Robert Fuchs), and later transferred to
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, where he eventually became the chorus master of the Wiener Akademischer Gesangverein, conductor of the
Wiener Singakademie
The Wiener Singakademie is a choir in Vienna, Austria.
History
As the first mixed choir in Vienna, the Wiener Singakademie was founded in 1858 to establish a "Singübungsanstalt" - an institution for the training of voices. It aims to promote th ...
, director of the
Wiener Männergesang-Verein (Vienna Men's Choral Association), and a teacher at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien.
As a music critic he wrote for the ''
Neues Wiener Tagblatt'' in 1881, the ''Allgemeine Zeitung'' in Munich in 1889, and (succeeding
Hanslick) for the ''
Neue Freie Presse'' from 1896 until 1901. He also edited the ''Musikbuch aus Österreich'' (1904–6).
[Andrew Lamb. 'Heuberger, Richard (Franz Joseph)' in ''Grove Music Online'' (2001)]
Although Heuberger wrote many
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") is typically ...
s,
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
s, choral works, and songs, he is best known today for his operetta ''
Der Opernball'', composed in 1898.
He taught at the
Vienna Conservatory from 1902. Among his pupils was
Clemens Krauss.
Selected works
Operettas
*''
Der Opernball'' (1898)
*''Ihre Excellenz'' (1899), revised as ''Eine entzückende Frau''
*''Der Sechsuhrzug'' (1900)
*''Das Baby'' (1902)
*''Der Fürst von Düsterstein'' (1909)
*''Don Quixote'' (1910)
Operas
*''Abenteuer einer Neujahrsnacht'' (1886)
*''Manuel Venegas'' (1889), revised as ''Mirjam, oder Das Maifest'' (1894)
*''Barfüssele'' (1905)
Ballets
*''Die Lautenschlägerin'' (1896)
*''Struwwelpeter'' (1897)
References
External links
*
Biography!-- not quite dead but does not quite seem to work?-->
* (Another good biography)
*
Songs by Richard Heuberger on The Art Song Project
1850 births
1914 deaths
Composers from Austria-Hungary
19th-century Austrian classical composers
20th-century Austrian classical composers
Austrian music critics
Austrian opera composers
Austrian Romantic composers
Austrian male opera composers
Musicians from Graz
Pupils of Wilhelm Mayer (composer)
20th-century Austrian male musicians
19th-century Austrian male musicians
Brahms scholars
Schubert scholars
Schumann scholars
Zemlinsky scholars
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