Theodore Eisfeld (April 11, 1816,

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

Duchy of Brunswick The Duchy of Brunswick () was a historical German state that ceased to exist in 1918. Its capital city, capital was the city of Braunschweig, Brunswick (). It was established as the successor state of the Principality of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel ...

– 16 September 1882,

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) was a conductor, most notably of the New York Philharmonic Society, which became the New York Philharmonic.

Biography

Eisfeld's chief instructor in musical composition was Carl Gottlieb Reissiger, of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. Between 1839 and 1843, he served as

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

of the Court Theatre at Wiesbaden.Thomas (1905), p. 35 He came to New York in 1848, and in 1849 was the first man chosen by the New York Philharmonic Society to be sole conductor for an entire season (prior to this time it had been customary for several musicians to share the conducting duties). He began the custom of giving an annual Christmas performance of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

's ''

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''. He also introduced the first regular concerts of chamber music in New York. From 1849 through the 1865/1866 season, when he resigned, Eisfeld often served as conductor of the New York Philharmonic Society.Thomas (1905), p. 149 In this period it was customary for the conductor to change from season to season, sometimes with two men sharing the duties. On 18 February 1851, he began a series of quartet concerts, the first of which was given at Hope Chapel. Eisfeld was also the first conductor of the Brooklyn Philharmonic Society, which was founded in 1857. He continued in this position, alternating with Theodore Thomas between 1862 and 1865, before Thomas took over. This period also saw the composition of some brief works by Eisfeld. On Eisfeld's return trip from a visit to Europe in September 1858, he was one of the few survivors of the burning of the steamship where he was lashed to a platform and so drifted on the ocean, without food, for nearly two days and nights. He wrote a letter of gratitude to the d'Orey family d'Orey, Guilherme, "O Prussiano Romantico: Paixoes, Aventuras e Lutas A Vida Extraordinaria do Fundador da Familia Albuquerque d'Orey", Lisboa Press 2021 in Faial for their care, published on Dwight's Journal of Music in 1859 on p.25

Eisfeld never recovered from this extraordinary prostration, returning to Germany in 1866, and remaining there until his death in Wiesbaden at 66. In his autobiography, Theodore Thomas described Eisfeld as follows:

Conductors of the New York Philharmonic Society, 1849 - 1865

* 1849-1854 EisfeldRitter (1883), p. 348 * 1854-1855 Eisfeld and Henry Timm * 1855-1856 Carl Bergmann * 1856-1858 Eisfeld * 1858-1859 Bergmann * 1859-1865 Bergmann and Eisfeld

Notes

References

*
''Opera Almanac''

External links

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Eisfeld, Theodore 1816 births 1882 deaths American conductors (music) American male conductors (music) German conductors (music) German male conductors (music) Immigrants to the United States Music directors of the New York Philharmonic 19th-century conductors (music) 19th-century American musicians People from Wolfenbüttel People from the Duchy of Brunswick 19th-century German musicians