Franz Salmhofer
Encyclopedia
Franz Salmhofer was an Austria
n composer
, clarinetist, conductor
and poet
. He studied the clarinet, composition and musicology in Vienna
and was a pupil of Franz Schreker
and Franz Schmidt
. From 1929 to 1945 Salmhofer served as Kapellmeister of the Burgtheater
, from 1945 to 1954 he was director of the of Vienna State Opera
and followed by the Vienna Volksoper
from 1956 to 1963.
With a conception of music that took Romanticism as its starting point, he was regarded by many at the end of the 1920s as progressive, but not to an extent that would have endangered performances of his works in the 1930s and 1940s or that would have forced him to emigrate. Among the most widely performed of contemporary composers, he became known primarily through his operas; Iwan Tarassenko (1938) demonstrates the humanistic ideals of the ‘good man’, and both the ballet Österreichische Bauernhochzeit (1933) and the opera Das Werbekleid (1943) feature folk elements. His honours include the Austrian State Prize (1937) and the prize of the City of Vienna (1960).
Salmhofer died at age 75 in the city of his birth, Vienna
, Austria
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, clarinetist, conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
. He studied the clarinet, composition and musicology in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and was a pupil of Franz Schreker
Franz Schreker
Franz Schreker was an Austrian composer, conductor, teacher and administrator. Primarily a composer of operas, his style is characterized by aesthetic plurality , timbral experimentation, strategies of extended tonality and...
and Franz Schmidt
Franz Schmidt
Franz Schmidt was an Austrian composer, cellist and pianist of Hungarian descent and origin.- Life :Schmidt was born in Pozsony , in the Hungarian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire . His father was half Hungarian and his mother entirely Hungarian...
. From 1929 to 1945 Salmhofer served as Kapellmeister of the Burgtheater
Burgtheater
The Burgtheater , originally known as K.K. Theater an der Burg, then until 1918 as the K.K. Hofburgtheater, is the Austrian National Theatre in Vienna and one of the most important German language theatres in the world.The Burgtheater was created in 1741 and has become known as "die Burg" by the...
, from 1945 to 1954 he was director of the of Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
and followed by the Vienna Volksoper
Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
from 1956 to 1963.
With a conception of music that took Romanticism as its starting point, he was regarded by many at the end of the 1920s as progressive, but not to an extent that would have endangered performances of his works in the 1930s and 1940s or that would have forced him to emigrate. Among the most widely performed of contemporary composers, he became known primarily through his operas; Iwan Tarassenko (1938) demonstrates the humanistic ideals of the ‘good man’, and both the ballet Österreichische Bauernhochzeit (1933) and the opera Das Werbekleid (1943) feature folk elements. His honours include the Austrian State Prize (1937) and the prize of the City of Vienna (1960).
Salmhofer died at age 75 in the city of his birth, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
.
Sources
- Sigrid Wiesmann. The New Grove Dictionary of OperaNew Grove Dictionary of OperaThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
, edited by Stanley Sadie (1992), ISBN 0-333-73432-7 and ISBN 1-56159-228-5 - The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, by John Warrack and Ewan West (1992), ISBN 0-19-869164-5