Ida Marie Lipsius
Encyclopedia
Ida Marie Lipsius, alias La Mara (* 30 December 1837 at Leipzig
; † 2 March 1927 at Schmölen
) was a German
writer
and music historian
.
where she was given a profound musical training, thus by the Saxon composer Richard Müller. Her three brothers were the theologian Richard Adelbert Lipsius
, the architect Constantin Lipsius
and the classical scholar Justus Hermann Lipsius
. In 1856, at nineteen, she met Franz Liszt
at a concert to whose closer friends she should belong from henceforth. During the ending 19th and starting 20th century, she played an influent role in the German music business, especially at the grand-ducal Weimar
ian court and in the Richard Wagner
circle at Bayreuth. An intimate friend to Liszt's long-time life partner, the princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein
, she was distinguished with the title of professor
in honor of her eightieth birthday in 1917.
. Her well-nuanced, empathetically written portraits often were inspired by her personal acquaintance to many of whom she described and also may be characterized as authentic testimonies of a female contemporary involved in the German music society of her epoch - a character in which their importance for today music history mostly consists.
Marie Lipsius was the first musicologist to conduct systematic research to identify Beethoven's mysterious "Immortal Beloved
": In 1909, she published Therese Brunsvik's Memoirs, and she interpreted her glowing admiration of the composer as a secret love. This was revised after the World War I, when letters and other documents were discovered in the Brunsvik estate, which pointed to Therese's sister Josephine Brunsvik
.
A part from her original writings, Marie also took care of an edition of the correspondence of Franz Liszt. In 1917, her autobiography was published.
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
; † 2 March 1927 at Schmölen
Bennewitz
Bennewitz is a municipality in the Leipzig district in Saxony, Germany....
) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and music historian
History of music
Music is found in every known culture, past and present, varying wildly between times and places. Around 50,000 years ago, early modern humans began to disperse from Africa, reaching all the habitable continents...
.
Life
Marie Lipsius was born as daughter of the later director of the Leipzig Thomasschule Karl Heinrich Adelbert Lipsius and grew up at LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
where she was given a profound musical training, thus by the Saxon composer Richard Müller. Her three brothers were the theologian Richard Adelbert Lipsius
Richard Adelbert Lipsius
Richard Adelbert Lipsius was a distinguished German theologian.Lipsius was a professor in succession at Vienna, Kiel, and Jena. He wrote on dogmatics, the philosophy of religion, and New Testament criticism, particularly the apocryphal acts of various apostles in his Apocrypha, Acts and Legends of...
, the architect Constantin Lipsius
Constantin Lipsius
Johannes Wilhelm Constantin Lipsius was a German architect and architectural theorist, best known for his controversial design of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and Exhibition Building on the Brühl Terrace in Dresden, today known as the Lipsius-Bau.After attending Gymnasium, Lipsius initially...
and the classical scholar Justus Hermann Lipsius
Justus Hermann Lipsius
Justus Hermann Lipsius was a German classical scholar, born at Leipzig, professor of the university of his native city after 1869. He was editor of Andocides and of Demosthenes, On the Crown , reviser of Meier and Schömann's Der attische Prozess and of Schömann's Griechische Altertümer Justus...
. In 1856, at nineteen, she met Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
at a concert to whose closer friends she should belong from henceforth. During the ending 19th and starting 20th century, she played an influent role in the German music business, especially at the grand-ducal Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
ian court and in the Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
circle at Bayreuth. An intimate friend to Liszt's long-time life partner, the princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein
Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein
Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein was a Polish noblewoman who pursued a 40-year liaison/relationship with Franz Liszt. She was also an amateur journalist and essayist and it is conjectured that she did much of the actual writing of several of Liszt's publications, especially his Life of Chopin...
, she was distinguished with the title of professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
in honor of her eightieth birthday in 1917.
Work
Besides several early written travel sketches, under her alias "La Mara", Marie published a lot of musician biographies, concerning dead as well as contemporaries of hers, which, beginning from 1867, first were printed in the Westermanns Monatshefte before being edited in the then popular series Musikalische Studienköpfe (musical study portraits) by the house Breitkopf & HärtelBreitkopf & Härtel
Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf . The catalogue currently contains over 1000 composers, 8000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on music. The name "Härtel" was added when Gottfried...
. Her well-nuanced, empathetically written portraits often were inspired by her personal acquaintance to many of whom she described and also may be characterized as authentic testimonies of a female contemporary involved in the German music society of her epoch - a character in which their importance for today music history mostly consists.
Marie Lipsius was the first musicologist to conduct systematic research to identify Beethoven's mysterious "Immortal Beloved
Immortal Beloved
Immortal Beloved may refer to:*Immortal Beloved, the name given by composer Ludwig van Beethoven to an unknown person in a famous love letter.*Immortal Beloved , a 1994 film about the life of Beethoven....
": In 1909, she published Therese Brunsvik's Memoirs, and she interpreted her glowing admiration of the composer as a secret love. This was revised after the World War I, when letters and other documents were discovered in the Brunsvik estate, which pointed to Therese's sister Josephine Brunsvik
Josephine Brunsvik
Josephine Brunsvik was probably the most important woman in the life of Ludwig van Beethoven, as documented by at least 15 love letters he wrote her where he called her his “only beloved”, being “eternally devoted” to her and “forever faithful”...
.
A part from her original writings, Marie also took care of an edition of the correspondence of Franz Liszt. In 1917, her autobiography was published.
As author
- Musikalische Studienköpfe, 5 vol., Leipzig 1868-1882:
- Hector Berlioz, Leipzig 51913.
- Joseph Haydn, Leipzig 51913.
- Adolf Henselt, Leipzig 91919.
- Edvard Grieg, Leipzig 91919.
- Franz Schubert, Leipzig 121919.
- Johann Sebastian Bach, Leipzig 71919.
- Johannes Brahms, Leipzig 1919.
- Richard Wagner, Leipzig 121919.
- Robert Schumann, Leipzig 12 1919.
- Anton Rubinstein, Leipzig 91920.
- Carl Maria von Weber, Leipzig 121920.
- Felix Mendelssohn, Leipzig 121920.
- Franz Liszt, Leipzig 131920.
- Georg Friedrich Händel, Leipzig 6-71921.
- Hans von Bülow, Leipzig 9-101921.
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Leipzig 8-91922.
- Christoph Willibald Gluck, Leipzig 6-71923.
- Ludwig van Beethoven, Leipzig 10-121923.
- Friedrich Chopin, Leipzig 41924.
- Classisches und Romantisches aus der Tonwelt, Leipzig 1892.
- Beethovens unsterbliche Geliebte. Das Geheimnis der Gräfin Brunswik und ihre Memoiren, Leipzig 1909.
- Liszt und die Frauen, Leipzig 1911.
- Beethoven und die Brunsviks. Nach Familienpapieren aus Therese Brunsviks Nachlass, Leipzig 1920.
- An der Schwelle des Jenseits. Letzte Erinnerungen an die Fürstin Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein, die Freundin Liszts, Leipzig 1925.
As editor
- Franz Liszt:
- Franz Liszt's Briefe, 8 vol., Leipzig 1893-1905.
- Correspondance entre Franz Liszt et Hans von Bülow, Leipzig 1899. (French)
- Correspondance entre Franz Liszt et Charles Alexandre (Grand-Duc de Saxe), Leipzig 1909. (French)
- Franz Liszts Briefe an seine Mutter. Aus dem Frz., Leipzig 1918.
- Aus der Glanzzeit der Weimarer Altenburg. Bilder und Briefe aus dem Leben dem Fürstin Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein, Leipzig 1906.