Marianne Kirchgessner
Encyclopedia
Marianne Kirchgessner, born Maria Antonia Kirchgessner (also Mariana, Marianne - Kirchgessner, Kirchgäßner) on 5 June 1769 in Bruchsal
, Germany
, was a German
glass harmonica
player left blind by eye disease as a result of smallpox
when she was only four years old. Kirchgessner's artistic qualities brought her the attention of great composers such as Aldo Clementi
, Johann Gottlieb Naumann
, Johann Friedrich Fasch
, Johann Friedrich Reichardt
and Franz Anton Hoffmeister
.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
in the last year of his life in Vienna
composed for her one of his best works for this instrument, the Quintet
Adagio and Rondo for glass harmonica flute, cello, oboe and violla in C major K. 617, as well as the Adagio for glass harmonica solo K356/617a.
, and his wife Maria Teresa, neé Waßmuthin, she began playing the clavier with great skill and expression at the age of 6. At 11 she went to study the glass harmonica for 10 year with kapellmeister
Joseph Aloys Schimittbauer (1718-1809) in Karlsruhe
. In the spring of 1791 she went on her first tour in the company of music journalist and biographer Heinrich Philipp Bossler (1744-1812) and his wife.
After that she traveled throughout Europe for ten years, visiting Prague
, Dresden
, Leipzig
, Berlin
, Hamburg
and Magdeburg
, playing four times at the Prussian
court for King Friedrich Wilhelm II in Berlin
. During her two year stay in London
between 1794-1796, a new instrument was specially built for her by the German-born mechanic Fröschel. This instrument thus accompanied her on all her further cultural tours.
She continued touring and giving concerts in Hanover
and Frankfurt
, Stuttgart
, Leipzig, Berlin and Carlsbad
, where she met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
in the summer of 1808. A concert tour in the cold winter of that year was Marianne's first and last visit to Switzerland
. She died in fever due to lung inflamation in the early hours of 9 December 1808 after catching a cold on her journey from Radbruch
to Odenheim and then on to Schaffhausen.
Bruchsal
Bruchsal is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany...
, Germany
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...
, 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...
glass harmonica
Glass harmonica
The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica , is a type of musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls or goblets graduated in size to produce musical tones by means of friction The glass harmonica, also known as the glass...
player left blind by eye disease as a result of smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
when she was only four years old. Kirchgessner's artistic qualities brought her the attention of great composers such as Aldo Clementi
Aldo Clementi
-Life:Aldo Clementi was born in Catania, Italy. He studied the piano, graduating in 1946. His studies in composition began in 1941, and his teachers included Alfredo Sangiorgi and Goffredo Petrassi. After receiving his diploma in 1954, he attended the Darmstadt summer courses from 1955 to 1962...
, Johann Gottlieb Naumann
Johann Gottlieb Naumann
Johann Gottlieb Naumann was a German composer, conductor, and Kapellmeister.- Life :...
, Johann Friedrich Fasch
Johann Friedrich Fasch
Johann Friedrich Fasch was a German violinist and composer.Fasch was born in Buttelstedt, was a choirboy in Weissenfels and studied under Johann Kuhnau at the famous St. Thomas School in Leipzig and later founded a Collegium Musicum in that city...
, Johann Friedrich Reichardt
Johann Friedrich Reichardt
Johann Friedrich Reichardt was a German composer, writer and music critic.-Early life:Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and Stadtmusiker Johann Reichardt . Johann Friedrich began his musical training, in violin, keyboard, and lute, as a child...
and Franz Anton Hoffmeister
Franz Anton Hoffmeister
Franz Anton Hoffmeister was a German composer and music publisher.Born in Rottenburg am Neckar, he went to Vienna at the age of fourteen to study law...
.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
in the last year of his life 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...
composed for her one of his best works for this instrument, the Quintet
Quintet
A quintet is a group containing five members.It is commonly associated with musical groups, such as a string quintet, or a group of five singers, but can be applied to any situation where five similar or related objects are considered a single unit....
Adagio and Rondo for glass harmonica flute, cello, oboe and violla in C major K. 617, as well as the Adagio for glass harmonica solo K356/617a.
Life
As the fifth daughter of Joseph Anton Kirchgäßner, a chamber paymaster from SpeyerSpeyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
, and his wife Maria Teresa, neé Waßmuthin, she began playing the clavier with great skill and expression at the age of 6. At 11 she went to study the glass harmonica for 10 year with kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
Joseph Aloys Schimittbauer (1718-1809) in Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
. In the spring of 1791 she went on her first tour in the company of music journalist and biographer Heinrich Philipp Bossler (1744-1812) and his wife.
After that she traveled throughout Europe for ten years, visiting Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
, Leipzig
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...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
and Magdeburg
Magdeburg
Magdeburg , is the largest city and the capital city of the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Magdeburg is situated on the Elbe River and was one of the most important medieval cities of Europe....
, playing four times at the Prussian
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
court for King Friedrich Wilhelm II in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. During her two year stay in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
between 1794-1796, a new instrument was specially built for her by the German-born mechanic Fröschel. This instrument thus accompanied her on all her further cultural tours.
She continued touring and giving concerts in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
and Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Leipzig, Berlin and Carlsbad
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary is a spa city situated in western Bohemia, Czech Republic, on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá, approximately west of Prague . It is named after King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, who founded the city in 1370...
, where she met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
in the summer of 1808. A concert tour in the cold winter of that year was Marianne's first and last visit to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. She died in fever due to lung inflamation in the early hours of 9 December 1808 after catching a cold on her journey from Radbruch
Radbruch
Radbruch is a municipality in the district of Lüneburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany....
to Odenheim and then on to Schaffhausen.
Literature
- Bruno Hoffmann: Ein Leben für die Glasharfe, Niederland-Verlag, Backnang 1983, ISBN 3-923947-06-2
- Hermann Josef Ullrich: Die blinde Glasharmonikavirtuosin Marianne Kirchgeßner und Wien. Eine Künstlerin der empfindsamen Zeit, Verlag Hans Schneider, TutzingTutzingTutzing is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany and is situated on the west bank of the Starnberger See south of Munich...
1971
External links
- German Wikisource has original text related to this article: Marianne Kirchgeßner.