Sándor Jemnitz
Encyclopedia
Sándor Jemnitz, also known as Alexander Jemnitz (9 August 1890 in Budapest
– 8 August 1963 in Balatonföldvár
), was a Hungarian composer
, conductor
, music critic
and author.
at the Budapest Music Academy
from 1906 to 1908, then continued his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory where he studied organ
with Karl Straube
, violin
with Hans Sitt
, composition with Max Reger
, and conducting
with Arthur Nikisch
. From 1913 to 1915 Jemnitz lived in Berlin
and studied composition with Arnold Schoenberg
and began writing articles on music, several of which were published in Die Musik in 1914 and 1915.
Jemnitz returned to Hungary in 1916 and wrote for various newspapers and periodicals. From 1924 to 1950 he was regular music critic of the Népszava
newspaper, in which post he established himself as one of the most respected Hungarian critics of the period. Jemnitz taught at the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Music in Budapest from 1951. During his last years, he published several popular books on composers including Felix Mendelssohn
, Frédéric Chopin
and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
.
Jemnitz's musical style is heavily influenced by Reger and Schoenberg. His compositions include works for orchestra and keyboard, as well as vocal, choral and chamber music.
Orchestral
Chamber and instrumental music
Organ
Piano
Vocal
Choral
Writings
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
– 8 August 1963 in Balatonföldvár
Balatonföldvár
Balatonföldvár is a small town in Somogy county, Hungary. It is situated on the south side of Lake Balaton, approximately 120 km southwest from Budapest...
), was a Hungarian 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...
, 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...
, music critic
Music journalism
Music journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
and author.
Biography
Jemnitz studied composition with János KoesslerHans von Koessler
Hans von Koessler was a German composer, conductor and music teacher. In Hungary, where he worked for 26 years, he was known as János Koessler....
at the Budapest Music Academy
Franz Liszt Academy of Music
The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875...
from 1906 to 1908, then continued his studies at the Leipzig Conservatory where he studied organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
with Karl Straube
Karl Straube
Montgomery Rufus Karl/Carl Siegfried Straube was a German church musician , organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. He studied organ under Heinrich Reimann in Berlin from 1894 to 1897 and became a widely respected concert organist...
, violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
with Hans Sitt
Hans Sitt
Jan Hanuš Sitt, known as Hans Sitt, , was a Bohemian-German violinist, violist, teacher, and composer. During his lifetime, he was regarded as one of the foremost teachers of violin...
, composition with Max Reger
Max Reger
Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher.-Life:...
, and conducting
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...
with Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch ; 12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London and - most importantly - Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of Bruckner, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven and Liszt...
. From 1913 to 1915 Jemnitz lived 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...
and studied composition with Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
and began writing articles on music, several of which were published in Die Musik in 1914 and 1915.
Jemnitz returned to Hungary in 1916 and wrote for various newspapers and periodicals. From 1924 to 1950 he was regular music critic of the Népszava
Népszava
Népszava is a Social-democratic newspaper established in 1877 in Budapest by Viktor Külföldi. It was the official newspaper of the Hungarian Social Democratic Party until 1948....
newspaper, in which post he established himself as one of the most respected Hungarian critics of the period. Jemnitz taught at the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Music in Budapest from 1951. During his last years, he published several popular books on composers including Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
and 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...
.
Jemnitz's musical style is heavily influenced by Reger and Schoenberg. His compositions include works for orchestra and keyboard, as well as vocal, choral and chamber music.
Selected works
Stage- Divertimento, Ballet in 3 scenes (1921, 1947); arrangement of Concerto for Chamber Orchestra
Orchestral
- 7 Miniatures (Hét miniatűr nagyzenekarra) (1919, 1947); partial orchestration of 17 Bagatelles for piano
- Concerto for chamber orchestra, Op. 12 (1921); arranged as the ballet Divertimento
- Prelude and Fugue, Op. 13 (1933)
- Nyitány békeünnepélyre (Overture for a Peace Festival), Op. 58 (1951)
- Concerto for string orchestra, Op. 61 (1954)
Chamber and instrumental music
- String Quartet [No. 1], Op. 2b (1911)
- Quartet for violin, viola, cello and organ, Op. 7 (1918)
- Sonata No. 1 in A minor for violin and piano, Op. 10 (1920)
- Sonata No. 2 in D minor for violin and piano, Op. 14 (1920)
- Sonata in D minor for cello and piano, Op. 17 (1922)
- Sonata No. 1 in A minor for violin solo, Op. 18 (1922)
- Trio for 2 oboes and English horn, Op. 19 No. 1 (1925)
- Trio for flute, violin and viola, Op. 19 No. 2 (1923)
- String Trio, Op. 21 (1924)
- Sonata No. 3 for violin and piano, Op. 22 (1923)
- Serenade for violin, viola and cello, Op. 24 (1927)
- Duo-Sonata for viola and cello, Op. 25 (1927)
- Sonata for flute and piano, Op. 27 (1930–1931)
- Duo-Sonata for saxophone and banjo, Op. 28 (1934)
- Partita for 2 violins, Op. 29 (1932)
- Sonata for cello solo, Op. 31 (1933)
- Trio for violin, viola and guitar, Op. 33 (1932)
- Sonata for harp, Op. 34 (1933)
- Sonata for double bass solo, Op. 36 (1935)
- Sonata No. 2 for violin solo, Op. 37 (1935)
- Sonata for trumpet solo, Op. 39 (1938)
- Quartet for 3 trumpets and bass trumpetBass trumpetThe bass trumpet is a type of low trumpet which was first developed during the 1820s in Germany. It is usually pitched in 8' C or 9' B today, but is sometimes built in E and is treated as a transposing instrument sounding either an octave, a sixth or a ninth lower than written, depending on the...
, Op. 41a (1925, transcribed 1941) - Sonata for flute solo, Op. 43 (1938)
- Sonata No. 3 for violin solo, Op. 44 (1938)
- Sonata for viola solo, Op. 46 (1941)
- String Quartet [No. 2], Op. 55 (1950)
- Suite No. 1 for violin and piano, Op. 57 (1952)
- Suite No. 2 for violin and piano, Op. 60 (1953)
- Capriccio for violin and piano, Op. 60b (1953)
- A levél (The Letter) for double bass solo, Op. 69 (1956)
- Trio for flute, oboe and clarinet, Op. 70 (1958)
- Fantasia, Intermezzo, Burla for clarinet and piano, Op. 74 (1965)
Organ
- Introductio, passacaglia e fuga, Op. 1 (1914)
- Sonata per pedale (Organ Pedal Sonata), Op. 42 (1938)
- Sonata No. 1, Op. 68 (1955)
- Sonata No. 2, Op. 72 (1957)
Piano
- Aus der Regerstunde, 3 Pieces, Op. 2a (1915)
- 2 Sonatinas, Op. 4 (1919)
- 17 Bagatelles, Op. 5 (1919); partially orchestrated as 7 Minitures (1947)
- Sonata No. 1, Op. 8 (1914)
- Fegyvertánc (War Dance) (1921)
- Ornament (1925)
- Sonata No. 2 "Dance Sonata" (Tanzsonate), Op. 23 (1927)
- Sonata No. 3, Op. 26 (1929)
- Sonata No. 4, Op. 30 (1933)
- Recueil, Op. 38 (1938–1945)
- Táncra I (For Dance I), Op. 56 (1950)
- 8 Pieces (1951)
- Táncra II (For Dance II), Op. 65 (1953–1954)
- Sonata No. 5, Op. 64 (1954)
- Ugrós tánc (Leaping Dance) for piano 4-hands (1958)
Vocal
- An einen Boten for voice and piano (published c.1914); words from Des Knaben WunderhornDes Knaben WunderhornDes Knaben Wunderhorn is a collection of German folk poems edited by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano, and published in Heidelberg, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, between 1805 and 1808...
- 9 Lieder for voice and piano, Op. 3; also published as Op. 2
- Schicksal for voice and piano (1919); words by Ludwig UhlandLudwig UhlandJohann Ludwig Uhland , was a German poet, philologist and literary historian.-Biography:He was born in Tübingen, then Duchy of Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest in medieval literature, especially old German and French poetry...
- 9 Lieder for bass and piano, Op. 6 (published 1920)
- 2 Songs (1922); words by T. Raith
- 5 Uhlandlieder (5 Uhland Songs) for voice and piano, Op. 11 (published 1925); words by Ludwig UhlandLudwig UhlandJohann Ludwig Uhland , was a German poet, philologist and literary historian.-Biography:He was born in Tübingen, then Duchy of Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest in medieval literature, especially old German and French poetry...
- 11 Lieder for voice and piano, Op. 15
- Három Kassák-dal (3 Kassák Songs) for voice and piano, Op. 50; words by Lajos KassákLajos KassákLajos Kassák was a Hungarian poet, novelist, painter, essayist, editor, theoretician of the avant-garde and occasional translator, was the father of many modernisms....
- 6 Songs on Poems of Dezső Kosztolányi (6 Dal) for voice and piano, Op. 62; words by Dezső KosztolányiDezso Kosztolányi-Biography:Kosztolányi was born in Szabadka, Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1885, the town belongs today to Serbia. The city serves as a model for the fictional town of Sárszeg, in which he set his novella Skylark as well as The Golden Kite....
Choral
- 7 Male Choruses (Sieben männerchöre) for male chorus a cappella, Op. 16; words by Ernst LissauerErnst LissauerErnst Lissauer was a German-Jewish poet and dramatist remembered for the phrase Gott strafe England.He also created the Hassgesang gegen England, or ""....
Writings
- Bachtól Bartókig (From Bach to Bartók) (1937)
- Szenvedélyek színpadán (On the Stage of Passions) (1943)
- Schumann, a zeneszerző élete leveleiben (Schumann, The Composer's Life in Letters) (1958)
- Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1958)
- Beethoven élete leveleiben (Beethoven's Life in His Letters) (1960)
- Fryderyk Chopin (1960)
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1961)
Discography
- Jemnitz: Sonata for flute solo – Solos: 20th Century Hungarian Works for Flute; Gergely Ittzés (flute); Hungaroton (1999)
- Jemnitz: Sonata for viola solo – Chamber Music; László Bársony (viola); Hungaroton 31991 (2001)
- Jemnitz: Trio for violin, viola and guitar – Benjamin Hudson (violin); Kim KashkashianKim KashkashianKim Kashkashian is an Armenian-American violist.-Professional career:Kim Kashkashian studied the viola with Karen Tuttle. She also studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. She won the 2nd prize at the 1980 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and the 1980 ARD International Music...
(viola); David StarobinDavid StarobinDavid Starobin is an American classical guitarist, record producer, and film director. He is married to Rebecca Askew Starobin , and is the father of Robert Joseph Starobin III , and Allegra Rose Starobin David Starobin (born September 27, 1951 in New York City) is an American classical...
(guitar); A Song from the East, Bridge Classics BDG 9004 (1987); David Starobin Favorite Tracks Vol. 2, Bridge Classics BDG 9292 (2009)
Sources
- Czigány, Gyula (1979). Contemporary Hungarian Composers, 4th Edition, Budapest, Editio Musica, pp. 80-81.