Scan 94
Groves Dictionary Of Music And Musicians,vol.3, 1907
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1As a boy he had a lovely voice and a strong turn for music. He was put to the Kreuzschule at Dresden about 1669, where he became a 'Rathsdiscountist,' and obtained regular instruction in music. On the breaking of his voice he worked the harder, and in addition to his music learned Italian. The plague in 1680 drove him home, but Geising was no field for his talent, and he went to Zittau and worked in the school, till the excellence of a motet which he wrote for the Rathswahl, or election of the town council, procured him the post of cantor, with a salary on which he could study at leisure. He began by lecturing on French. His next move was to Leipzig, in 1682, whither his fame had preceded him, and in that city of music he cast anchor for the rest of his life. In 1684 he succeeded Kühnel as organist at St. Thomas's. In 1688 he founded a 'Collegium Musicum,' or set of concerts. At the same time he was studying law, and qualified himself for the rank of advocate. In 1700 he was made musical director of the University and of the two principal churches, and in 1701 cantor. After this no further rise was possible. He left translations from Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Italian and French, and wrote satirical poetry of no common order. Of his works on music the following are named: Jura circa musicos ecclesiasticos (Leipzig, 1688); Der musikalische Quacksalber … in einer kurzweiligen und angenehmen Historie … beschrieben (Dresden, 1700); Tractatus de tetrachordo; Introductio ad compositionem; and Disputatio de triade—the last three in MS. He wrote motets on Chorals, and other sacred pieces; but his clavier music is his glory, and he is the greatest figure among German composers for the clavier before Bach. He was the inventor of the sonata as a piece in several movements, not dance-tunes—the first of which, 'Eine Sonata aus dem B,' in three movements, is found in his 'Sieben Partien' (Leipzig, 1695). He followed this with thirteen others—'Frische Clavier-Früchte, oder sieben Sonaten' (Dresden and Leipzig, 1696); 'Biblische Historien nebst Auslegung in sechs Sonaten'—the last a curious offspring of the musician and the divine, and a very early instance of Programme music. J. S. Shedlock edited several of these quaint Bible sonatas for Novello & Co., and describes them fully in his Pianoforte Sonata. The whole set were published in the D.D.T., vol. iv., edited by K. Päslar. In addition to these he published 'Clavierübung aus 14 Partien … bestehend' (Leipzig, 1689)—a collection of Suites, that is, of dance-tunes. Becker has republished two of Kuhnau's pieces in his 'Ausgewählte Tonstücke'; and Pauer, who introduced several of them to the English public in his chronological performances in 1862 and 1863, printed a suite in his 'Alte Claviermusik' (Senff), and a Sonata in his 'Alte Meister' (Breitkopf).
3Birl.—Sammelbände of the Int. Mus. Ges., 1902, p. 473, list 64 literary and musical works in Q.L.; A. Schering, Ein Memorial Joh Kuhnaus, Z.M.W., Aug.-Sept. 1923, pp. 612-15; R. Rolland, Musical Tour through the Land of the Past (Eng. trans. B. Mall, 1922) contains an excellent account of the Musikalische Quacksalber.
5G., with addns.
7KULLAK, (1) THEODOR (b. Krotoschin, province of Posen, Sept. 12, 1818; d. Mar. 1, 1882), was famous chiefly as teacher of the piano. His father held the post of 'Landgerichts-sekretär' at Krotoschin. He was first intended for the law, but preferred to devote himself to music. He was a pupil of Hauck from his eleventh year, having previously been under the tuition of Albert Agthe. In 1837 he went to Berlin to study medicine. In 1842 he became a pupil of Czerny, and in 1846 was made Hofpianist to the King of Prussia. He founded, in conjunction with Stern and Marx, a Conservatorium at Berlin in 1850; and in 1855, in consequence of some disagreement with his fellow-workers, he started a new institution under the name of 'Neue Akademie der Tonkunst' in the same city, where he resided until his death. He devoted his attention principally to the 'drawing-room' style of composition, and published many transcriptions and arrangements for the piano, which are very popular. Of his original works the following are the most remarkable:
9(Grand concerto in C minor for piano and orchestra (op. 55) Trio for piano and strings (op. 77); Duos for piano and violin, Ballades, Boleros, etc., for piano solo, 'Les Etrangères,' 'Les Danandes,' 'La Gazelle,' etc.; also collections of small pieces, such as 'Deux Portefeuilles de musique,' 'Kinderleben,' two sets of pieces (op. 81), 'Les Fleurs animées.' Among his later works may be mentioned 'Ondine' (op. 112), 'Concert-étude' (op. 121)
11In 1877 he published a second edition of his 'Octave-school,' which is very valuable as an instruction book.
13His brother, (2) ADOLF (b. Feb. 23, 1823; d. Berlin, Dec. 25, 1862), was a distinguished musical critic in Berlin, and wrote Das Musikalisch-Schöne (Leipzig, 1858), and Aesthetik des Clavierspiels (Berlin, 1861).
15(3) FRANZ (b. Berlin, Apr. 12, 1844; d. there Dec. 9, 1913), son of Theodor, was educated in his father's Akademie, and produced some educational works as well as compositions. His opera 'Mes de Castro' was given in Berlin in 1877.
17(4) ERNST (b. Berlin, Jan. 22, 1855), son of Adolf, became a well-known teacher of the piano and of composition in Berlin (Riemann).
19KUMMER, FRIEDRICH AUGUST (b. Meiningen, Aug. 5, 1797; d. Dresden, May 22, 1879), a great violoncellist. His father (an oboist) migrated to Dresden, where the lad learnt the violoncello under Dotzauer. It was his ambition to enter the King's band, but as there was then no vacancy for a violoncellist, he took up the oboe, and soon attained such proficiency as to obtain the desired appointment, in Nov. 1814. In 1817 he again took up his original instrument, and in time became known as the most accomplished virtuoso in Germany. With the exception of occasional musical tours
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