Hans Carl Maria Rott was born on August 1, 1858
as an illegitimate child of Viennese thespians Carl Matthias Roth and Maria Rosalia
Lutz. Although Rott's father supported his artistic future, his parents' dysfunctional
home life left Rott scarred. 8 Even more unfortunate, his mother died when he was only fourteen. Rott
wrote in an 1880 letter to conductor Hans Richter, "Due to his musical nature, my father
recognized a talent for music in me; what else could he do than send me to the Conservatoire?"
Rott began his musical education in organ
studies with Anton Bruckner at the Vienna Conservatory in 1874. In the first few years,
the conservatory recognized Rott's abilities as both an organist and composer, and considered him a
valuable student. In 1875, Rott and Gustav Mahler together attended the same composition
course. Fellow conservatory classmates included their mutual lifelong friend Freidrich
Loehr, and composers Hugo Wolf and Rudolf Kryzanowski.Mahler admired Rott's work, although the
classmates were not close friends. They both participated in the same composition
contests, admired Bruckner's music, praised the works of Wagner, and fervently argued over
their artistic beliefs.
Rott became Bruckner's favorite student and
they developed a close relationship during his three years of his organ studies. "You will
not find a better young man. He is my best pupil so far," recommended Bruckner.
In 1876, his father died in poverty leaving
Rott penniless and devastated. He had to rely on private teaching, a church position, and his
close friends to sustain him. For the next two years he lived in a monastery, and began to
mentally and physically deteriorate.
Rott graduated from the Vienna Conservatory
with distinction in 1878. He soon resigned from his church post, but could not find work
in Vienna for the next two years. During this time, he fell in love with Loehr's sister, Louise.
Their relationship never developed due to Rott's
financial insecurities. By 1880, Rott had
produced an abundance of new works, including Pastoral Prelude for orchestra, String
Quartet in C minor, and the Symphony in E major.Rott ambitiously sought the attention of the
Viennese musical world by actively participating in composition competitions, but his efforts proved
unsuccessful.
Desperate for work, Rott was reluctant to leave
Vienna. He was awarded a choir position in Mulhouse, a city presently on the eastern
border of France. In route to Mulhouse, he became delusional, drawing a revolver on a man who was
merely lighting a cigar. In a mad rage, Rott claimed Brahms had planted dynamite onboard the
train. Rott was brought back Vienna and committed to the hospital for psychiatric
rehabilitation. He was eventually transferred to the Provincial Lunatic Asylum of Lower Austria.
After almost a complete year of therapy, the doctor's prognosis was negative, indicating: "successful
treatment no longer to be expected".
In 1881 Rott was granted a Vienna state
scholarship for musicians and awarded three hundred florins; equivalent to approximately three
thousand dollars today.Ironically,
the panel, which included Brahms, submitted feedback to
the composer. Their letter reads, "The compositions presented by Rott belong by all
means to the greater art forms…A not yet balanced but intensive talent, considering the
youth and serious ambitions of the composer, promises outstanding results reveals itself in
his works."
Rott was to remark in one of his sane moments, "I
have had better dreams for my future, my works have been acknowledged by great
masters, I had believed to achieve a modest existence in life. Now I realize that it had
been a hallow illusion and that I must die in the lunatic asylum."He died of tuberculosis on June 25, 1884,
slightly over one month before his twenty-sixth birthday.
Mahler wrote after Rott's death: "What music has lost in him
is immeasurable. His first symphony, written when he was a young man of twenty,
already soars to such heights of genius that it makes him – with exaggeration –
the Founder of the New Symphony as I understand it. It is true that he has not
yet fully realized his aims here. It is like someone taking a run for the
longest possible throw and not quite hitting the mark. But I know what he is
driving at. His innermost nature is so akin to mine that he
and I are like two fruits from the same tree, produced by the same soil, nourished by the
same air. We would have had an infinite amount in common. Perhaps we two might have
gone some way together towards exhausting the possibilities of this new age
that was then dawning in music.
Hans Rott
Biography
Hans Carl Maria Rott was born on August 1, 1858 as an illegitimate child of Viennese thespians Carl Matthias Roth and Maria Rosalia Lutz. Although Rott's father supported his artistic future, his parents' dysfunctional home life left Rott scarred. 8 Even more unfortunate, his mother died when he was only fourteen. Rott wrote in an 1880 letter to conductor Hans Richter, "Due to his musical nature, my father recognized a talent for music in me; what else could he do than send me to the Conservatoire?"
Rott began his musical education in organ studies with Anton Bruckner at the Vienna Conservatory in 1874. In the first few years, the conservatory recognized Rott's abilities as both an organist and composer, and considered him a valuable student. In 1875, Rott and Gustav Mahler together attended the same composition course. Fellow conservatory classmates included their mutual lifelong friend Freidrich Loehr, and composers Hugo Wolf and Rudolf Kryzanowski. Mahler admired Rott's work, although the classmates were not close friends. They both participated in the same composition contests, admired Bruckner's music, praised the works of Wagner, and fervently argued over their artistic beliefs.
Rott became Bruckner's favorite student and they developed a close relationship during his three years of his organ studies. "You will not find a better young man. He is my best pupil so far," recommended Bruckner.
In 1876, his father died in poverty leaving Rott penniless and devastated. He had to rely on private teaching, a church position, and his close friends to sustain him. For the next two years he lived in a monastery, and began to mentally and physically deteriorate.
Rott graduated from the Vienna Conservatory with distinction in 1878. He soon resigned from his church post, but could not find work in Vienna for the next two years. During this time, he fell in love with Loehr's sister, Louise. Their relationship never developed due to Rott's
financial insecurities. By 1880, Rott had produced an abundance of new works, including Pastoral Prelude for orchestra, String Quartet in C minor, and the Symphony in E major. Rott ambitiously sought the attention of the Viennese musical world by actively participating in composition competitions, but his efforts proved unsuccessful.
Desperate for work, Rott was reluctant to leave Vienna. He was awarded a choir position in Mulhouse, a city presently on the eastern border of France. In route to Mulhouse, he became delusional, drawing a revolver on a man who was merely lighting a cigar. In a mad rage, Rott claimed Brahms had planted dynamite onboard the train. Rott was brought back Vienna and committed to the hospital for psychiatric rehabilitation. He was eventually transferred to the Provincial Lunatic Asylum of Lower Austria. After almost a complete year of therapy, the doctor's prognosis was negative, indicating: "successful treatment no longer to be expected".
In 1881 Rott was granted a Vienna state scholarship for musicians and awarded three hundred florins; equivalent to approximately three thousand dollars today. Ironically, the panel, which included Brahms, submitted feedback to the composer. Their letter reads, "The compositions presented by Rott belong by all means to the greater art forms…A not yet balanced but intensive talent, considering the youth and serious ambitions of the composer, promises outstanding results reveals itself in his works."
Rott was to remark in one of his sane moments, "I have had better dreams for my future, my works have been acknowledged by great masters, I had believed to achieve a modest existence in life. Now I realize that it had been a hallow illusion and that I must die in the lunatic asylum." He died of tuberculosis on June 25, 1884, slightly over one month before his twenty-sixth birthday.
Mahler wrote after Rott's death: "What music has lost in him is immeasurable. His first symphony, written when he was a young man of twenty, already soars to such heights of genius that it makes him – with exaggeration – the Founder of the New Symphony as I understand it. It is true that he has not yet fully realized his aims here. It is like someone taking a run for the longest possible throw and not quite hitting the mark. But I know what he is driving at. His innermost nature is so akin to mine that he and I are like two fruits from the same tree, produced by the same soil, nourished by the same air. We would have had an infinite amount in common. Perhaps we two might have gone some way together towards exhausting the possibilities of this new age that was then dawning in music.
(By Steven Eric Hawk, ©2015)