This Week in Classical Music: June 30, 2025. Eisler and more. Next Sunday is the birthday of the German composer Hanns Eisler, who was born on July 6th of 1898, in Leipzig. As a young man, he studied with Arnold Schoenberg; he then cooperated with the playwright Bertolt Brecht, creating music for many of his plays but abandoning the 12-tone technique in the process. In the late 1920s – early 1930s, Eisler became very political, turning hard left. He emigrated to the US during the Nazi years, but ended his life in East Germany, having composed the national anthem of this Communist totalitarian regime. We found his life so fascinating that we’ve posted not one but two entries about it, here and here.
Jiří Benda, also known by his German name, Georg Benda, was born in Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire, on June 30th of 1722. His older brother was the noted composer František (Franz) Benda. When he was 19, Jiří Benda was called to Berlin by none other than Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, to play the violin in the Royal Chapel in Berlin. He was later summoned to join his brother Franz at Potsdam, where the royal court resided. Later in his life, Georg Benda worked for the Duke of Gotha; he also traveled to Italy and Paris. In 1788, he moved to Vienna, hoping to be hired as the Kapellmeister of the new German opera, planned by the Emperor Joseph II. That didn’t work out, and the disappointed Benda abandoned music for good, traveling and studying philosophy. Benda's melodramas, the precursors of German opera, were highly valued by Mozart.
Christoph Willibald Gluck was born on July 2nd of 1714. He was one of the greatest composers of the mid-18th century. Gluck was especially good in the genre of opera, which he, to a large extent, defined for his time. We’ve written about Gluck many times and have samples of his music in our library.
Hans Werner Henze, a German modernist composer, was born on July 1st of 1926. Like Eisler, but in a very different context, he had strong political convictions and supported leftist causes. He was a member of the Italian Communist Party (Henze moved to Italy in 1953) and wrote music glorifying Ho Chi Minh and Che Guevara. In spite of that, he was a talented composer who worked in many different styles, from the 12-tone and serial idiom to jazz, and created music that is interesting to listen to years after it was first performed.
Finally, we should mention Leoš Janáček, another Czech composer (Benda, though he lived his life in the Austrian Empire, was Czech by birth). Janáček was born on July 3rd of 1854, in the Moravian village of Hukvaldy, when his country, Czechoslovakia, was still part of Austria-Hungary. Janáček was a friend of Antonín Dvořák, was influenced by him, and together with Dvořák and Smetana, is considered one of the greatest Czech composers.
Eisler and more, 2025
This Week in Classical Music: June 30, 2025. Eisler and more. Next Sunday is the birthday of the German composer Hanns Eisler, who was born on July 6th of 1898, in Leipzig. As a young
man, he studied with Arnold Schoenberg; he then cooperated with the playwright Bertolt Brecht, creating music for many of his plays but abandoning the 12-tone technique in the process. In the late 1920s – early 1930s, Eisler became very political, turning hard left. He emigrated to the US during the Nazi years, but ended his life in East Germany, having composed the national anthem of this Communist totalitarian regime. We found his life so fascinating that we’ve posted not one but two entries about it, here and here.
Jiří Benda, also known by his German name, Georg Benda, was born in Bohemia, then part of the Austrian Empire, on June 30th of 1722. His older brother was the noted composer František (Franz) Benda. When he was 19, Jiří Benda was called to Berlin by none other than Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, to play the violin in the Royal Chapel in Berlin. He was later summoned to join his brother Franz at Potsdam, where the royal court resided. Later in his life, Georg Benda worked for the Duke of Gotha; he also traveled to Italy and Paris. In 1788, he moved to Vienna, hoping to be hired as the Kapellmeister of the new German opera, planned by the Emperor Joseph II. That didn’t work out, and the disappointed Benda abandoned music for good, traveling and studying philosophy. Benda's melodramas, the precursors of German opera, were highly valued by Mozart.
Christoph Willibald Gluck was born on July 2nd of 1714. He was one of the greatest composers of the mid-18th century. Gluck was especially good in the genre of opera, which he, to a large extent, defined for his time. We’ve written about Gluck many times and have samples of his music in our library.
Hans Werner Henze, a German modernist composer, was born on July 1st of 1926. Like Eisler, but in a very different context, he had strong political convictions and supported leftist causes. He was a member of the Italian Communist Party (Henze moved to Italy in 1953) and wrote music glorifying Ho Chi Minh and Che Guevara. In spite of that, he was a talented composer who worked in many different styles, from the 12-tone and serial idiom to jazz, and created music that is interesting to listen to years after it was first performed.
Finally, we should mention Leoš Janáček, another Czech composer (Benda, though he lived his life in the Austrian Empire, was Czech by birth). Janáček was born on July 3rd of 1854, in the Moravian village of Hukvaldy, when his country, Czechoslovakia, was still part of Austria-Hungary. Janáček was a friend of Antonín Dvořák, was influenced by him, and together with Dvořák and Smetana, is considered one of the greatest Czech composers.