August 26, 2019.Pachelbel and Böhm.Johann Pachelbel was born on September 1st of 1653 in Nuremberg. These days he’s known mostly for his Cannon in D, which is unfair and unfortunate, as Pachelbel was an interesting composer working in many different genres.In one of our previous posts we referred to one of his most important clavier pieces, Hexachordum Apollinis ("Six Strings of Apollo"). “… a set of six arias followed by variations, which, according to Pachelbel himself, could be performed either on the organ or the harpsichord.Variations were a somewhat new musical form in the 17th century, and Hexachordum was by far the most interesting set of variations written to date.”Hexachordum was published in 1699 while Pachelbel was again living in Nuremberg where he moved from Erfurt (in Erfurt he became good friends with Ambrosius Bach, Johann Sebastian’s father; Ambrosius even asked Pachelbel to be the godfather to his daughter Johanna Juditha. Pachelbel also taught music to his son Johann Christoph, who in turn became a music teacher of his younger brother, Johann Sebastian). In Nuremberg Pachelbel was the organist at St. Sebaldus Church, the most important church in the city.He held this position till his death in March of 1706.Pachelbel is noted mostly for his organ works, but he was a wonderful composer of vocal church music as well. Here, for example, is one of his two settings of Magnificat (this one is in D Major).It’s performed by the ensemble Cantus Cölln under the direction of Konrad Junghänel.And speaking of the Magnificat, Pachelbel wrote 60 so called Magnificat Fugues – we’ll talk about them another time.
Karl Böhm, one of Austria’s most interesting but controversial conductors, was born on August 28th of 1894 in Graz.He made his conducting debut in 1917 in his hometown; in 1921 Bruno Walter invited him to the Staatsoper in Munich.He stayed there for six years; in 1927 he was invited to lead the opera in Darmstadt.There he performed several modern operas, including Berg’s Wozzeck.After serving in Hamburg he was invited to the Vienna Philharmonic. His 1933 staging of Tristan und Isolde was a huge success.While continuing his engagement in Vienna, one year later Böhm was made the music director of the Dresden Staatsoper.There he replaced Fritz Busch, who was forced to resign by the Nazis.Böhm’s career flourished under the Nazis, even though he never formally joined the Nazi party.
He was the director of the Vienna Staatsoper during the last two years of WWII and then led it after the war, when the house was rebuilt.He also had a very successful international career, performing in all major houses of Europe and the US.Böhm made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1957 with Don Giovanni and went on to conduct 262 performances.In 1966, Harold C. Schonberg, The New York Times’s chief music critic, wrote: ''Among the present group of Metropolitan Opera conductors, he towers like a colossus.”Böhm died in Salzburg on August 14th of 1981.He was 87.
Böhm was an enthusiastic and early supporter of the Nazi regime.According to Norman Lebrecht, in 1938 Böhm told the Vienna Philharmonic musicians that anyone who did not vote for Hitler’s Anschluss could not be considered a proper German.He advanced his career as Jewish and German musicians with Jewish ties were forced to leave.In 2015 the Salzburg Festival, itself accused of past anti-Semitism, affixed a plaque in its Karl-Böhm-Saal which states "Böhm was a beneficiary of the Third Reich and used its system to advance his career. His ascent was facilitated by the expulsion of Jewish and politically out-of-favor colleagues.”
Pachelbel and Böhm, 2019
August 26, 2019. Pachelbel and Böhm. Johann Pachelbel was born on September 1st of 1653 in Nuremberg. These days he’s known mostly for his Cannon in D, which is unfair and unfortunate, as Pachelbel was an interesting composer working in many different genres. In one of our
previous posts we referred to one of his most important clavier pieces, Hexachordum Apollinis ("Six Strings of Apollo"). “… a set of six arias followed by variations, which, according to Pachelbel himself, could be performed either on the organ or the harpsichord. Variations were a somewhat new musical form in the 17th century, and Hexachordum was by far the most interesting set of variations written to date.” Hexachordum was published in 1699 while Pachelbel was again living in Nuremberg where he moved from Erfurt (in Erfurt he became good friends with Ambrosius Bach, Johann Sebastian’s father; Ambrosius even asked Pachelbel to be the godfather to his daughter Johanna Juditha. Pachelbel also taught music to his son Johann Christoph, who in turn became a music teacher of his younger brother, Johann Sebastian). In Nuremberg Pachelbel was the organist at St. Sebaldus Church, the most important church in the city. He held this position till his death in March of 1706. Pachelbel is noted mostly for his organ works, but he was a wonderful composer of vocal church music as well. Here, for example, is one of his two settings of Magnificat (this one is in D Major). It’s performed by the ensemble Cantus Cölln under the direction of Konrad Junghänel. And speaking of the Magnificat, Pachelbel wrote 60 so called Magnificat Fugues – we’ll talk about them another time.
Karl Böhm, one of Austria’s most interesting but controversial conductors, was born on August 28th of 1894 in Graz. He made his conducting debut in 1917 in his hometown; in 1921 Bruno Walter invited him to the Staatsoper in Munich. He stayed there for six years; in 1927 he was invited to lead the opera in Darmstadt. There he performed several modern operas, including Berg’s Wozzeck. After serving in Hamburg he was invited to the Vienna Philharmonic. His 1933 staging of Tristan und Isolde was a huge success. While continuing his engagement in Vienna, one year later Böhm was made the music director of the Dresden Staatsoper. There he replaced Fritz Busch, who was forced to resign by the Nazis. Böhm’s career flourished under the Nazis, even though he never formally joined the Nazi party.
He was the director of the Vienna Staatsoper during the last two years of WWII and then led it after the war, when the house was rebuilt. He also had a very successful international career, performing in all major houses of Europe and the US. Böhm made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1957 with Don Giovanni and went on to conduct 262 performances. In 1966, Harold C. Schonberg, The New York Times’s chief music critic, wrote: ''Among the present group of Metropolitan Opera conductors, he towers like a colossus.” Böhm died in Salzburg on August 14th of 1981. He was 87.
Böhm was an enthusiastic and early supporter of the Nazi regime. According to Norman Lebrecht, in 1938 Böhm told the Vienna Philharmonic musicians that anyone who did not vote for Hitler’s Anschluss could not be considered a proper German. He advanced his career as Jewish and German musicians with Jewish ties were forced to leave. In 2015 the Salzburg Festival, itself accused of past anti-Semitism, affixed a plaque in its Karl-Böhm-Saal which states "Böhm was a beneficiary of the Third Reich and used its system to advance his career. His ascent was facilitated by the expulsion of Jewish and politically out-of-favor colleagues.”