Friedrich Wilhelm Stein (17 December 1879 – 14 November 1961) was a German theologian, conductor, musicologist and church musician. He found in an archive in Jena the score of the so-called Jena Symphony, which he published as possibly a work by the young Ludwig van Beethoven. After a long period in Kiel from 1919 to 1933, teaching at the Kiel University and as Generalmusikdirektor, he had a leading position in the Reichsmusikkammer of the Nazis in Berlin.
Fritz Stein | |
|---|---|
| Born | Friedrich Wilhelm Stein 17 December 1879 Gerlachsheim, Germany |
| Died | 14 November 1961 (aged 81) Berlin, West Germany |
| Education | Heidelberg University |
| Occupations |
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Career
editBorn Friedrich Wilhelm Stein[1] in Gerlachsheim,[2][1] Stein first studied theology in Heidelberg and Berlin. He graduated with the Staatsexamen in Karlsruhe in 1902.[3] He then studied with Philipp Wolfrum who, being both a conductor and conductor, became a model for his own work.[2] Stein played organ concerts, but still studied music and musicology with Arthur Nikisch and Hans Sitt at the Leipzig Conservatory until 1906.[2][4] In Leipzig he had close contact with Max Reger and Karl Straube.[2]
Stein worked in Jena from 1906 as an organist for the town and the university. He found in an archive in Jena the orchestral parts of the so-called Jena Symphony, which he published in 1911, thinking that it might have been written by Ludwig van Beethoven.[5] He found the name "Beethoven" in two parts, and summarized: "As we do not as yet know of anyone, amongst the followers of Haydn and Mozart towards the end of the 19th century, to whom we could attribute such a composition, which heralds the Master ...".[6] The work was performed as one by Beethoven, until H. C. Robbins Landon, a scholar of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, found in 1957 manuscript portions of the symphony in the Landesarchiv in Rudolstadt, by Friedrich Witt.[6]
Stein's dissertation in 1910 was Geschichte des Musikwesens in Heidelberg bis zum Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts (History of music in Heideberg until the end of the 18th century).[4] In 1914 he succeeded Reger as court director of music in Meiningen. As an academic teacher, he was Außerordentlicher Professor in Jena from 1913.[7] In 1919 he was appointed Außerordentlicher Professor for musicology in Kiel, and from 1928 also in Ordinarius.[3] In Kiel he was also the organist at the St. Nikolai, Kiel until 1923 and Generalmusikdirektor from 1925 to 1933.[4]
In 1932 he became a member of the Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur. In July 1933, he became Reichsleiter der Fachgruppe Musik of the Kampfbund, responsible for music.[3] Under the Nazis, he was director of the Musikhochschule in Berlin.[4] Among his students was Sergiu Celibidache.[8]
After World War II, he lost all his functions and worked freelance. He was later president of the Verband für evangelische Kirchenmusik.[4] Stein died in Berlin.[9]
References
edit- ^ a b "Fritz Stein" (PDF) (in German). Heimat- und Kulturverein Gerlachsheim. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 6, 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Fritz Stein" (in German). Munzinger. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ a b c Klee, Ernst (2007). Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945 (in German). Frankfurt am Main: S. Fischer. p. 588.
- ^ a b c d e Prieberg, Fred K. (2004). Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945 (in German). Kiel: CD-Rom-Lexikon. pp. 6817–6818.
- ^ "Fritz Stein (Conductor, Musicologist)". Bach-Cantatas. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
- ^ a b Prieser, Marcus (2009). "Friedrich Witt / (b. Niederstetten, 8. November 1770 – d.Würzburg, 3. January 1836) / Symphony in C-major / ("Jena Symphony", previously attributed to Beethoven)". Musikproduktion Höflich. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ Josef Wulf: Kultur im Dritten Reich. Musik. 1989, S. 18
- ^ Barber, Charles; Boga, Irina (2001). "Fritz Stein". Oxford Index. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.05255. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ "Fritz Wilhelm Stein". gelehrtenverzeichnis.de. 17 December 1879. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
Literature
edit- Albrecht Dümling: Die Gleichschaltung der musikalischen Organisationen im NS-Staat. In: Dietrich Schuberth (ed.): Kirchenmusik im Nationalsozialismus – Zehn Vorträge. Kassel 1995.
- Max Hinrichsen: Festgabe für Fritz Stein, zur Vollendung seines 80. Lebensjahres am 17. Dezember 1959, Bonn : Max-Reger-Institut, 1959.
