(b Altona, 23 June 1824; d Leipzig, 10 March 1910). German composer, teacher, administrator, pianist and conductor. He was court pianist in Copenhagen then taught in Cologne, giving concerts with Hiller. He is remembered primarily as a stern but sympathetic teacher (from 1860) at the Leipzig Conservatory, where as director (from 1897) he perpetuated tradition and upheld the example of the Classical composers; among his pupils were Grieg, Riemann, Sullivan and Weingartner. He conducted the Gewandhaus Orchestra (until 1895) and composed, chiefly numerous piano works in the style of Schumann, Brahmsian chamber music and the simpler forms of popular ‘Hausmusik’.
Reinecke, Carl (kärl rī'nəkə), 1824-1910, German composer, pianist, and conductor. After serving as court pianist (1846-48) in Denmark, he taught at the Cologne Conservatory and the Univ. of Breslau. In 1860 he moved to Leipzig, where he conducted the Gewandhaus concerts until 1895 and taught composition at the conservatory until 1902. He toured extensively as a pianist, gaining particular acclaim for his interpretations of Mozart. His compositions, the best of which are for piano, are in the German romantic tradition.
Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke was the son of music teacher J.P. Rudolf Reinecke (1795-1883), who is known as the author of several important textbooks and works on music theory. Carl's father gave him a thorough musical education and training in playing piano.
At the age of 21, Reinecke started touring Northern Europe, as far east as Riga. He attracted favorable attention from Mendelssohn and Robert and Clara Schumann in Leipzig. In 1846, he was appointed court pianist at the Danish royal court of King Christian VIII in Copenhagen and served there into 1848. As such, he gave solo recitals and he also served as accompanist to the well-known violin virtuoso Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst (1814-1865).
After his Copenhagen job, he traveled to Paris, where he taught. The great piano virtuoso Franz Liszt selected Reinecke to be piano teacher to his daughter, Cosima (future wife of Richard Wagner). Liszt described Reinecke's touch as "beautiful, gentle, legato, and lyrical."
In 1851, he joined the staff of the municipal music school in Cologne, which was being reorganized by Ferdinand Hiller (1814-1865). There he taught piano and counterpoint and was also a recital partner of Hiller, who got him a position in Barmen as town musical director. He conducted several of the town's musical societies and improved the town's musical standards. Subsequently, he was hired as director of music at the University of Breslau and conductor of the Singakademie there.
In 1860, he became a faculty member at the Leipzig Conservatory. Even before he became director in 1897, he was a force for improving it. The teachers hired during his time were capable musicians and effective teachers and moreover, they generally shared Reinecke's conservative views about music. Among the prestigious pupils who studied there were Grieg, Svendsen, Sinding, Sullivan, and Weingartner. Reinecke considered it his mission to transmit the tradition of the Classical composers and earlier composers such as Bach and even Palestrina. He and the Conservatory both earned a reputation in some circles as reactionaries, but no one doubted the solid training it provided its students.
Along with his position at the Conservatory, Reinecke also was conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, keeping that position until 1895 and raising this institution to a high artistic standard as well. In 1875, Reinecke also became a member of the Berlin Academy.
He retired from his teaching position in 1902, but continued composing until his death in 1910. A large proportion of his work (and that for which he is best-remembered) is in the form of piano compositions, which are usually good examples of Romantic-era Hausmusik. His sound is warm, his melodies flowing and sometimes majestic, and harmonically he did not stray much farther than the harmonic style of Robert Schumann. His orchestration is clear and colorful, and in his operas, he was more apt to adopt some of the innovations of Richard Wagner. His piano etudes are charming enough that students find them rewarding to practice. ~ Joseph Stevenson, All Music Guide
Reinecke was born in Altona, Hamburg, Germany, at that time a Danish town. He studied with his father, Johann Peter Rudolph Reinecke, a music teacher. Carl began to compose at the age of seven, and his first public appearance as a pianist was when he was twelve years old.
He undertook his first concert tour in 1843 which eventually led, in 1846, to his appointment as Court Pianist for Christian VIII in Copenhagen. There he remained until 1848. Overall he wrote four concertos for his instrument (and many cadenzas for others' works, including a large set published as his Opus 87), as well as concertos for violin, cello, harp and flute.
Carl Reinecke (ca. 1860)
In 1851 he became a professor at the Cologne Conservatory. In ensuing years he was appointed musical director at Barmen, and became the academic, musical director and conductor of the Singakademie at Breslau.
In 1860, Reinecke was appointed director of the Gewandhaus Orchestra concerts in Leipzig, and professor of composition and piano at the Conservatorium. He led the orchestra until 1895. There he conducted such premieres as the full seven-movement version of Brahms's German Requiem (1869).
At the age of 80, Reinecke recorded his playing on piano roll for the Welte-Mignon company, making him the earliest-born pianist to have his playing preserved in any format.
After his retirement he devoted his time to composition and an output that contains almost three hundred published works. He wrote several operas (all unperformed today) including König Manfred. Reinecke died, at 85, in Leipzig.
.jpg)
