Ludwig Rellstab

(b Berlin, 13 April 1799; d there, 27 Nov 1860). German music critic and poet, son of J. C. F. Rellstab. Besides independently published works, he wrote articles for many periodicals and in 1830 founded the important Berlin weekly, Iris im Gebiete der Tonkunst (1830-41). He was the first to refer to Beethoven's Piano Sonata op.27 no. 2 in terms of moonlight. Schubert and Liszt set some of his poems, Mendelssohn and Meyerbeer his librettos.

Rellstab, Ludwig, (Berlin, 1799-1860, Berlin), at first an artillery officer, became an author and journalist. He wrote poems, some of which were set to music by Franz Schubert, including the first seven songs of Schubert's Schwanengesang. His poems appeared in Griechenlands Morgenröte (1822), Gedichte (1827), and Erzählungen, Skizzen und Gedichte (1833). Rellstab provided the libretto for an opera by Bernhard Klein (Dido, 1823) and wrote the tragedies Karl der Kühne (1824) and Eugen Aram (1839); the latter is adapted from Bulwer-Lytton's novel Eugene Aram. He is the author of the historical novel 1812 (4 vols., 1834), his most successful work, and of the novel Der Wildschütz (1835). Musikalische Beurteilungen appeared in 1848, Sommerfrüchte, a collection of stories, in 1852, and his autobiography, Aus meinem Leben (2 vols.), in 1861 Gesammelte Schriften (20 vols.) were published in 1843-8, and posthumously (24 vols.) in 1860-1.

For the chess player of the same name, see Ludwig Rellstab (chess player).

Ludwig Rellstab.

Heinrich Friedrich Ludwig Rellstab (April 13, 1799–November 27, 1860) was a German poet and music critic. He was born and died in Berlin. He was the son of the music publisher and composer Johann Carl Friedrich Rellstab.

The first seven songs of Franz Schubert's Schwanengesang have words by Rellstab. His work was also set to music by Franz Liszt. He is also known to have given Ludwig van Beethoven's opus 27 no. 2 sonata its famous but inaccurate nickname, Moonlight Sonata. It is actually music of funereal lamentation, set deliberately by Beethoven in the lamenting key of C-sharp minor.

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