Kienzl, Wilhelm
Kienzl, Wilhelm
Kienzl, Wilhelm, Austrian composer; b. Waizen-kirchen, Jan. 17, 1857; d. Vienna, Oct. 3, 1941. He studied in Graz with Johann Buwart and Mortier de Fontaine (piano) and with Ignaz Uhi (violin); also with Mayer-Rémy (composition) at the Univ. there, and then with Krejci at the Univ. of Prague (1876), at the Univ. of Leipzig (1877), with Rheinberger in Munich, with Liszt in Weimar, and at the Univ. of Vienna (Ph.D., 1879, with the diss. Die musikalische Deklamation; publ. in Leipzig, 1880). He was director of Amsterdam’s German Opera (1883); conducted in Krefeld before returning to Graz (1884); then was director of the Steiermärkischer Musikverein there until 1886. He held the post of 1st conductor of the Hamburg Opera (1890–92), then was court conductor in Munich (1892–94). His most successful work was the opera Der Evangelimann (Berlin, May 4, 1895). After World War I, he wrote the new national anthem of Austria (1918), replacing Haydn’s; it was adopted on June 6, 1920, but was dropped on Dec. 13, 1929, in favor of Haydn’s melody. He also completed Adolf Jensen’s opera Turandot. He publ. several books, including an autobiography (1926).
Works
dramatic:Opera: Urvasi (1884; Dresden, Feb. 20, 1886; rewritten 1909); Heilmar, der Narr (Munich, March 8, 1892); Der Evangelimann (Berlin, May 4, 1895); Don Quichote, “musical tragi-comedy” (Berlin, Nov. 18, 1898); In Knecht Rupprechts Werkstatt, Weihnachtsmärchenspiel (Graz, Dec. 25, 1907); Der Kuhreigen (Ranz des Vaches) (Vienna, Nov. 23, 1911); Das Testament (Vienna, Dec. 6, 1916); Hassan der Schwärmer (Chemnitz, Feb. 27, 1925); Sanctissimum (Vienna, Feb. 14, 1925). Singspiel: Hans Kipfel (Vienna, 1926). Also incidental music. other: Chamber music; piano pieces; choral works; songs.
Bibliography
M. Morold, W. K. (Leipzig, 1909); H. Hagen, ed., Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstag von W. K. (Graz, 1917); Festschrift zum 80. Geburtstag von W. K. (Vienna, 1937); H. Sittner, K.—Rosegger: Eine Künstlerfreundschaft (Zürich, 1953); I. Samlick-Hagen, Lehr- und Wanderjahre W. K.s (1874–1897) (diss., Univ. of Vienna, 1979).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire