Schröder

Schröder, family of German musicians:

(1) Karl Schroder, violinist and violist; b. Oberbosa, Thuringia, March 17, 1816; d. Berlin, April 21, 1890. He studied with G. Siebeck and A.B. Marx in Eisleben. After serving as a town musician in Quedlinburg, he was music director in Neuhaldensleben. He also played in a family quartet with his sons:

(2) Hermann Schröder, violinist, teacher, and composer; b. Quedlinburg, July 28, 1843; d. Berlin, Jan. 30, 1909. He studied with his father, and with W. Sommer and A.G. Ritter in Magdeburg, then settled in Berlin, where he was director of his own music school (from 1873). He also taught at the Institut für Kirchenmusik (from 1885), where he later was asst. director. He publ. Untersuchung über die sympathischen Klänge der Geigeninstrumente (1891), Die symmetrische Umkehrung in der Musik (1902), and Ton und Farbe (1906), as well as a violin method, Die Kunst des Violinspiels (1887). Among his compositions were chamber music for instructive purposes: 6 instruktive Quartette, 3 kleine Trios, etc.

(3) Karl Schröder, cellist, conductor, teacher, and composer; b. Quedlinburg, Dec. 18, 1848; d. Bremen, Sept. 22, 1935. He studied with his father, becoming a member of the Sondershausen Hofkapelle when he was 14; also received instruction from Drechsler and Kiel. He played in the family quartet until it was dissolved in 1873, and was Kapellmeister at Berlin’s Kroll Opera (1872–73). After serving in the Braunschweig Hof-kapelle (1873–74), he was solo cellist in the Gewandhaus Orch. in Leipzig (1874–81), where he also taught at the Cons. In 1881 he returned to Sondershausen as Hofkapellmeister, and also was director of his own music school until 1886. He then was conductor of the German Opera in Rotterdam (1886–87), in Berlin (1887–88), and in Hamburg (1888–90). In 1890 he once more returned to Sondershausen as director of the Cons. (until 1909), and then taught cello at Berlin’s Stern Cons. (1911–24). He wrote 2 operas, Aspasia (1892), and Asket (1893), 3 syms., 6 cello concertos, and chamber music. He compiled 3 pedagogical manuals: Katechismus der Dirigierens und Taktierens (1889), Katechismus des Violinspiels (1889), and Katechismus des Violoncellspiels (1890), all of which were publ, in Eng. trs. (1893, 1895, 1896). His collections of Classical works for the cello, especially Vortragstudien (60 pieces), are of value.

(4) Alwin Schroder, violist, cellist, and teacher; b. Neuhaldensleben, June 15, 1855; d. Boston, Oct. 17, 1928. He studied piano with his father and violin with his brother Hermann, and then continued violin studies with De Ahna and Tappert at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. He was 11 when he took his father’s place as violist in the family quartet. He was a violinist (1872–75) and a cellist (from 1875) in Karl Liebig’s orch., and in 1880 became deputy to his brother Karl in Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orch., and then was joint principal with J. Klengel (from 1881); also taught at the Cons. In 1891 he emigrated to the U.S. and later became a naturalized citizen. He played in the Boston Sym. Orch. (1891–1925), and also was a member of the Kneisel Quartet. He wrote some manuals and prepared transcriptions for cello.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire