Arthur Nikisch(12 October 1855 – 23 January 1922) was aHungarianconductorwho performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music ofBruckner,Tchaikovsky,BeethovenandLiszt.Johannes Brahmspraised Nikisch's performance of his Fourth Symphony as "quite exemplary, it's impossible to hear it any better."
Biography
editThis sectionneeds additional citations forverification.(January 2018) |
Arthur Augustinus Adalbertus Nikisch was born inMosonszentmiklós,Hungary,to aHungarianfather and a mother fromMoravia.
Nikisch was considered a musical prodigy from a young age; he made a public piano performance at the age of eight.[1]In 1866, he began his studies at theVienna Conservatory.There he studied under the composerFelix Otto Dessoff,the conductorJohann von Herbeck,and the violinistJoseph Hellmesberger, Jr.and won prizes forcompositionand performance on violin and piano. He was engaged as a violinist in theVienna Philharmonic,and also played in theBayreuth Festivalorchestra in its inaugural season of 1876.
He achieved most of his fame as a conductor. In 1878 he moved toLeipzigand became second conductor of theLeipzig Opera;in 1879 he was promoted to principal conductor.[2]He gave the premiere ofAnton Bruckner'sSymphony No. 7with theLeipzig Gewandhaus Orchestrain 1884.[3] On 1 July 1885 Nikisch married Amélie Heussner (1862–1938), a singer and actress, who had been engaged the preceding years at the Kassel court theatre withGustav Mahler.Their sonMitja(1899–1936) would become a noted pianist in his own right.[citation needed]
Nikisch later became conductor of theBoston Symphony Orchestra,and from 1893 to 1895 director of the Royal Opera in Budapest. In 1895 he succeededCarl Reineckeas director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. In the same year he became principal conductor of theBerlin Philharmonic,and held both positions until his death.[4][5]
His successor at the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra was his scholar and first violinist Albert Heinig.[citation needed]Nikisch was also a popular guest conductor with theVienna PhilharmonicandConcertgebouw Orchestraof Amsterdam, and conducted theRing CycleofRichard WagneratCovent Gardenin London. Nikisch also served as director of theLeipzig Conservatoryfrom 1902 and there taught a class in conducting.[citation needed]
In 1921 Nikisch conducted several concerts at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. In some of these concerts his son, the pianist Mitja Nikisch, then 22, was the soloist.[6]
He was a pioneer in several ways. In April 1912 he took theLondon Symphony Orchestrato theUnited States,a first for a European orchestra.[7]
On 10 November 1913, Nikisch made one of theearliest recordingsof a complete symphony,Beethoven's 5th,with the Berlin Philharmonic, a performance later reissued on LP and CD byDGGand other modern labels. He also made a series of early recordings with the London Symphony Orchestra, some of which display theportamentocharacteristic of early-20th century playing.[citation needed]
Death
editNikisch died in Leipzig in 1922, and was buried there. Immediately after his death, the square where he had lived was renamedNikischplatz,and in 1971 the city created the Arthur Nikisch Prize for young conductors.
Legacy
editHis legacy is as one of the founders of modern conducting, with deep analysis of thescore,a simplebeat,and a charisma that let him bring out the full sonority of the orchestra and plumb the depths of the music.
Nikisch's conducting style was greatly admired byLeopold Stokowski,Arturo Toscanini,SirAdrian Boult,Fritz Reiner,Ervin Nyiregyházi,and many others, includingGeorge Szell,who called Nikisch "an orchestral wizard." Reiner said, "It was [Nikisch] who told me that I should never wave my arms in conducting, and that I should use my eyes to give cues."[2]
Henry Woodwrote, "I remember... his marvellous way of listening so intently to every phrase he directed.... When rehearsing a melody, he invariably sang it to the orchestra with great emotional feeling – and then would say: 'Now play it asyoufeel it.' No conductor that I have heard has ever surpassed his emotional feeling and dramatic intensity. "[8]
Arthur Nikisch had a huge impact onWilhelm Furtwängler.The latter always considered Nikisch as his single model.[9]Nikisch supported Furtwängler at the beginning of his career and predicted that he would be his successor.[10]
A film survives of Nikisch conducting; after seeing itHerbert von Karajandescribed how impressed he was by Nikisch's use of his eyes instead of hand motions.
Notes
edit- ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)..Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 690.
- ^Galkin, Elliott(1988).A History of Orchestral Conducting.Pendragon Press. p. 639.ISBN0-918728-44-4.
- ^Korfmacher, Peter (9 March 2018)."Widmanns Partita uraufgeführt".Leipziger Volkszeitung(in German). Leipzig.Retrieved9 March2018.
- ^"History".Gewandhaus Leipzig.Retrieved18 June2022.
- ^Philharmoniker, Berliner."The era of Arthur Nikish | Berliner Philharmoniker".www.berliner-philharmoniker.de.Retrieved18 June2022.
- ^El Teatro Colón – Cincuenta Años de Gloria, p. 39. Buenos Aires, 1958.
- ^The diary of the timpanist, Charles Turner, is published online at[1].
- ^Henry Wood,My Life of Music,Gollancz 1938, p. 211.
- ^Elisabeth Furtwängler,Pour Wilhelm,Paris, 2004, p. 32.
- ^Hans-Hubert Schönzeler,Furtwängler,1990, p. 24.
References
edit- Kalisch, Alfred (1922). “Arthur Nikisch.”Musical Times63, no. 649, 172–74
- Hart, Philip (1994).Fritz Reiner: A Biography.Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press. p.16.ISBN0-8101-1125-X.
- Ferdinand Pfohl:Arthur Nikisch als Mensch und Künstler,Hermann Seemann Nachfolger, Leipzig, (ca. 1900)
- Ferdinand Pfohl:Arthur Nikisch: Sein Leben, seine Kunst, sein Wirken.Alster, Hamburg 1925
External links
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