Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Born	September 1, 1854 (1854-09-01)
Died	September 27, 1921 (aged 67)
Nationality	German
Occupation	Composer
Known for	Hänsel und Gretel

Birthplace of Humperdinck

Engelbert Humperdinck (September 1, 1854 – September 27, 1921) was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel (ca. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Events 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Hänsel und Gretel is an Opera by Engelbert Humperdinck (Humperdinck himself described it as a Fairy opera. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1854 ( MDCCCLIV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common year Events 489 - Odoacer attacks Theodoric at the Battle of Verona and is defeated again Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. A composer (literally meaning 'one who puts together' is a person who creates Music, usually in the medium of notation, for Interpretation and Performance Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto Hänsel und Gretel is an Opera by Engelbert Humperdinck (Humperdinck himself described it as a Fairy opera. 1891). Humperdinck was born at Siegburg, in the Rhine provinces. Siegburg (ie Fort on the Sieg river) is a city in the district of Rhein-Sieg-Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

He produced his first composition after receiving piano lessons when he was only seven. His first attempts at works for the stage were two Singspiele when he was 13. For the racehorse see Singspiel (horse. Singspiel ("song-play" (plural Singspiele is a form of German-language His parents did not approve of his becoming a musician, but despite them encouraging him to study architecture, he took music classes at the Cologne Conservatory, which he entered in 1872 under Ferdinand Hiller. WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes --> Ferdinand (von Hiller ( 24 October 1811 &ndash In 1876 he won a scholarship which enabled him to go to Munich, where he studied with Franz Paul Lachner and later with Josef Rheinberger. Munich (München; Minga is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> Franz Paul Lachner (2 April 1803 &ndash 20 January 1890 was a German Composer Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger (also Josef ( March 17, 1839, in Vaduz &ndash November 25, 1901, in Munich) was a Liechtensteinian In 1879 he was the first to win the Mendelssohn Award awarded by the Mendelssohn Stiftung (foundation) of Berlin. Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. He went to Italy, and became acquainted with Richard Wagner in Naples. Wagner invited him to go to Bayreuth, and during 1880-81 Humperdinck assisted in the production of Parsifal. Bayreuthfestjpg|thumb|350px|right|Bayreuth Festspielhaus as seen in 1882 Parsifal is an Opera, or Music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner. Having won another prize, however, he went again to Southern Europe, traveling through Italy, France and Spain, spending two years in Barcelona teaching at the conservatoire. Barcelona ( Catalan bəɾsəˈlonə Spanish baɾθeˈlona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia In 1887 he returned to Cologne, and was appointed professor at the Hoch Conservatory (Frankfurt-am-Main) in 1890, and also teacher of harmony at Stockhausen's Vocal School. Chronology 1857 14 July Dr Joseph Hoch (1815-74 makes the Hoch Conservatory foundation the main heir of his fortune By this time he had composed several works for chorus and a Humoreske for orchestra, which enjoyed a vogue in Germany. His opera Hänsel und Gretel was written in Frankfurt, ca. 1891.

He would later be credited as the inspiration for the character of Prince Humperdinck in William Goldman's 1973 novel, The Princess Bride^[1], though some scholars argue that the fictitious prince was based on the singer of the same name, a contemporary of Goldman's. Prince Humperdinck is the Villain of William Goldman 's 1973 comic adventure novel The Princess Bride. This article is about the screenwriter/novelist For the mathematician see William Goldman (professor. The Princess Bride is a 1973 Novel written by William Goldman and presented as if it were an abridgment of a work by S ^[2]

His chief reputation rests on his opera Hänsel und Gretel, which was produced at Weimar, 1893. Weimar (ˈvaɪmaʁ is a City in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of Thuringia (Thüringen north of the Thüringer Wald, In 1896 the Kaiser made Humperdinck a Professor and he went to live at Boppard. The meaning of the word professor ( Latin: professor, person who professes to be an expert in some art or science teacher of highest rank) varies Boppard (Latin Baudobriga) is a town in the Rhein-Hunsrück district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Four years later, however, he went to Berlin where he was appointed head of a Meister-Schule of composition. Among his other operatic works are Dornröschen, Die Königskinder and Die Heirat wider Willen. Königskinder ( The King's Children) is a stage work by Engelbert Humperdinck that exists in two versions as a Melodrama and as an Opera

Humperdinck was greatly influenced by Richard Wagner, and worked as his assistant. In his melodrama Die Königskinder (1897), Humperdinck became the first composer to use Sprechgesang, a vocal technique halfway between singing and speaking that was used later by Arnold Schoenberg. Sprechgesang and Sprechstimme ( German for spoken-song and spoken-voice) are musical terms used to refer to an expressionist vocal Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, which is often contrasted with Speech. Speech refers to the processes associated with the production and perception of Sounds used in Spoken language. Arnold Schoenberg ( pronounced ˈʃøːnbɛrk (13 September 1874 &ndash 13 July 1951 was an Austrian and later American Composer, associated with

In 1914 Humperdinck seems to have applied for the post of director of the New South Wales Conservatorium of Music in Sydney, but with the outbreak of World War I it became unthinkable for a German to hold this position, and the job went instead to Belgium's Henri Verbrugghen. Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 Henri Verbrugghen ( August 1 1873 - November 12 1934) was a Belgian musician who directed orchestras in England, Scotland [1]

Humperdinck received the Frankfurt Mozart Prize in 1876, and with its help he was able to travel to Munich. There, Humperdinck continued to take classes to develop his talent in music, finding many opportunities to gain experience both composing and performing. For over ten years he met many important composers such as Franz Lachner, Giovanni Sgambati, and Richard Wagner and heard their works. He eventually became one of Wagner's most important students and assistants, and eventually became music tutor to the great composer's son, Siegfried Wagner. Siegfried Wagner (6 June 1869 - 4 August 1930 was a German composer and conductor the son of Richard Wagner. Humperdinck subsequently held various teaching positions of distinction and enjoyed a long and fruitful collaboration in the theatre with the great playwright and director Max Reinhardt, providing incidental music for a number of Shakespearean productions in Berlin. Max Reinhardt ( September 9, 1873 - October 30, 1943) was an Austrian (later naturalised American) theatre and film William Shakespeare ( baptised While in Berlin, Humperdinck began work on Hänsel und Gretel after his sister asked him to compose music for a play for her children in 1890. He first started to compose Hänsel und Gretel, based on the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, as a Singspiel consisting of a play with 16 songs and piano accompaniment. The Brothers Grimm ( German: Die Gebrüder Grimm) Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, A few months later, he presented his fiancée Hedwig Taxer with Hänsel und Gretel as an engagement present.

Quickly realizing the work's potential, Humperdinck instead decided to create a full-scale opera, and in January of 1891 he began working on a complete orchestration. Nearly three years later Richard Strauss - who dubbed it "a masterpiece of the highest quality… all of it original, new, and so authentically German" - conducted its premiere. With its highly original synthesis of Wagnerian techniques and traditional German folk songs, Hänsel und Gretel was an instant and overwhelming success. It was such a success that in 1923 it became the first complete opera ever to be broadcast on radio (from Covent Garden, London), and eight years later it was the first to be transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera. WikipediaWikiProject Opera --> The Royal Opera House is an Opera house and major performing The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880 is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Shortly before his death in 1921, Humperdinck developed a hearing affliction and remained partially deaf for the remainder of his life.

On January 5th, 1912, Humperdinck suffered a severe stroke. Although he was eventually able to recover, his left hand remained permanently paralyzed. During the summer of 1915, he began to compose what would be his final work for the stage, Gaudeamus, and with the help of his son, Wolfram, it was completed in 1918. On September 26th, 1921, Humperdinck attended the performance of Wolfram's first production as a director of Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz. Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber ( 18 December 1786 in Eutin, Holstein, Germany - 5 June 1826 in London Der Freischütz is an Opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber to a Libretto by Friedrich Kind. During the performance he had a heart attack. He died the next day from a second heart attack. In his memory, Hänsel und Gretel was performed several weeks later by the Berlin State Opera. The opera is still a worldwide favorite.

References

1. ^ J. L. and A. V. , "A tale of two Humperdincks," J. Rid. Theory, 23(1):13-14, 2007
2. ^ Gulverdashvili, M. N. (2007). "Misrepresenting the author's intent: The impact of chronological context on negative archetypes in ruritanian romance. " Thalia: studies in literary humor, 19(3): 67-82.

External links

• Engelbert Humperdinck was listed in the International Music Score Library Project

This article is based on a text from the Etude magazine, prior to 1923, that is in the public domain. The International Music Score Library Project ( IMSLP) is a project for the creation of a virtual library of Public domain music scores, based on the The Etude was a US Magazine dedicated to Music, which was founded by Theodore Presser (1848-1925 at Lynchburg Virginia The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone