Louis
Spohr (1784-1859):
Violinist,
Conductor, Capellmeister, Innovator, Composer and General Music Director
Paul
Rowe
University
of Wisconsin-Madison
Abstract
Louis Spohr was
born into a musical family in the German town of Brunswick on the western
slopes of the Harz Mountains. By the time he was fifteen he was sufficiently
trained in music to be hired as a chamber musician where he first played the
music of Mozart. It was Mozart who remained his ideal composer throughout his
long life.
In 1802, Spohr
caught the attention of a traveling violinist named Franz Eck from Mannheim who
took the young violinist on a concert tour to St. Petersburg. This was the
first of many such journeys for Spohr. He learned the newest techniques of
violin playing and how to survive as a traveling musician. In 1803 he heard the
violinist Pierre Rode whose unique style of playing influenced his early
development as a virtuoso. It was during this year that he gave his first solo
performances in Magdeburg, Halle, Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin. In 1805 he was
appointed concertmaster of the town orchestra in Gotha. He remained in Gotha
until 1812. It was here that he began composing his first large works including
his Symphony number 1, Clarinet Concerto, number 2 and his first oratorio, Der
Jungste Gericht. He met and married the harpist Dorette Scheidler and began
touring with her and composing pieces for the two of them to play. They began
touring together in 1807 and continued until 1821 including performances in
Vienna, Rome, London and Paris.
Between 1813 and
1815, Spohr directed the Orchestra of the Theater an der Wien in Vienna. Here
he became acquainted with Beethoven and composed his most famous chamber music
the Nonet and Octet for mixed ensembles. It was during 1813 that he composed
his first opera, Faust. He
moved to Frankfurt am Main in 1817 to direct the opera orchestra and while
there composed his opera, Zemire and Astor. It was in Frankfurt that Spohr first became
famous for his string quartets and his performances of his own music and that
others. In 1821 he moved to Dresden and there worked with Carl Maria von Weber.
This connection led to a third opera that proved to be his most successful, Jessonda, which he finished in 1823.
In 1822, Spohr was appointed Kapellmeister for life
in Kassel. This proved to be an excellent situation with excellent support from
the Elector a fine orchestra of 55 players and many first rate singers. In
Kassel, Spohr composed many works and introduced his audiences to the music of
the great composers of the age including Wagner (Flying Dutchman in 1843 and
Tannhauser in 1853), Mendelssohn and Lizst and composers of earlier times
including J.S. Bach with five performances of the St. Matthew Passion between
1832 and 1851. He completed his violin method, published in 1831. After 183O,
Spohr had to struggle to maintain the level of the performances due to economic
and philosophical changes in Kassel. He suffered another blow when Dorette died
in 1834.
Spohr
was one of the leading German composers of his age. He was elected an honorary
member of 34 musical societies throughout Europe. He received an honorary
doctorate from the University of Marburg. He was particularly popular in
England which he visited four times. His oratorios and some of his songs were
published in English translation due to the great demand for his music there.
During his life Spohr was especially famous during the 1820's and 30's. Spohr
is credited with the invention of the baton and the subsequent creation of the
position of conductor. He was a leader in many areas of composition especially
in harmonic innovation and in his early use of leitmotivs to suggest emotions.
As he grew older, he seemed to lose some of his inventiveness and relied on
formulaic harmonies and melodies. He was still held in high esteem by the
public and by his colleagues. He changed from being the young revolutionary to
the main representative of the old school descended from Mozart with his
classical ideals of balance and restraint. Wagner described Spohr as "an
old man worthy of highest honor...whose youthful spirit is illuminated by the
radiant sun of Mozart".
Once
considered one of the heirs to the legacy of Mozart and Beethoven, Spohr's
reputation fell on very difficult times toward the end of the nineteenth
century. He was doomed throughout his life to be overshadowed by a series of
greater and lesser composers. He suffered by comparison with Beethoven, Wagner
and Brahms and his musical style which was never overtly dramatic or flashy was
less popular than that of Weber and Mendelssohn and even Meyerbeer and
Marshner.
None
of these reasons explain why his reputation has suffered and he has fallen into
such extreme obscurity. His operas suffer from weak librettos and his natural
aversion to strong emotional impact weaken them further. There are some very
good moments in his chamber music, concertos and symphonies. He experimented
with extended forms including double string quartets and symphonies with split
orchestra. It is possible to trace most of the musical developments of his long
life through his own music. It reflects the sentiments and opinions of his
time. This is perhaps easiest to observe in his songs where he is forced to be
more concise. His choice of texts is also informative. Many of the poets he
chose to set are familiar but several are not. As with many songs of Schubert
and Brahms and even like Spohr himself, some poets were once leading lights and
now suffer from lack of respect and attention.
Poetry
was interwoven into society to such a degree that it is difficult to imagine in
our present culture. Any person of culture followed the latest trends in poetry
and for a man who tended to compose songs for various reasons, he did not feel
the need to limit his range of choices. During his life, Spohr was politically
active and supported many causes. He was famous enough that he was constantly
being asked to contribute songs for various causes. Sometimes he would include
these songs in later collections and sometimes they would be issued separately
if there was enough demand. He was also not against adapting his songs for
various audiences. For example, his early songs were available in arrangements
with guitar and several songs that were published originally with piano four
hand accompaniments were subsequently released arranged for two hands.