Wilhelm Kienzl Autograph

Profession:
(1857 - 1941) Austrian composer

Year of Birth:

Wilhelm Kienzl was an Austrian composer and conductor born on 8 September 1857 in Linz, Austria. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory from 1877 to 1881, studying piano and composition with Simon Sechter and Johann Nepomuk Fuchs. After graduating, he worked as a conductor and music director in several theatres throughout Austria, including the Carltheater in Vienna and the Wiener Hofoper in Graz.

In 1887, Kienzl wrote his first opera, Der Evangelimann, which was premiered at the Carltheater in Vienna. It was an immediate success, and it established Kienzl as a major figure in the late-Romantic era. He followed this success with a string of other operas, including Der Kuhreigen (1894), Der Zigeunerbaron (1895), Der Heidenkonig (1901), and Der arme Spielmann (1902).

In addition to his opera work, Kienzl also composed orchestral works, choral music, and art songs. His most famous works include the cantatas ‘Der Mensch’ and ‘Die Himmelfahrt Jesu’, as well as the Requiem for the Dead, which he wrote to commemorate the victims of the First World War.

Kienzl was a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from 1889 to 1896, and he often conducted the orchestra during this time. In 1893, he was appointed professor of composition at the Vienna Conservatory; he held this position until his retirement in 1925.

Kienzl was a recipient of many awards, including the Franz Joseph Cross (1914), the Order of Merit of the German Eagle (1921), and the Order of Merit of the Austrian Republic (1928). He died in Vienna on 4 October 1941 at the age of 84.

Wilhelm Kienzl’s music is considered to be some of the most important of the late-Romantic period. His works are still performed today and continue to be admired for their melodic beauty and emotional depth.