On the trail of famous composers

During the time when Hannover served as the capital of the House of Welf, later as the capital of the Electorate of Hannover, and finally as the capital of the Kingdom of Hannover, numerous renowned composers worked in Hannover, mostly as court Kapellmeisters or concertmasters. Even today, visitors can still tour some of the places where they worked. 

Agostino Steffani

© Tom Figiel/Landtag Lower Saxony

The composer Agostino Steffani was born on July 25, 1654, in Castelfranco Veneto, Veneto. From 1689 to 1696, Steffani served as court Kapellmeister in Hannover and composed the opera *Enrico Leone* for the opening of the palace opera house at Leineschloss in 1689. He followed this with a new opera almost every year. In 1696, Steffani left Hannover for Brussels.

George Frideric Handel

© HMTG

The composer George Frideric Handel was born on March 5, 1685, in Halle an der Saale. Among his many posts was one in Hannover, where Handel served as court Kapellmeister from 1710 to 1712. During this time, Handel composed a series of vocal duets and conducted concerts at Leineschloss. In 1712, Handel left Hannover for London. The Water Music and the Fireworks Music are regularly performed in the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen.

Wilhelm Herschel

The astronomer and composer was born on November 15, 1738, in Hanover. At the age of 14, he joined the Electoral Hanoverian Foot Guard as an oboist and violinist. When the Seven Years’ War broke out, his regiment was transferred to England, which at the time was in personal union with Hanover. In the fall of 1756, he returned to Hanover with the regiment but left for London immediately afterward. In England, he later discovered the planet Uranus as an astronomer and was also active as a composer. He composed numerous symphonies, concertos, organ works, and chamber music pieces. In honor of him and his sister Caroline Herschel, who was also an astronomer, the Hanover Public Observatory bears the nickname "Herschel Siblings."            

Heinrich Marschner

© AxelHH (Wikipedia)

The composer Heinrich Marschner was born on August 16, 1795, in Zittau. From 1831 to 1859, Marschner served as court conductor in Hannover. He worked both at the Palace Opera House in the Leineschloss and, beginning in 1852, at what is now the Opera House. The Opera House replaced the Palace Opera House in the Leineschloss in 1852. Marschner’s operas “Der Bäbu” (1838) and “Austin” (1852) premiered in Hannover. Between 1830 and 1850, Marschner was among the leading German opera composers. A statue of Marschner stands today on Georgstraße, in the immediate vicinity of the Opera House.

Joseph Joachim

© Hannover.de

The composer and violinist Joseph Joachim was born on June 28, 1831, in Kittsee (formerly part of Hungary), near Pressburg. From 1853 to 1865, he served as Royal Concertmaster in Hannover. Five of his works premiered in Hannover: Op. 7 Overture to William Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Op. 11 Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor “in Hungarian style,” Op. 13 Overture “In Memoriam Heinrich von Kleist,” Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major (German premiere), and the Symphony in C major, a free orchestral arrangement of Franz Schubert’s Grand Duo for piano four hands. In honor of Joseph Joachim, the highly endowed International Joseph Joachim Violin Competition.

Johannes Brahms

The composer and pianist Johannes Brahms was born on May 7, 1833, in Hamburg. In the 1850s, he frequently visited Hannover, as he was close friends with Joseph Joachim. At the time, Joachim was the royal concertmaster in Hannover. Brahms also frequently sought musical advice from Joachim. For example, they collaborated on the orchestration of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 1, which premiered in Hannover in 1859.

Clara and Robert Schumann

The pianist and composer Clara Schumann (née Wieck) was born on September 13, 1819, in Leipzig. Hannover was one of her most important performance venues. In January and February 1835 alone, she gave five concerts there. She was accompanied on the trip by her father, Friedrich Wieck. He also arranged for Clara to be portrayed by the well-known lithographer Julius Giere in Hannover; the portrait was intended as promotional material. Nineteen years later, in 1854, Clara Schumann returned to Hannover with her husband, Robert Schumann. This trip was to be Robert Schumann’s last. Clara Schumann’s primary goal in Hannover was to meet Joseph Joachim and Johannes Brahms. Clara Schumann also gave a joint concert with Joseph Joachim in Hannover on January 21, 1854. Further concerts in Hannover followed in 1857 and 1859. Under the direction of Joseph Joachim, Schumann’s Manfred, Op. 115, was performed in its entirety for the first time in Hannover in 1865. Clara Schumann gave her 16th and final concert in Hannover on November 12, 1881.

Hans von Bülow

© LHH, Geoinformation Division

The piano virtuoso, conductor, bandmaster, and composer Hans von Bülow was born on January 8, 1830, in Dresden. On January 7, 1854, he performed in a concert by the Hanover Court Orchestra. On this occasion, he met Joseph Joachim, who was concertmaster and conductor in Hanover at the time. Through Joachim, he also met Joachim’s friend Johannes Brahms, who was frequently in Hanover at the same time. After a lengthy stay in Berlin, von Bülow moved to Hanover in 1877. He held the position of Royal Court Kapellmeister in Hannover until 1879. In 1877, he also became a member of the Hannover Artists’ Association (now the Künstlerhaus). In 1887, von Bülow became the first chief conductor of the famous Berlin Philharmonic.

© HMTG

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