Frederick Niecks (3 February 1845 – 24 June 1924) was a German musical scholar and author who resided in Scotland for most of his life. He is best remembered for his biographies of Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann.
Friedrich Maternus Niecks[1] was born in Düsseldorf, son of a conductor and teacher; his grandfather was a professional musician.[1] He studied music under his father; he later studied violin under Leopold Auer and others, and studied piano and composition under Julius Tausch.[2][circular reference] At age 13 he made his debut playing Charles Auguste de Bériot's Violin Concerto No. 2, then joined the Musikverein orchestra, with whom he remained until age 21.
In 1868 he expressed a desire to move to Great Britain, and Alexander Mackenzie invited him to settle in Scotland, where he became viola player in Mackenzie's string quartet in Edinburgh and an organist and teacher in Dumfries. In 1879 he became a regular contributor to The Musical Times.
In 1884 he published a Concise Dictionary of Musical Terms, in two editions. In 1888 he published his magnum opus, Frédéric Chopin as Man and Musician, with a German edition coming out in 1889. This was the first comprehensive biography of Chopin.
In 1891 he was appointed Reid Professor of Music at the University of Edinburgh, which post he held until 1914. His activities there included leading a string quartet and presenting an annual series of historical concerts, in addition to his lecturing and teaching duties. His published musical papers included The Flat, the Sharp and the Natural; The Teaching of Musical History; A History of Programme Music from the 16th Century to the Present Time; and The Nature and Capacity of Modern Music.
He was created a Doctor of Music by the University of Dublin in 1898. In 1907, aged 62, he married the daughter of Sir John Struthers, Secretary of the Scottish Education Department.[3]
In 1914, on the outbreak of World War I, he was required to return to Germany.[4] He was succeeded as Reid Professor by Donald Tovey.[3] He later returned to Edinburgh, where he died in 1924, aged 79. He is buried in Grange Cemetery near the south-east corner.
His widow Christina Niecks (1869-1942) edited his biography of Robert Schumann and published it the year after his death. She died in 1944; she bequeathed to the Edinburgh University Library her collection of Chopiniana, including letters written by Chopin, Franz Liszt and Clara Schumann.[3]
Reputation
In the 19th century, Niecks' reputation as a Chopin scholar was strong, but diminished in his later years. The Monthly Musical Record wrote in 1915: "His whole professional life has been one long big accident [including] the manner in which he first came to be regarded as the greatest living authority on Chopin". In recent years there are claims that "Niecks' sections on 1841–1849 and the posthumous years are flawed with half-truths, hearsay, misinformation, omissions, hints and puns", and that such inaccuracies have been copied and perpetuated by other writers.[4]
frederick, niecks, february, 1845, june, 1924, german, musical, scholar, author, resided, scotland, most, life, best, remembered, biographies, frédéric, chopin, robert, schumann, contents, biography, reputation, sources, references, external, linksbiography, e. Frederick Niecks 3 February 1845 24 June 1924 was a German musical scholar and author who resided in Scotland for most of his life He is best remembered for his biographies of Frederic Chopin and Robert Schumann Contents 1 Biography 2 Reputation 3 Sources 4 References 5 External linksBiography Edit Grave of Frederick Niecks Grange Cemetery Friedrich Maternus Niecks 1 was born in Dusseldorf son of a conductor and teacher his grandfather was a professional musician 1 He studied music under his father he later studied violin under Leopold Auer and others and studied piano and composition under Julius Tausch 2 circular reference At age 13 he made his debut playing Charles Auguste de Beriot s Violin Concerto No 2 then joined the Musikverein orchestra with whom he remained until age 21 In 1868 he expressed a desire to move to Great Britain and Alexander Mackenzie invited him to settle in Scotland where he became viola player in Mackenzie s string quartet in Edinburgh and an organist and teacher in Dumfries In 1879 he became a regular contributor to The Musical Times In 1884 he published a Concise Dictionary of Musical Terms in two editions In 1888 he published his magnum opus Frederic Chopin as Man and Musician with a German edition coming out in 1889 This was the first comprehensive biography of Chopin In 1891 he was appointed Reid Professor of Music at the University of Edinburgh which post he held until 1914 His activities there included leading a string quartet and presenting an annual series of historical concerts in addition to his lecturing and teaching duties His published musical papers included The Flat the Sharp and the Natural The Teaching of Musical History A History of Programme Music from the 16th Century to the Present Time and The Nature and Capacity of Modern Music He was created a Doctor of Music by the University of Dublin in 1898 In 1907 aged 62 he married the daughter of Sir John Struthers Secretary of the Scottish Education Department 3 In 1914 on the outbreak of World War I he was required to return to Germany 4 He was succeeded as Reid Professor by Donald Tovey 3 He later returned to Edinburgh where he died in 1924 aged 79 He is buried in Grange Cemetery near the south east corner His widow Christina Niecks 1869 1942 edited his biography of Robert Schumann and published it the year after his death She died in 1944 she bequeathed to the Edinburgh University Library her collection of Chopiniana including letters written by Chopin Franz Liszt and Clara Schumann 3 Reputation EditIn the 19th century Niecks reputation as a Chopin scholar was strong but diminished in his later years The Monthly Musical Record wrote in 1915 His whole professional life has been one long big accident including the manner in which he first came to be regarded as the greatest living authority on Chopin In recent years there are claims that Niecks sections on 1841 1849 and the posthumous years are flawed with half truths hearsay misinformation omissions hints and puns and that such inaccuracies have been copied and perpetuated by other writers 4 Nevertheless in 2011 the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw Poland published a Polish version 5 of Niecks Chopin biography Sources EditGrove s Dictionary of Music and Musicians 5th ed 1954 Vol VI p 83 4References Edit a b jstor Julius Tausch at de m wikipedia a b c Edinburgh University Library a b Icons of Europe Fryderyk Chopin jako czlowiek i muzyk Warsaw Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina 2011 ISBN 978 83 61142 30 0 Cf 1 Archived 11 August 2016 at the Wayback MachineExternal links Edit Wikisource has the text of a 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article about Frederick Niecks Works by Frederick Niecks at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Frederick Niecks at Internet Archive Niecks Frederick New International Encyclopedia 1905 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Frederick Niecks amp oldid 1124695173, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
