Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger.[1][2]
Born in Berlin, Straube studied organ under Heinrich Reimann there from 1894 to 1897 and became a widely respected concert organist. In 1897 he was appointed organist at Willibrordi-Dom (St Willibrord Cathedral) in Wesel, but left in 1902 to take up the position of organist at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.[3]
He gave up his career as a performer relatively early in order to pursue teaching and publishing, particularly the music of Max Reger, though he still kept his position at the Thomaskirche. He was also appointed to the organ faculty of the Leipzig Conservatorium in 1907, receiving the title of "Royal Professor" in 1908. This most honorary title, which is seemingly astounding for a professor of only one year, reflects more on Straube's cleverness than his merit. Since he was offered a job in Berlin (that supposedly paid ℳ 6,000), he wrote a letter of requests to his superior. These subtle "demands" were cleverly wrought (so as not to come off poorly, as his tenure at this point was rather short). He, among other things, requested a raise from ℳ 1,000 to ℳ 5,000 and also requested that the Wilhelm Sauer organ of 1888 at the Thomaskirche be enlarged (not only in manual compass—an extension from f3-a3, but also in size—all done under his supervision by the firm of Wilhelm Sauer). He succeeded Gustav Schreck as cantor of the Thomasschule and director of the Thomanerchor in 1918 and held the post until 1939. His contribution to the history of organ performance was chiefly through his advocacy of the music of Reger and his many students, including Heinz Wunderlich.
Having received the older tradition of organ playing from Reimann in Berlin, Straube revolutionized his technique in collaboration with the orchestral-style instruments of Sauer (and the encouragement from this mentor who spoke of the "unplayable" organ works of Reger). This allowed him to interpret music by using the full resources of Sauer's massive instruments, with their stop-change mechanisms and expressive divisions; however, he also performed on organs that contained no such devices as well and simply adapted the music accordingly (even Reger was played on purely mechanical instruments with no mechanisms to assist the player, though these were mid-period Romantic organs built by Haas, etc., i.e. not organs of the Orgelbewegung movement).
Writing
Straube considered himself more of a historian than a musician, and changed opinions many times throughout his life. He edited editions of works by "old masters" (Buxtehude, Bach, etc.) and also editions of works by Reger (the latter of which differed highly from the composer's autographs). However, Straube compiled these editions "with the approval of the composer," regarding his many "subjective" editorial markings (most of which completely change the architectural concept of Reger's music). This is exactly how he performed and advocated his editions—he stated that his editorial markings were not dry thoughts made at a desk, but rather inspirations that came to him at the instrument itself. Many reviews comment on his obsession with the clarity of contrapuntal voices and variety and color of his creative registrations.
Straube is a conundrum and the validity of his editions has been brought into question in most recent Reger scholarship. It has been presupposed by many that later in life he advocated the principles of the Orgelbewegung]movement, which looked to an "historically pure" interpretation of old music (especially Bach) and also looked back to the organ building principles of the Baroque period (which were largely misinterpreted).[1][4][5] Nevertheless, Straube never advocated for this movement, though he did move away from the ideals of the Romantic organ to what the Germans called a compromise [Komprimiß] organ (in America, this style of organ is referred to as "eclectic", i.e. one that plays almost all of the organ repertory, but not necessarily well). This is demonstrated by his being responsible for the rebuild of the Leipzig Conservatory Sauer organ in 1927. However, he went back and forth between supporting the "eclectic" organ and the Romantic organ and certainly did not want Reger to fall out of fashion during this extreme shift in the organ world (i.e. the Orgelbewegung movement). Reger's music was not like that of Wagner, as he looked back to Bach for his highly contrapuntal writing (despite his "modern" harmonic—highly chromatic—language). This is precisely why Straube stated that even Reger can be performed on an organ lacking orchestral colors and the ability to employ these subtle color changes (i.e. one with only the ability to realize dynamic changes in a terraced manner, referring to the "Neo-Baroque" organs of the Orgelbewegung movement). He made this statement in the preface (1938) to his final Reger edition of Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, op. 27 (not because he advocated this aesthetic change, but rather for the sake of his good friend and colleague's musical contributions).
In his musical biography of Straube, musicologist Christopher Anderson writes: "As the eleventh successor to J. S. Bach in the cantorate of St. Thomas School, Leipzig, he focused the choir's mission as curator of Bach's works and, in the unstable political climate of the interwar years, as international emissary for German art. His fraught exit from the cantorate in 1939 bore the scars of his Nazi affiliations and issued in a final decade of struggle and disillusionment as German society collapsed."[2]
Death
Straube was buried in the Südfriedhof, Leipzig in 1950. His grave was thoroughly restored on behalf of the Paul-Benndorf-Gesellschaft in 2021.
^Biographie, Deutsche. "Straube, Karl - Deutsche Biographie". www.deutsche-biographie.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-08-30.
^"Alte Meister in Bearbeitung durch Karl Straube". organ - Journal für die Orgel (in German). Retrieved 30 August 2021.
Sources
Anderson, Christopher (2003). Max Reger and Karl Straube: Perspectives on an Organ Performing Tradition. Routledge. ISBN978-1-351-55876-1.
Anderson, Christopher (2022). Karl Straube (1873–1950): Germany’s Master Organist in Turbulent Times. Eastman Studies in Music. University of Rochester Press. ISBN9781648250385. (also available in EPDF and EPUB format in April 2022)
January 11, 2023
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Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube 6 January 1873 27 April 1950 was a German church musician organist and choral conductor famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger 1 2 Karl StraubeBackground informationBirth nameMontgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried StraubeBorn 1873 01 06 6 January 1873Berlin GermanyDied27 April 1950 1950 04 27 aged 77 Leipzig GermanyGenresChurch musicOccupation s Musician conductorInstrument s Organ Contents 1 Career 2 Writing 3 Death 4 References 5 SourcesCareer EditBorn in Berlin Straube studied organ under Heinrich Reimann there from 1894 to 1897 and became a widely respected concert organist In 1897 he was appointed organist at Willibrordi Dom St Willibrord Cathedral in Wesel but left in 1902 to take up the position of organist at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig 3 He gave up his career as a performer relatively early in order to pursue teaching and publishing particularly the music of Max Reger though he still kept his position at the Thomaskirche He was also appointed to the organ faculty of the Leipzig Conservatorium in 1907 receiving the title of Royal Professor in 1908 This most honorary title which is seemingly astounding for a professor of only one year reflects more on Straube s cleverness than his merit Since he was offered a job in Berlin that supposedly paid ℳ 6 000 he wrote a letter of requests to his superior These subtle demands were cleverly wrought so as not to come off poorly as his tenure at this point was rather short He among other things requested a raise from ℳ 1 000 to ℳ 5 000 and also requested that the Wilhelm Sauer organ of 1888 at the Thomaskirche be enlarged not only in manual compass an extension from f3 a3 but also in size all done under his supervision by the firm of Wilhelm Sauer He succeeded Gustav Schreck as cantor of the Thomasschule and director of the Thomanerchor in 1918 and held the post until 1939 His contribution to the history of organ performance was chiefly through his advocacy of the music of Reger and his many students including Heinz Wunderlich Having received the older tradition of organ playing from Reimann in Berlin Straube revolutionized his technique in collaboration with the orchestral style instruments of Sauer and the encouragement from this mentor who spoke of the unplayable organ works of Reger This allowed him to interpret music by using the full resources of Sauer s massive instruments with their stop change mechanisms and expressive divisions however he also performed on organs that contained no such devices as well and simply adapted the music accordingly even Reger was played on purely mechanical instruments with no mechanisms to assist the player though these were mid period Romantic organs built by Haas etc i e not organs of the Orgelbewegung movement Writing EditStraube considered himself more of a historian than a musician and changed opinions many times throughout his life He edited editions of works by old masters Buxtehude Bach etc and also editions of works by Reger the latter of which differed highly from the composer s autographs However Straube compiled these editions with the approval of the composer regarding his many subjective editorial markings most of which completely change the architectural concept of Reger s music This is exactly how he performed and advocated his editions he stated that his editorial markings were not dry thoughts made at a desk but rather inspirations that came to him at the instrument itself Many reviews comment on his obsession with the clarity of contrapuntal voices and variety and color of his creative registrations Straube is a conundrum and the validity of his editions has been brought into question in most recent Reger scholarship It has been presupposed by many that later in life he advocated the principles of the Orgelbewegung movement which looked to an historically pure interpretation of old music especially Bach and also looked back to the organ building principles of the Baroque period which were largely misinterpreted 1 4 5 Nevertheless Straube never advocated for this movement though he did move away from the ideals of the Romantic organ to what the Germans called a compromise Komprimiss organ in America this style of organ is referred to as eclectic i e one that plays almost all of the organ repertory but not necessarily well This is demonstrated by his being responsible for the rebuild of the Leipzig Conservatory Sauer organ in 1927 However he went back and forth between supporting the eclectic organ and the Romantic organ and certainly did not want Reger to fall out of fashion during this extreme shift in the organ world i e the Orgelbewegung movement Reger s music was not like that of Wagner as he looked back to Bach for his highly contrapuntal writing despite his modern harmonic highly chromatic language This is precisely why Straube stated that even Reger can be performed on an organ lacking orchestral colors and the ability to employ these subtle color changes i e one with only the ability to realize dynamic changes in a terraced manner referring to the Neo Baroque organs of the Orgelbewegung movement He made this statement in the preface 1938 to his final Reger edition of Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott op 27 not because he advocated this aesthetic change but rather for the sake of his good friend and colleague s musical contributions In his musical biography of Straube musicologist Christopher Anderson writes As the eleventh successor to J S Bach in the cantorate of St Thomas School Leipzig he focused the choir s mission as curator of Bach s works and in the unstable political climate of the interwar years as international emissary for German art His fraught exit from the cantorate in 1939 bore the scars of his Nazi affiliations and issued in a final decade of struggle and disillusionment as German society collapsed 2 Death EditStraube was buried in the Sudfriedhof Leipzig in 1950 His grave was thoroughly restored on behalf of the Paul Benndorf Gesellschaft in 2021 References Edit a b Anderson 2003 a b Anderson 2022 Karl Straube Conductor Organ Thomaskantor Short Biography www bach cantatas com Retrieved 2021 08 30 Biographie Deutsche Straube Karl Deutsche Biographie www deutsche biographie de in German Retrieved 2021 08 30 Alte Meister in Bearbeitung durch Karl Straube organ Journal fur die Orgel in German Retrieved 30 August 2021 Sources EditAnderson Christopher 2003 Max Reger and Karl Straube Perspectives on an Organ Performing Tradition Routledge ISBN 978 1 351 55876 1 Anderson Christopher 2022 Karl Straube 1873 1950 Germany s Master Organist in Turbulent Times Eastman Studies in Music University of Rochester Press ISBN 9781648250385 also available in EPDF and EPUB format in April 2022 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Karl Straube amp oldid 1113368029, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
