Adolf Neuendorff

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Adolf Neuendorff in 1884

Adolf Heinrich Anton Magnus Neuendorff (June 13, 1843 − December 4, 1897), also known as Adolph Neuendorff, was a

stage director
, and theater manager.

Life

Early years

Born in Hamburg, Germany, Neuendorff emigrated with his father to New York City in 1855.[1] In New York, he studied music, violin lessons with G. Matzka and Joseph Weinlich, and had lessons of piano, music theory and composition with Gustav Schilling. In 1859, he made his debut as a concert pianist at Dodworth Hall. In 1861, went on a tour around Brazil, playing the violin.

Milwaukee

In 1864, he returned to the United States, now living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Here he was conductor of the orchestra at the German Theatre and chorus-master of Karl Anschütz's German Opera Company. Later he succeeded Anschütz as conductor.

New York

In 1867, he became music-director of the

New York Philharmonic Society in the absence of Theodore Thomas, who was away in Cincinnati.[2] The first American performance of Brahms's 2nd Symphony was given by the Philharmonic Orchestra under Neuendorff's direction on October 3, 1878. On December 21, 1878, he conducted the same orchestra during the United States premiere of Tchaikovsky's Francesca da Rimini, Symphonic Fantasy after Dante. For the 1879/80 season, Thomas returned from Cincinnati to New York, and was elected conductor of the Philharmonic well ahead of Neuendorff and Leopold Damrosch.[3] Neuendorff began to compose comic operas and operettas, most of which were written to librettos in German as well as in English. Besides, he translated German operas into English to be performed on Broadway, for example Franz von Suppé's Die Afrikareise [de
].

Boston

Between 1884 and 1889, he lived in

Boston Pops Orchestra at the Boston Music Hall. The first program included a novelty number titled An Evening with Bilse, which humorously tossed together scraps of Beethoven and Strauss, Wagner and Weber. Given that everything else on the program was European as well, the audience at the first promenade concert could not have imagined that it was launching a peculiarly American tradition.[citation needed
]

Vienna

In 1889, he became the director of soprano Emma Juch's Grand Opera Company. Two years later, he moved to Vienna, Austria, with his wife, singer Georgine von Januschofsky, before returning to New York City where he died on December 4, 1897, aged 54.[4]

Works

His compositions include two symphonies, operas, and numerous other instrumental and vocal works.

  • The Rat-Charmer of Hamelin/Der Rattenfänger von Hameln (opera, 1880)
  • Don Quixote (opera, 1882)
  • Prince Waldmeister (opera, 1887)
  • The Minstrel (opera, 1892)

References

  1. ^
    OCLC 19691644
    . Retrieved October 27, 2023.
  2. ^ Thomas 1905, p. 150.
  3. ^ Thomas 1905, p. 154.
  4. OCLC 2176748 – via Internet Archive
    .

Sources

Further reading

External links

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