George Alexander Albrecht

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For the businessman (his great-grandfather), see George Alexander Albrecht (businessman).
George Alexander Albrecht
Born(1935-02-15)15 February 1935
Leuchtenburg, Prussia, Germany
Died21 December 2021(2021-12-21) (aged 86)
Occupations
  • Conductor
  • Composer
  • Musicologist
  • Academic teacher
Organizations
Children5, including Marc Albrecht
Parent
RelativesAlbrecht family
Awards

George Alexander Albrecht (15 February 1935 – 21 December 2021) was a German conductor and composer, who also worked as a musicologist and academic teacher. A prolific composer at a young age, he was

Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar. Albrecht promoted the works of neglected composers such as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Hans Pfitzner, and Erwin Schulhoff
.

In retirement, he focused on composing again. His

Staatskapelle Weimar, conducted by his son Marc Albrecht
.

Biography

Albrecht was born in the Leuchtenburg part of Osterholz, Hanover, Germany,[1] the son of psychologist, psychotherapist and physician Carl Albrecht.[2] He was a member of the Albrecht family: His brother Ernst Albrecht (1930–2014) was a politician, and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was his niece.[3] He was a choirboy at the Church of Our Lady, Bremen.[4]

At age 11, in October 1946, Albrecht wrote his first composition

Landestheater Hannover, with the Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester Hannover.[1][10]

Staatsoper Hannover

In 1965, Albrecht became

Jenufa, Handel's Jephta and Hercules, Wolf-Ferrari's Sly and Alban Berg's Lulu.[12] He introduced contemporary composers,[5][14] conducting Aribert Reimann's Troades in 1987,[15] and Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten in 1989.[5][7][16] He conducted a production of Schoenberg's Moses und Aron, staged by George Tabori, for both Hannover and Oper Leipzig.[7] He worked together with an ensemble of singers including Isoldé Elchlepp, Renate Behle and Waltraud Meier.[12] Albrecht concluded his tenure in Hannover with the 1992/93 season.[1]

Albrecht was guest conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic and Munich Philharmonic, the Bamberg Symphony and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.[7] He made further guest appearances in New York, St. Petersburg, Tokyo and Barcelona.[17] He conducted Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer at the Vienna State Opera in 1985, and returned for other stage works by Wagner.[18] From 1990 to 1995, Albrecht was a regular guest conductor of the Semperoper in Dresden,[7] where his work included conducting the Tabori production of Moses und Aron in 1994.[7] As the 24th successor of Kapellmeister Johann Sebastian Bach, he served as GMD of the Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar from 1996 to 2002.[19] On 1 January 2002, he had a cardiac arrest on stage at New Year's Concert conducting Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.[20] Following 2002, he was honorary conductor[4] and returned to composing.[3]

Albrecht championed the music of

Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar.[22][20]

Personal life

Albrecht married twice and became a father five times.

Catholic.[20] In spring 2021, he and his wife moved from Weimar to Southern Germany.[19]

He died on 21 December 2021, at the age of 86.[3][25][26][27]

Awards

Compositions

Albrecht's compositions have been described as basically tonal, traditional and

Saint Elisabeth. He composed many lieder for different ensembles, inspired by poetry of Gerhard Altenbourg, Ernst Barlach, Paul Celan, Gerhart Hauptmann and Erich Kästner's "Die 13 Monate", and a cycle setting texts from Buchenwald concentration camp.[5]

Albrecht composed an opera for children

Staatskapelle Weimar, conducted by his son Marc Albrecht.[29]

His works include:[5]

  • 2015 (or 2016) Abwege für ein Barockensemble –
    OCLC 933890528
  • 2015 Vier Buchenwald-Gesänge –
    OCLC 910839391
  • 2015 19 Lieder – nach Gedichten von Harald Albrecht –
    OCLC 976505522
  • 2015
    OCLC 937039731[19][32]
  • 2015 Himmel über Syrien –
    OCLC 911265620
  • 2015 Der Geistkämpfer – Fünf Gesänge nach Texten von
    OCLC 914163551
  • 2016 Von guten Mächten –
    OCLC 941730203
  • 2016 Heilige Elisabeth –
    OCLC 1034566968
  • 2016/2017 Requiem für Syrien –
    OCLC 1128845589[33][34][35]
  • 2019 Symphony No. 1 "Sinfonia di due Mondi", for
    OCLC 1128852421[29]

Publications

Recordings

Three CDs with all of Furtwängler's symphonies have been released with the

Staatskapelle Weimar.[36][37][38]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Dirigent George Alexander Albrecht ist tot". NDR.de (in German). 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Ernst Albrecht". Munzinger Biographie (in German). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Trauer in Weimar: Ehrendirigent George Alexander Albrecht ist tot". MDR. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b ""Requiem für Syrien" als Oratorium der Hoffnung im Bremer Dom". evangelisch.de (in German). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Albrecht, George Alexander". Ries & Erler (in German). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  6. ^ a b Schalz-Laurenze, Ute (17 February 2001). "Klavierkonzert eines Radaubruders". Die Tageszeitung: Taz. p. 27. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Ensemble-Detail, George Alexander Albrecht". Deutsches Nationaltheater und Staatskapelle Weimar (in German). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Albrecht, George Alexander". Encyclopedia.com. 15 February 1935. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  9. ^ Schoen, Gerhard (8 April 2012). "Albrecht, George Alexander (1935– ), Dirigent – BMLO". Bayerisches Musiker-Lexikon Online (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  10. ISBN 978-3-87706-319-4
    . Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  11. ^ Albrecht 1992.
  12. ^ a b c d "Hannovers Theatergeschichte". Staatstheater Hannover (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  13. ^ Höflich, Jürgen (2021). "Marschner, Heinrich / Hans Heiling". repertoire-explorer.musikmph.de. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  14. ^ a b "George Alexander Albrecht: "Mein ganzer innerer Weg führt zu Mahler"". Online Merker (in German). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Troades". Schott Music. 10 July 1986. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  16. ^ "Die Soldaten". Schott Music (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  17. ^ "George Alexander Albrecht – Autorenverzeichnis". Verlag Theater der Zeit (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  18. ^ "Vorstellungen mit George Alexander Albrecht". Spielplanarchiv der Wiener Staatsoper (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  19. ^
    nmz
     (in German). 22 December 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  20. ^ a b c d Wittig-Tausch, Christina (21 November 2011). "Mein Umfall". Sächsische.de (in German). Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  21. ^ Albrecht 1987.
  22. ISBN 978-3-374-05004-8
    . Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  23. ^ "Marc Albrecht German conductor born 1964". Operalogg. 17 April 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  24. ^ "Vorwürfe gegen Erich Klahn". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). 29 June 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  25. ^ Wiesenfeldt, Christiane (23 December 2021). "George Alexander Albrecht: Furtwänglers Sachwalter". FAZ (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  26. ^ Hirsch, Wolfgang (22 December 2021). "Abschied von George Alexander Albrecht – langjähriger Generalmusikdirektor des DNT verstorben – Kultur". Ostthüringer Zeitung. Retrieved 22 December 2021. (subscription required)
  27. ^ "Kondolation". Staatstheater Hannover (in German). Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  28. ^ "Aufführung: Passionsmusik lockt in Christus-Kirche". NWZonline (in German). 8 April 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  29. ^ a b c d Lange, Joachim (27 August 2019). "Der Klang der Welt oder der Mut zu Gefallen – Spielzeitauftakt der Staatskapelle Weimar". Neue Musikzeitung (in German). Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  30. ^ "George-Alexander-Albrecht » Werke". George-Alexander-Albrecht (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  31. Musikhochschule Weimar
     (in German). 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  32. ^ a b Dippel, Roland H. (January 2016). "Umjubelte Uraufführung der "Schneekönigin" am DNT Weimar". Oper & Tanz (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  33. ^ a b Dippel, Roland H. (6 June 2018). "Zur Uraufführung von George Alexander Albrechts "Requiem für Syrien" in Dresden". Neue Musikzeitung (in German). Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  34. ^ "Requiem für Syrien – Terror und Trost". Deutschlandfunk (in German). 29 July 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  35. ^ Requiem für Syrien (program book, in German) Dresdner Philharmonie 3 June 2018
  36. OCLC 68624621
  37. OCLC 71307416
  38. OCLC 145706511

Further reading

External links

Preceded by
Günter Wich
 Generalmusikdirektor, Staatsoper Hannover
1965–1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Hans-Peter Frank
Chief Conductor, Staatskapelle Weimar

1996–2002 		Succeeded by
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