- Franz, Robert
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orig. Robert Franz Knauthdied Oct. 24, 1892, Halle, Ger.German song composer.In 1842 he became director of the Singakademie of his native Halle and organized choral festivals there. He sent Robert Schumann a set of songs, which Schumann had published in 1843 without consulting Franz. Franz Liszt became another influential supporter and published his own book about Franz in 1872. By 1867 Franz had become almost completely deaf and was obliged to relinquish his posts, including his professorship at the University of Halle. He was mentally unstable in his later years, when honours were increasingly heaped upon him. His more than 300 songs are remarkable for their sensitive musical prosody; he is a significant figure in the history of the lied.
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▪ German composerborn June 28, 1815, Halle, Saxony [Germany]died Oct 24, 1892, Halle, Ger.German musician who is considered to have been one of the foremost composers of songs in the tradition of Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann.Franz studied organ at Dessau from 1835 to 1837. Later he returned to Halle, where he became a friend of Wilhelm Osterwald, many of whose poems he set to music. About the time he published his first songs (1843) he began to become deaf; nonetheless, he became organist at the Ulrichs Church, then conductor of the city's Singakademie, and, finally, musical director at Halle University, where he was made a doctor of music in 1861. Increasing deafness and nervous disorders caused him to retire in 1868, and he was supported for the rest of his life by a singer, Arnold von Pilsach. Franz Liszt, Joseph Joachim, and other prominent musicians arranged concerts for his benefit in 1872. In his later years Franz arranged works by Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Schubert.His songs, of which there are about 350, are remarkable for their sensitive musical prosody. About a quarter are to texts by Heinrich Heine. Most of his songs are strophic, with the music repeated after each verse, and were written for a mezzo-soprano of limited range. Among them are “Lullaby,” “Stormy Night,” and “Dedication.” He also wrote a few choral and religious works.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
