Franz Bölsche (1869-1935)

[Wheesht]

Here is a (proofread) machine translation of the German wikipedia entry for this German composer:


Johannes Eduard Franz Bölsche (born 20 August 1869 in Wegenstedt, died 23 October 1935 in Bad Oeynhausen) was a German composer, music teacher and musicologist.


Franz Bölsche was born to organist Eduard Bölsche (1836–1919) and his wife Caroline Bölsche, née Plate (1845–1918). His ancestors included composer Jakob Bölsche, a representative of the North German organ school. The writer Wilhelm Bölsche was a relative.
After graduating from high school in Magdeburg, Bölsche studied music at the Royal Academy in Berlin from 1889 to 1894, composition with Woldemar Bargiel, piano with Carl Heymann, music history with Philipp Spitta (junior) and theory and instrumentation with Stange [first name not given], and attended musicology classes at the university with Philipp Spitta and Heinrich Bellermann.
These five years of study were almost the most fruitful in terms of composition, especially as works such as the Piano Trio, Op. 12, and the Overture to Judith, Op. 14, far surpassed the standard musical school expression of those years. In 1890, he composed ten Bagatelles for piano, Op. 1, eight songs for voice and piano, Op. 2, and Andante with Variations, Op. 4. The year 1891 brought a large-scale aria for baritone and orchestra, Dem rettenden Genius, Op. 3, to a text by Siegfried August Mahlmann, and two piano sonatas, in C minor, Op. 5, and E-flat major, Op. 6.
His first composition for orchestra, the Overture to the Tragedy of Man, Op. 7, dates from 1892 and was premiered in Bruchsal. He also composed five Bagatelles for small orchestra, Op. 8, the first Psalm for mixed choir a cappella, Op. 9, and three songs from Psalter and Harp by Philipp Spitta (senior) for mixed choir a cappella, Op. 10.
The choral compositions were inspired by Bölsche's work as a choir director, which he pursued alongside his studies at the time. In 1893, he reached the first heights of his compositional career with the aforementioned Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello in D Major, Op. 12, and his first string quartet in G minor, which has been lost. An overture to Hebbel's Judith, Op. 14, dedicated to Woldemar Bargiel, and a concert overture in E-flat major, Op. 15, are the last works from his years of study in Berlin, dating from 1894.
After passing his final examination with distinction, Franz Bölsche remained in Berlin for the time being and wrote Kaiser Maximilian auf der Martinswand, a dramatic cantata for soloists, mixed choir and orchestra, Op. 16, which has been lost; furthermore, the Hundredth Psalm for mixed choir and orchestra, Op. 17, and four songs for voice and piano, Op. 18.
In 1896, Franz Bölsche was appointed by Franz Wüllner as the successor to Gustav Jensen at the Cologne Conservatory. He took over the theory classes, taught composition and organised the music library.
He introduced himself to the Cologne audience with a new overture, Hero and Leander, Op. 20, which he conducted himself and which earned the 'newly appointed theory teacher' great recognition. The work, in which Bölsche did not participate in the modernity of Richard Strauss at that time, represents a middle ground between symphonic poetry and overture in the classical sense of form. The depth of its musical content made the work so popular that it was even played at summer promenade concerts.
On 16 December 1897, Bölsche married Olga Bölsche, née Knopp (born 23 November 1880 in Libau), in Libau (Courland). She was a highly talented pianist who worked as a well-known piano teacher in Cologne until 1944. The marriage was unhappy and ended in divorce thirteen years later. Olga Bölsche died in Leipzig in 1954. Franz Bölsche had two sons: Egon Bölsche and Walter Bölsche (born 7 November 1902; died 1932).
In 1898, Franz Wüllner conducted the premiere of the overture Othello, Op. 28, which emphasises the character of a symphonic poem to a greater extent. This work also made its way into concert halls, most recently in the 1920s in Aachen under Peter Raabe.
In 1899, also under Wüllner's baton, the twelve-part motet Darüber danke ich dir (For this I thank you) for solo quartet and eight-part choir, Op. 29, was premiered.
The year 1900 saw the completion of the second string quartet in C minor, Op. 27, which later became part of the repertoire of the Schulze-Priska Quartet. In four-part string arrangement and clear classical form, it contains all the expressive richness of the late Romantic era.
In 1901, the large four-movement Symphony in F minor, Op. 30, was premiered with great success under the baton of the composer, after the second and third movements had already been performed the previous year. Over two decades, countless performances of this symphony followed.
Apart from three songs for voice and piano, Op. 24, published in 1902/03 by N. Simrock, Berlin, and his last work, Siehe, wir preisen selig, die erduldet haben (Behold, we bless those who have endured) for six-part a cappella choir, Op. 35 (1913), the flow of his compositional output dried up.
From the year of the premiere of his symphony, Franz Bölsche worked only as a teacher and patron. In addition to publishing selected instrumental works by Melchior Franck and Valentin Haussmann as volume 16 of the Denkmäler deutscher Tonkunst (Monuments of German Music), he compiled a theory book entitled Übungen und Aufgaben zum Studium der Harmonielehre (Exercises and Assignments for the Study of Harmony), which was published in 1911 by Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig.
Building on Moritz Hauptmann's Die Natur der Harmonika und der Metrik (The Nature of Harmony and Metre), Bölsche created a standard work of music education that was to become the epitome of classical music theory for decades to come. The significance of this book, which overcame the old Richterian theory of harmony thanks to its sensible structure and the practicality of its teaching system, is best demonstrated by the fact that it has been republished in recent times, namely by Breitkopf in Leipzig in 1947 and Breitkopf in Wiesbaden in 1950, where it reached its 41st edition in 2009.
A textbook for the study of counterpoint, which was never quite completed, served Bölsche as a basis and guide for his counterpoint lessons.
His outstanding theoretical skills and his comprehensive knowledge of all styles enabled him to help shape the compositional work of his students, making him a much sought-after teacher.
Among the many musicians he trained were composers such as the Swiss Volkmar Andreae, as well as Ernst Kunsemüller, Wilhelm Rinkens, Konrad Ramrath, Johann Baptist Hilber, Alois Schmitz, Willi Kahl, Heinrich Lemacher and Karl Hermann Pillney. Bölsche was appointed royal professor in 1911.
Franz Bölsche was a quiet, kind and religious man. He remained very close to his parents until old age. He was unable to cope with severe blows of fate. He was helpless against his first publisher, Karl Buselmeier (1871–1947) in Leipzig, to whom he had handed over all his works up to Opus 18.
Buselmeier soon emigrated to Baltimore without taking care of the further printing or distribution of the works already published. For this reason, many of Franz Bölsche's works exist only in manuscript form.
After his divorce in 1910, he lived alone and in seclusion.
His relatively early retirement in 1925 was a consequence of his mental breakdown, which manifested itself in a serious nervous disorder. In 1928, he briefly resumed teaching theory at the Ziskoven Conservatory, Bonn. He spent the end of his life alone and inactive.

[eschiss1]

Thanks! The only work I've seen is the 2nd string quartet, and Buselmeier's behavior might explain why the first quartet is lost?

[Wheesht]

The only work I've seen is the 2nd string quartet, and Buselmeier's behavior might explain why the first quartet is lost?

That may well be the case.
Here is the work list from German wikipedia:

Kompositionen
Op. 1: Zehn Bagatellen für Klavier (Buselmeier)
Op. 2: Acht Lieder für eine Singstimme mit Klavier
Op. 3: "Dem rettenden Genius" Arie für Bariton und Orchester
Op. 4: Andante mit Variationen für Klavier (Buselmeier)
Op. 5: Erste Sonate für Klavier in c-Moll (Buselmeier)
Op. 6: 2. Sonate für Klavier in Es-Dur (Buselmeier)
Op. 7: Ouvertüre zur "Tragödie des Menschen" für Orchester (Manuskript)
Op. 8: Fünf Bagatellen für kleines Orchester
Op. 9: Psalm für gemischten Chor a-cappella
Op. 10: Drei Lieder aus "Psalter und Harfe" für gemischten Chor a-cappella
Op. 11: Ouvertüre zu "Othello", Urfassung
Op. 12: Trio für Klavier, Violine, Violoncello in D-Dur (Buselmeier)
Op. 13: Quartett für 2 Violinen, Viola und Violoncello in g-Moll (Manuskript, verschollen = untraceable)
Op. 14: Ouvertüre zu Hebbels "Judith" für Orchester (Buselmeier)
Op. 15: Konzert-Ouvertüre für Orchester in Es-Dur
Op. 16: Dramatische Kantate für Soli, gemischten Chor und Orchester (verschollen = untraceable)
Op. 17: Der 100-ste Psalm für gemischten Chor und Orchester
Op. 18: Vier Lieder für eine Singstimme und Klavier,
Op. 20: "Hero und Leander", dramatische Ouvertüre für Orchester (Manuskript)
Op. 24: Zwei Lieder für eine Singstimme und Klavier (Simrock)
Op. 25: "Frühlingswehen" für eine Singstimme und Klavier
Op. 27: 2. Quartett für 2 Violinen, Viola und Violoncello in c-Moll (Simrock)
Op. 28: "Othello", dramatische Ouvertüre für großes Orchester (Manuskript)
Op. 29: "Darüber danke ich Dir", Motette für achtstimmigen Chor a-cappella und Soloquartett
Op. 30: Symphonie in f-Moll (Manuskript)
Op. 35: "Siehe, wir preisen selig", für sechsstimmigen Chor a-cappella (Kahnt)

[Alan Howe]

Do we know where the F minor Symphony might be?

[eschiss1]

I don't, at the moment.
Hrm, I see that some of the "Buselmeier" works survive, at least: a copy of the Hebbel overture Op.14 (1893-4, published 1895) is in the possession of the Blumenthal Library at the New England Conservatory of Music (from which I've been able to interlibrary-loan stuff, but my scanning skills are low, so someone else should give that a try...) (Some other works, more than I expected offhand, seem to be in print and listed at Worldcat. Not the lost works unfortunately but, still. The Op.27 quartet is certainly good enough in Matesic's performance that I'd like to see and hear more music of his...
Edit: the KVK? catalog does list the location of the Op.7 manuscript, at least - Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, Bibliothek. The parts of the Op.15 concert overture are also there, likewise copy parts for Op.35 and a published score of the latter. Perhaps Köln has a substantial quantity of Bölsche's manuscripts beyond that, I'll check their online catalog... ah, 19 items listed under Bölsche, Franz in their catalog, including several printed and manuscript works and including his Melchior editions, but not his Op.30, alas.)

[Wheesht]

There do seem to be several of his works in various places, apparently. As for the Symphony, it might be in the estate ("Nachlass") of his son Egon. The German wikipedia entry on Franz Bölsche cites this as a source, but it doesn't say where it might be held.

[Wheesht]

According to a piece in the "Volksstimme" newspaper of Magdeburg, a concert with music by Bölsche took place in Wegenstedt, his birthplace, in August 2011, with several members of his family present. There is a grandson, Jörg Bölsche, who may know more about the whereabouts of the music.

[Alan Howe]

Here's the performance of the String Quartet No.2 to which Eric refers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJOcAmoPwu0

[eschiss1]

I'm not sure what value there is in linking a YouTube mirror instead of this link, but...

[Alan Howe]

Just couldn't find the link to the audio on that page, Eric...

[eschiss1]

Because of the show/hide thing or something else?

[Alan Howe]

No idea, Eric. Probably just being extra-thick!

[eschiss1]

Thanks to Cypressdome for uploading two more of Bölsche's works to IMSLP.