Composer
Exotic Impressions
Flute Works by Sigfrid Karg-Elert
Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933) When Siegfried
Theodor Karg, the youngest of 12 children, was born in Oberndorf am
Neckar (Germany) in 1877, his father was already in poor health and
having difficulty supporting the family. When his father died in 1889,
the family was destitute, and Siegfried's sister Anna, who was ten years
older, took over the family's financial responsibilities. An old square
piano was given to Karg's family by a wealthy patron, and Professor
Bruno Röthig, cantor of the Johanniskirche, gave Siegfried piano
lessons. Siegfried began to compose his first works without any theoretical
training. He wrote sacred works for choir, motets, and a Christmas cantata,
and so impressed Professor Röthig that the professor programmed
a part of Siegfried's choral work.
Although Siegfried visited the Leipzig Conservatory, the church director
decided to send him to Grimma to study to be a school teacher. The boy,
only fourteen at the time, was distraught and restless. He threw himself
into practicing and composing, and learned to play flute, oboe, and
clarinet, but because of his poor work at school, he was not allowed
to study piano (1893). Leaving Grimma, he abruptly broke contact with
his benefactors and set out on his own at the age of sixteen. After
two days' walk he found some meager employment in Markranstädt,
where he resided for three years. He began to read a wider variety of
books, including philosophy, natural science, and music theory.
Becoming disenchanted with his surroundings, he headed on foot to Magdeburg.
He soon found work playing oboe, clarinet, and horn, but that did not
last long, since he was arrested in Magdeburg and sent back to Markranstädt
for trying to change his name to Siegfried von Markranstädt. He
was then told to return to Leipzig. In Leipzig, Siegfried earned a living
as an orchestral musician and bar pianist. He dressed up with a fake
beard and wig in order to remain incognito, since he was studying at
the Leipzig Conservatory, and performing dance music was not approved.
He studied organ with Homeyer, the Gewandhaus organist; piano with Wendling;
and music theory with Salomon Jadassohn and Carl Reinecke.
In 1900, Siegfried's piano concerto was premiered under the auspices
of the Leipzig Conservatory. For the next year and a half, Siegfried
took part in the composition classes of Robert Teichmüller. In
1902, at the recommendation of the Leipzig Conservatory, he took the
position of piano masterclass instructor at the conservatory at Magdeburg,
contingent on the director's stipulation that Karg alter his last name
to "Karg-Elert" (adding his mother's maiden name). At the
age of 25, Karg-Elert became engaged to Maria Oelze, a fine keyboard
player. Her father persuaded her to break off the engagement, however,
leaving them both miserable. An illegitimate son was born in 1904. Out
of spiritual confusion and personal disappointment, Karg-Elert experienced
an emotional collapse and lived as a recluse, composing constantly.
He also began an intensive study of the Kunstharmonium. During this
period he decided to return to Leipzig, leaving his post in Magdeburg.
Karg-Elert made the acquaintance of Edvard Grieg, who encouraged him
as a composer, awakened his affinity for classicism, and suggested publishers
and performance opportunities. Karg-Elert's compositions took on contrapuntal
forms and showed a mastery of polyphonic phrase construction. At Grieg's
recommendation, Karg-Elert again changed his name, this time to "Sigfrid."
In 1910, Karg-Elert married Minna Louise Kretschmar, but the marriage
was not a happy one. In 1912 a son was stillborn, and in 1914 they had
a daughter. Karg-Elert was known as a composer in England, America,
and Australia prior to the outbreak of the first world war. At war's
onset, Karg-Elert enlisted in the 107th infantry regiment. He was placed
in the regimental band, playing oboe, horn, saxophone, and even the
lyre. In the many concerts presented by the regiment, he was a favorite
accompanist and pianist as well. During this time, he wrote many important
works for winds, including most of his solo flute repertoire.
At this point, his works were stylistically akin to the music of Webern
and Schoenberg, but influenced by Brahms, Franck, Scriabin, and Debussy
as well. After what Karg-Elert described as an artistic crisis, his
writing took a new direction. He distanced himself more and more from
the radical left camp of musical composition in favor of the Impressionists,
late Romanticists, and Neo-Classicists, and began putting a "b"
after his later opus numbers to distinguish them from his earlier period.
Describing his new style, he wrote, "I began again in C major and
prayed to the muse of melody." All this time, his life's wish was
to become organist at the church at Vorstadt or Heiland, but his some
five attempts to secure these positions came to nothing. His association
with the Avant-Garde, his improvisatory virtuosity, and his repugnance
to authority may have been contributing factors.
In 1930, Karg-Elert took part in a Karg-Elert Festival in London, and
a year later he was asked to perform in the USA, where he presented
more than twenty organ concerts. He was offered the position of organ
teacher at the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh, but due to his failing
health, he declined. Diabetes and neuralgia plagued him more and more.
He died on September 4, 1933, and was buried in the Leipzig Südfriedhof.