Werner Egk

Born: May 17th, 1901

Died: July 10th, 1983

Country of origin: Germany

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Werner Egk was born in Auchsesheim (now district of Donauwörth), Bavaria, as Werner Mayer on 17 May 1901. In 1921 he studied theory, composition and conducting with Carl Orff in Munich. In the same year Egk worked at a theatre in Schwabing as stage manager, scene painter and director of incidental music. In 1922 he started studying philosophy and musicology (with Adolf Sandberger) at the Munich university. Since his marriage with the violinist Elisabeth Karl in 1923 he called himself Werner Egk. After one year in Italy (1926/27) he returned to Munich and worked as musical director of an orchestra at a cinema. One year later he moved to Berlin, where he came into close contact with a.o. Kurt Weill, Erich Mühsam, Jürgen Fehling, Bertolt Brecht and Erwin Piscator, but returned to Munich in the same year. At this time he started working for the radio, creating several works for the new medium.

The world premiere of his opera Die Zaubergeige [The Magic Violin] (Frankfurt 1935), being one of the most popular operas in Germany for the following years, marked the beginning of his international career as an opera composer. In 1936 he became conductor at the Berlin State Opera, and in 1941 he was appointed chairman of the Composers Board at the Reichsmusikkammer. After the world war Egk continued his courageous defence of the rights of composers, working in key positions at the GEMA and with international collection societies, such as a chairman of the Composers Board at the GEMA (since 1950), as president of the German Composers Association (since 1954) and as president of the German Music Council (since 1968).

The first scenic performance of Abraxas in Munich in 1948 attracted special attention, as the ballet was banned by the Bavarian Minister of Cultural Affairs, Alois Hundhammer, after five performances. From 1950-53 Egk worked as professor of composition and director at the Musikhochschule in West Berlin. In 1954 Staatsintendant Rudolf Hartmann commissioned him to rehearse and direct all performances of his operas and ballets at the Bavarian State Opera. This contract terminated after 20 years during the period of office of Hartmann's successor Staatsintendant Günther Rennert. For his musical oeuvre, which covers almost every musical genre, Egk has been awarded a.o. the Honorary Arts Award of the city of Munich (1972), the star of the Grand Cross for Distinguished Service of the Federal Republic of Germany (1970), the Gold Medal for Science and Art of the city of Munich (1966), the Order of Merit of Bavaria (1962) and the Berlin Arts Award (1950) and the Olympic Gold Medal (1936).

Werner Egk died in Inning on 10 July 1983.

1901

Born in Auchsesheim (Bavaria) on 17 May as third child of the teacher Joseph Mayer and his wife Marie, née Buck

1908

Family moved to Augsburg

1911

Admitted into the Augsburg Gymnasium of St. Stephan

1912

First piano lessons with the daughter of a choir director

1919

Attended the Städtisches Konservatorium für Musik

1920

Passed final exams at St. Stephans and left his parents´home to move to Erbach (Odenwald)

Took singing lessons with Kammersänger Nieratzki

Private piano studies with Prof. Helberger, Frankfurt

Systematic studies of music history

End of the year: Worked as private tutor of the sons of Kammersänger Heinrich Knote in Pöcking at the Starnbergersee

Theory lessons with a student of the composer Friedrich Klose

1921

Moved to Munich

Studied piano with Anna Hirzel-Langenhan

Studied theory, composition and conducting with Carl Orff

Worked at the theatre Schaubühne in the Steinicke-Saal in Schwabing as stage manager, scene painter and director of incidental music

1922

Death of his mother; returned to Augsburg

Matriculated as student of philosophy at the University of Munich

Attended lectures on musicology with Adolf Sandberger

Met the violinist Elisabeth Karl

1923

29 March: Married Elisabeth Karl and took the name Egk as stage name

1924

27 May: Birth of son Titus

1925

Spring: Severe illness (influenza)

Summer: Trip to Portofino (Italy) for convalenscene

September: Moved to Rapallo (Italy)

1926

Beginning of the year: Moved to Cavi di Lavagna (Italy)

1927

End of September: Returned to Munich

Worked as musical director of an orchestra at the cinema "Phöbus-Palast"

1928

Moved to Berlin, looking for commissions, while his family stayed in Munich

July: Worked with the puppet theatre "Marionettentheater Münchner Künstler" in summer

Wrote music for the "Funkstunde" Berlin commissioned by the director Hans Flesch, later also for the Bavarian Radio, then "Deutsche Stunde in Bayern"

Berlin contacts with Kurt Weill, Erich Mühsam, Jürgen Fehling, Bert Brecht, Erwin Piscator among others

August: Returned to Munich-Obermenzing

1931

Was awarded an honorary gift of the Münchner Volksbühne

Summer: Moved from Munich-Obermenzing to Lochham, Lindenstraße 1

1932

Was commissioned by the Munich Radio to write an opera for the radio; discussed the "Columbus" plan in detail with Hermann Scherchen

16 December: The contract for "Quattro canzoni" marked the beginning of his collaboration with the Schott publishing house

1933

Broadcast of the radio opera "Columbus" by the Bavarian Radio, Munich

1934

Enforced end of his work as a free-lance with the Bavarian Radio, Munich

Started to work on the opera "Die Zaubergeige"

1935

World première of the opera "Die Zaubergeige" in Frankfurt on the Main on 22 May

1936

11 February: Met the director of the Preußisches Staatstheater, Heinz Tietjen, for the first time

9 March: Was appointed musical director at the Preußische Staatsoper Berlin

Began his new job on 31 October with a new production od Verdi´s "Don Carlos"

Made the acquaintance of Heinrich Strobel with whom he had close ties until Strobel´s death in 1970
Gold Medal for the composition "Olympische Festmusik" at the Olympic Games in Berlin

1937

14-19 June: Took part in the Paris congress of the "Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d' Auteurs et Compositeurs" (CISAC)

Contact with Arthur Honneger

17 December: Upon ministerial order, the name Egk became the legal family name

1938

24 November: World première of the opera "Peer Gynt" at the Preußische Staatsoper; after the première Egk was exposed to political attacks in the party papers and to a démarche to Adolf Hitler directed against Egk

1939

Another performance of "Peer Gynt" at the Music Festival Days of the Reich at Düsseldof through the services of Tietjen

19 May: Conferment of one of the three usual music awards at the Music Festival Days by Goebbels

1940

Termination of the contract with the Preußische Staatsoper

World première of "Joan von Zarissa" at the Berlin Staatsoper on 20 January

1941

10 April: Conclusion of five-year contract with the city of Frankfurt on the Main

August: Was appointed head of the "profession of the composers" at the Chamber of Music of the Reich as representative of the composers in the collecting society STAGMA

20. December: Joined the Berlin Staatsoper again as guest conductor

1942

13 January: First scenic performance of "Columbus" in Frankfurt on the Main

from May: Prepared the performance of "Joan von Zarissa" at the Grand Opéra in Paris

Planned a joined post-war opera project with Jean Giraudoux

Meeting with Jean Cocteau

11 December: Son Titus was called up for military service

22 December: Son Titus was sent to the front

1945

7 January: Last sign of life from son Titus from the east; has been missing since

1946

Meet Heinrich Strobel again at the Südwestfunk in Baden-Baden

Seccessful endeavours to unite the German composers in a union and to reestablish the German copyright society

1947

Met Heinz Tietjen, Boris Blacher and Hans Heinz Stuckenschmidt in Berlin

7 December: First concert performance of "Abraxas" at the Südwestfunk Baden-Baden

1948

6 June: First scenic performance of "Abraxas" at the Prinzregententheater, Munich; after five sold-out performances the work was banned by the Bavarian Minister of Culture Hundhammer

1949

28 March: Munich Arts Award

1950

18 January: Was appointed professor of composition and director of the Berlin Hochschule für Musik

18 March: Berlin Arts Award

Became president of the advisory board of the GEMA and head of the German Composers´Union

1951

29 August: Signed three-year contract with the Bayerische Staatsoper

17 October: The Bayerische Akademie der Schönen Künste admitted Egk as full member

20/21 October: Met Igor Stravinksy in Munich

1952

29 October: Egk gave notice for 30 March 1953 as director of the Hochschule für Musik

1953

6 May: World première of "Die chinesische Nachtigall" at the Deutsches Museum in Munich

15 May: Handed his post over to Boris Blacher at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik

1954

31 May: Was elected president of the German Composers Union

26 October: Staatsintendant Rudolf Hartmann commissioned the composer to rehearse and direct all performances of his operas and ballets at the Bayerische Staatsoper. This contract was renewed every year and terminated after 20 years during the period of office of Hartmann´s successor Staatsintendant Günther Rennert

1955

25 May: Bought a piece of land in Inning (Ammersee)

17 August: World première of "Irische Legende" at the Salzburg Festival

1956

15 October: Started building a house in Inning

1957

9 May: World première of "Der Revisor" at the Schwetzigen Festival

September: Met Igor Stravinsky and Luigi Nono

December: Completion of the house in Inning

1958

Guest performances as conductor in East Berlin, Vienna, Stuttgart, Augsburg and Paris

1959

January: Great Cross for Distinguished Service of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

13 January - 12 March: Trip to the West Indies with stopover in New York; visited Dimitri Mitropoulos

September: Trip to Leningrad and Moscow at the invitation of the Soviet government

1961

23 May: Received the Gold Medal of the city of Munich

17 November: Was awarded the Ludwig Spohr Prize of the city of Braunschweig

1962

26 June: Was awarded the Order of Merit of Bavaria

1963

27 November: World première of "Die Verlobung in San Domingo" at the new National Theatre in Munich

1966

20 May: Gold Medal for Science and Art of the city of Munich

2 June: World première of "17 Tage und 4 Minuten" at the Württembergisches Staatstheater in Stuttgart

20 June: Gold Medal of the Bavarian Radio presented by director Christian Wallenreiter

July: Admitted to the Deutsche Akademie der Künste in East Berlin as corresponding member

1967

22 January - 18 February: Trip to South Africa

4 June: Honorary citizen of Auchsesheim (later part of Donauwörth)

8-16 September: Visit to Bucharest at the invitation of the Festival Georges Enescu

1968

Summer: Worried about his seriously ill wife

18/19 October: Was elected president of the German Music Council

1969

28 November: World première of "Casanova in London" at the Munich Nationaltheater

Startet working on the new version of the opera "Irische Legende"

1970

7 September: Received the star of the Great Cross for Distinguished Service of the Federal Republic of Germany

1971

13 December: A bust of Werner Egk was put up in the foyer of the Augsburg Stadttheater

Resigned from his office as president of the German Music Council

1972

13 June: Received the honorary arts award of he city of Munich

Honorary Citizen of Donauwörth

31 August: End of the contractual commitment to the Bayerische Staatsoper

Beginning of October: Moved to Aarau (Switzerland)

1973

Donation of a Werner Egk Prize by the city of Donauwörth which has been awarded every two years since then (for the first time in 1974 to Professor Eugen Jochum)

1974

Beginning of September: Returned to Inning

1975

26 February: First scenic performance of the new version of "Irische Legende" in Augsburg

1976

Elected president of the CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers) in Paris for two years

1978

12 December: Death of Mrs Elisabeth Egk; burried in Donauwörth

1980

The city of Donauwörth decided to set up a Werner Egk Community Centre

1981

18 May: Chamber music matinée of the Bavarian State Orchestra at the Cuvilliéstheater in honour of Egk´s 80th birtday

22 May: Ceremony in Donauwörth

24 May: Ceremony in Augsburg

1982

Opening of the Werner Egk Community Centre in Donauwörth in the presence of the composer; in 1993 the community centre moved into a new domicile on "Museum Island" where it has been open to visitors in a new desing since then

1983

Werner Egk died in Inning on 10 July; at his own wish, he was burried in the municipal cemetery of Donauwörth

Gallery

Quartet for violoncellos

Download Edition

Composer : Egk, Werner

Editor : Dreyer, Lutz

Instrumentation : 4 cellos

Edition : score and parts

Order No. : CB 180 Q6247

€14.99 *
Music for Violin and Viola

Composer : Egk, Werner

Instrumentation : violin and viola

Edition : score and parts

Order No. : ED 9283

€21.00 *
Trio A Major

Composer : Egk, Werner

Instrumentation : violin, viola and cello

Edition : score and parts

Order No. : ED 9284

€22.00 *
Georgica

Vier Bauernstücke für Orchester

Composer : Egk, Werner

Instrumentation : orchestra

Edition : performance material
Allegria

Godimento in quattro tempi

Composer : Egk, Werner

Instrumentation : large orchestra

Edition : performance material
Orchester-Sonate

für großes Orchester

Composer : Egk, Werner

Instrumentation : large orchestra

Edition : performance material
Triptychon

aus der Dramatischen Tanzdichtung "Joan von Zarissa"

Composer : Egk, Werner

Instrumentation : Orchestra

Edition : performance material
Die Zaubergeige

Ouvertüre zur Oper (Neufassung)

Composer : Egk, Werner

Instrumentation : orchestra

Edition : performance material
Variationen über ein karibisches Thema

für Orchester

Composer : Egk, Werner

Instrumentation : orchestra

Edition : performance material
Geigenmusik

mit Orchester

Composer : Egk, Werner

Instrumentation : violin and orchestra

Edition : performance material

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