Bernhard Sekles' son, Hans Sekles, believed his father's preference for poetry from Slavic, Oriental, and East Asian cultures stemmed from a 'sensitivity to and longing for colour and light' and a desire to escape contemporary problems.
Composer Biography
Bernhard Sekles taught composition at the Hoch Conservatoire, and his students included notable figures like Paul Hindemith and Theodor Adorno.
Critical Reception
A 1901 review in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik praised Bernhard Sekles as a 'talented young composer' who found a 'golden middle way' between old and new schools of composition.
Historical Context
Bernhard Sekles' career was abruptly ended in 1933 when the Nazis seized power, leading to his removal from office and a ban on the performance of his music.
Composer Biography
Bernhard Sekles, the composer, studied composition with Iwan Knorr, piano with Lazzaro Uzielli, and orchestration with Engelbert Humperdinck at the Hoch Conservatoire in Frankfurt.
Recording & Production
This recording was supported by the 'Neustart Kultur' programme of the GVL and the 'Kulturpaket II: Perspektiven öffnen, Vielfalt sichern' project of the Hessische Kulturstiftung.
Composition History
The song cycle Aus dem Schi-King, Op. 15, uses texts from Friedrich Rückert's German re-creation of the 'Shijing,' the earliest extant collection of Chinese poetry.
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