When Friedrich Gernsheim left the Leipzig Conservatoire at age 16, the administrative director gave him an unprecedented gift: a curl of Felix Mendelssohn's hair.
Composer Biography
At age nine, Friedrich Gernsheim studied with Ernst Pauer, a student of Mozart's son Franz Xaver Wolfgang, as well as Simon Sechter and Franz Lachner.
Historical Context
In 1912, Friedrich Gernsheim recounted how his grandfather, after the French army proclaimed 'les droits de l'homme' in Worms, destroyed a sign for a 'Jewish Jail' with an axe.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Friedrich Gernsheim, despite facing antisemitism, never recanted his Jewish faith and composed works inspired by Judaism, such as 'Elohenu' for cello and orchestra and his Symphony No. 3 'Miriam'.
Composer Biography
Friedrich Gernsheim, born in 1839, displayed early musical gifts, including perfect pitch, which allowed him to mimic the horn of a passing postilion on the piano.
Critical Reception
At age ten, Friedrich Gernsheim was hailed by a Strasbourg critic as "one of the most phenomenal manifestations in the history of music" and compared to Mozart.
Critical Reception
Critics praised Friedrich Gernsheim's music for its 'flourishing imagination, richness of melody, crispness of rhythm, and perfect mastery of form and compositional technique'.
You might also enjoy...
Tcherepnin: Piano Music, Vol. 2
Voříšek: Complete Works for Piano, Vol. 2
Severac, D. De: Cerdana, 5 Etudes Pittoresques / Sous Les Lauriers Roses / Les Naiades Et Le Faune Indiscret / Baigneuses Au Soleil
Rota: Complete Solo Piano Works, Vol. 2
Ponce, M.M.: Suite Cubana / 2 Etudes / 4 Danzas Mexicanas / Piano Sonata No. 2 / Rapsodia Cubana I / Scherzino / Preludios Encadenados
