Max Reger's early interest in music was inspired by his father, a schoolmaster and amateur musician, and he received his initial training from Weiden's town organist, Adalbert Lindner.
Composer Biography
Reger became a pupil of Hugo Riemann, a prominent music theorist and musicologist, first in Sondershausen and later as his assistant in Wiesbaden.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Reger was seen as a champion of absolute music and, at one point, was considered hostile to program music and the legacy of composers like Wagner and Liszt.
Composer Biography
Reger was invited by the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen to conduct the court orchestra, an ensemble previously led by Hans von Bülow and Richard Strauss.
Critical Reception
The esteem for Reger's organ compositions during his lifetime was significantly due to the advocacy of Karl Straube, a fellow pupil of Hugo Riemann and organist at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Despite being Catholic, Max Reger drew inspiration from the Lutheran tradition and its rich collection of chorales for his organ works.
Composer Biography
In 1907, Reger became a professor of composition at the University of Leipzig, a period when his music gained wider public recognition.
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