Hermann Ritter

This article is about the viola player. For the WWII officer, see Sabine Island.
Hermann Ritter

Hermann Ritter (16 September 1849 in Wismar – 25 January 1926 in Würzburg) was a German viola player, composer and music historian.

Biography

Hermann Ritter studied violin at the Neue Akademie für Musik in Berlin from 1865 to 1870. His outstanding talent was soon recognized and was appointed music director of the municipal orchestra in Heidelberg, where he also continued his education at the University of Heidelberg. During this time, his performance interest shifted from the violin to the viola, intent on improving the status of the violist by raising the standard of performance[1] and developing an instrument with a tone equal to that of the violin and cello.

Besides musical compositions and transcriptions, Ritter is credited with writing many books and essays including several volumes on the music history of Europe.

Selected works

Original compositions

Stage
Vocal
Piano
Pedagogical works
Viola or viola alta
  1. Idylle
  2. Elfengesang
  1. Pastorale und Gavotte in A minor
  2. Im Traume in G major
  1. Elegie in G minor
  2. Introduktion und Mazurka in A minor/C major
  1. Barcarole (Venezia)
  2. Elegie (Roma) in A minor
  3. Tarantella (Napoli)
  1. Valse caprice
  2. Moto perpetuo
  1. Andante
  2. Allegretto Scherzando
  1. Gavotte in C major
  2. Pastorale und Menuett in C major

Transcriptions

Transcriptions for viola or viola alta and piano unless otherwise noted

  1. Aria di chiesa by Alessandro Stradella
  2. Largo in E minor by Jean-Marie Leclair
  3. Larghetto by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  4. Moment musical by Franz Schubert; original for piano
  5. Lied ohne Worte by Felix Mendelssohn; original for piano
  6. Melodie by Hermann Ritter
  7. La Romanesca: Tanz aus dem XVI. Jahrhunderts
  8. Recitativ und Arie (aus Rinaldo) by George Frideric Handel
  9. Largo in F major by Johann Sebastian Bach
  10. Aria by Antonio Lotti
  11. Sonate in E-moll by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  12. Ave verum by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  13. Larghetto from the Violin Concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven
  14. Ave Maria by Franz Schubert
  15. Russisches Lied (Der Zweifel) by Mikhail Glinka; original for voice, chorus and piano
  16. Auf den Wellen by Hermann Ritter
  17. Gavotte (G-Dur) by Giovanni Battista Martini
  18. Romanze (Tregiorni) by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
  19. Andante (F-Dur) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  20. Andantino (Es-Dur) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
  21. Nocturne by John Field
  22. Arie (aus der D-Dur-Suite) by Johann Sebastian Bach
  23. La séparation: Nocturne (1839) by Mikhail Glinka; original for piano
  24. Chant sans paroles (Lied ohne Worte), Op. 2 No. 3 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
  1. Romanze, Op. 40; original for violin and orchestra
  2. Adelaide, Op. 46; original for voice and piano
  3. Romanze, Op. 50; original for violin and orchestra
  1. Larghetto from Sonate Concertante No. 4 in D major, Op. 115 (1809) by Louis Spohr; original for violin and harp
  2. Recitativ und Andante from the Violin Concerto No. 6, Op. 28 (1808–1809) by Louis Spohr; original for violin and orchestra
  3. Barcarole from 6 Salonstücke, Op. 135 No. 1 by Louis Spohr; original for violin and piano
  4. Erlkönig, Op. 1 by Franz Schubert
  1. Air varié, Op. 10 by Pierre Rode
  2. Élégie, Op. 10 by Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst; original for violin and piano
  3. Suite by Johann Sebastian Bach
    1. Sarabande (BWV 1012)
    2. Gavotte (BWV 811)
    3. Andante (BWV 1003)
    4. Allegro (BWV 1009)
  4. Notturno, Op. 9 No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin; original for piano
  5. Lied ohne Worte, Op. 53 No.2 by Felix Mendelssohn; original for piano
  6. Russische Melodie (Kosakentanz)
  7. Moto perpetuo by Niccolò Paganini; original for violin and piano
  8. Frühlingslied (Lied ohne Worte), Op. 62 No.6 by Felix Mendelssohn; original for piano
  9. Lied ohne Worte, Op. 85 No. 1 by Felix Mendelssohn; original for piano
  10. Adagio cantabile aus der Sonate pathétique, Op. 13 by Ludwig van Beethoven; original for piano
  11. Romance sans paroles in G major, Op. 23 (1875) by Karl Davydov; original for cello and piano
  12. Cavatine by Joachim Raff
  13. Wiegenlied, Op. 98 No. 2 by Franz Schubert
  14. Impromptu, Op. 90 No. 3 by Franz Schubert; original for piano
  15. Serenade aus dem Quartett No. 74 (Andante cantabile) by Joseph Haydn
  16. Notturno aus der Musik "Sommernachtstraum" by Felix Mendelssohn; original for orchestra
  17. Waltz, Op. 34 No. 2 by Frédéric Chopin; original for piano
  18. Adagio aus dem Klarinettenkonzert by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; original for clarinet and orchestra
  19. Aria in D minor by Francesco Durante
  20. Larghetto by Giuseppe Tartini
  21. Czárdás
  22. Lento, Movement I from a Sonata by Johann Sebastian Bach
  23. Siciliano by Johann Sebastian Bach
  24. Adagio by Johann Sebastian Bach
  25. 4 altschottische Volkslieder (4 Old Scottish Folk Songs)
  1. Arietta in G major by Alessandro Stradella
  2. Siciliana in G minor by Alessandro Scarlatti
  3. Vergin tutt'amor in D minor by L. Durante
  4. Aria "Caro mio ben" in D major by Giuseppe Giordani
  5. Adagio in E major by Johann Sebastian Bach
  6. Andante in A minor by George Frideric Handel

Literary works

  1. Musikgeschichte des Altertums (A Music History of Antiquity) (1902)
  2. Musikgeschichte des Mittelalters (A Music History of the Middle Ages) (1902)
  3. Musikgeschichte Deutschlands im 16. – 18. Jahrhunderts (A Music History of Germany in the 16th through 18th Centuries) (1902)
  4. Musikgeschichte Deutschlands im 19. Jahrhunderts (A Music History of Germany in the 19th Century) (1902)
  5. Musikgeschichte Frankreichs, Britanniens, Russlands u.s.w. (A Music History of France, Britain, Russia, etc.) (1902)
  6. Musikgeschichte Italiens (A Music History of Italy) (1902)

Dedications

References

  1. Riley, Maurice W. (1980), "19th Century Violists: Hermann Ritter", The History of the Viola, Volume I, Ann Arbor, Michigan: Braun-Brumfield, p. 210

External links