Oscar Fetrás

Oscar Fetrás (16 February 1854, Hamburg – 10 January 1931, Hamburg) was a German composer of popular dance music, military marches, piano pieces and arrangements.

He had over 200 compositions to his name. His best known work is his waltz "Mondnacht auf der Alster" Op. 60 which is still immensely popular to the present day.

Biography

He was born as Otto Kaufmann Faster 1854 in Hamburg. Early in his career he worked for Ferdinand Laeisz, founder of the Flying P-Liner. Once he became widely regarded as being on the same level as the revered Viennese waltz kings, he departed to conduct his own orchestra.

At the age of 26 his compositions attracted the attention of a Hamburg publisher and he made an anagramme of his name and formed the name Fetras from Faster. He was essentially of German descent and his musical talent did not come from his father Matthias Faster, who was an Hamburgian editor of a stock-exchangemagazine. The ancestors of Otto Faster came from Bützfleth (a locality of today's Stade near Hamburg). His grandfather a vessel-captain died in his sinking ship " Ceres ". The origin of his mother Amalie Margarethe, born Decker, is from the island Sylt

He soon rose to the position of conductor of the Uhlenhorster Fährhaus which was the most famous restaurant with ballrooms in Hamburg for which he composed his second most famous, but now forgotten work, Uhlenhorster Kinder. He was regarded as the most talented light music composer that Northern Germany ever produced and right from the start modelled his own composing on that of his idol, Johann Strauss Jr.. The Hamburgian business scene donated Fetras as a thank gift for his Waltz "Mondnacht auf der Alster" which made Hamburg most famous in the world, a bronze statue of the Roman god Hermes/Mercurius of the French artist Marius Montagne. This statue is the only thing out of the possession of Fetras which survived the war bombings and is now owned privately in Henstedt-Ulzburg near Hamburg/Germany.

It is interesting to note that it might have been Franz von Blon who was at that time the conductor of the Stadttheater Orchestra who introduced Moonlight on the Alster at the inaugural concert for the ball season in 1888. It was a sensation anyway and earned Fetrás the title of 'The Hamburg Waltz King'. Soon he was invited to tour Germany, Austria and France with his orchestra. He became personally acquainted with Johann Strauss. In 1904 he won a prize for his composition Frühlingsluft and later he wrote the excellent potpourri Reiche Mädchen (a reworking of Johann Strauss's 1897 operetta Der Göttin der Vernunft. The complete Die Göttin der Vernunft operetta has been released (2011) by Naxos Records, whilst the Reiche Mädchen Potpourri has been recorded by Marco Polo on their two CD production of Johann Strauss operetta potpourris. Fetrás remained well known and respected and though definitely a second rank composer in the Viennese style, he produced some 300 works. Otto Faster died January 1931 in Hamburg.

Legacy

In 1943, the Uhlenhorster Färhaus was destroyed by Allied bombing and with it the original score of his most famous work Moonlight on the Alster Op.60. The waltzes and music of Fetrás appear to have disappeared from the mainstream repertoire since WWII. The reason for this is primarily that many outlets of music publishers and music parts libraries which issued his material were destroyed during the bombing of Hamburg in World War II leaving currently no publisher actively issuing his material as well as destroying significant amounts of historic musical material. A current project aims to draw his compositions together via the IMSLP and make them more widely available once again.

In Hamburg-Rahlstedt the street Fetrasweg is named after him.

Works

• Op. 10 Goldschmieds Toechterlein – walzer
• Op. 11 Bankett – Marsch
• Op. 12 Schoenes Lenchen – polka francaise
• Op. 13 Hand in Hand – lanciers
• Op. 14 Lustig voran! – Marsch
• Op. 15 in der gold'nen Faschingszeit – walzer
• Op. 16 Traulich beisammen – gavotte
• Op. 17 Fruhling im Herzen – walzer
• Op. 18 Ihm nach! – polka schnell
• Op. 19 Luftschloesser – walzer
• Op. 20 Flottes Carre – lanciers
• Op. 21 Rosamundchen – polka francaise
• Op. 22 Carmen – walzer nach Motiven aus Bizet's Oper
• Op. 23 Nachtschwaermer – walzer
• Op. 24 An die Gewehre! – Marsch
• Op. 25 Die Schaeferin – rheinische polka
• Op. 26 Das blonde Gretchen – walzer
• Op. 27 Maskentrubel – polka francaise
• Op. 28 Elekrisch – polka schnell
• Op. 29 Balduin Dahl-Marsch – march
• Op. 30 La Mascotte – walzer nach Motiven aus Audran's opera
• Op. 31 Im Morgengrauen – walzer
• Op. 32 Le Petit blue – march
• Op. 33 Vis a Vis – lanciers
• Op. 34 Rip-Rip Valse – walzer nach Motiven aus Planquette
• Op. 35 Spanischer – walzer
• Op. 36 Blumenpyramiden – walzer
• Op. 37 Wintergarten – quadrille
• Op. 38 Zigeunerblut – march
• Op. 39 Kostuemfest – quadrille
• Op. 40 Uhlenhorster Kinder – walzer
• Op. 41 Nur fest! – march
• Op. 42 Irma – walzer nach Motiven aus Audran's opera
• Op. 43 Fensterpromenaden – walzer
• Op. 44 Dunkle Rose – polka-mazurka
• Op. 45 Dir zu Lieb! – polka francaise
• Op. 47 Tosti-Leider – walzer
• Op. 48 Husarenliebchen – marsch-polka
• Op. 49 Derby – quadrille
• Op. 50 Veilchen am Wege – walzer
• Op. 51 Frisch gewagt – march
• Op. 52 Bei Nacht und Nebel – walzer
• Op. 53 Emmeline – polka francaise
• Op. 54 Stelldichein – Marsch
• Op. 55 Lieb und Lied – walzer
• Op. 57 Jeanette – polka francaise
• Op. 58 Barcelona – Marsch
• Op. 59 Erwischt! – polka schnell
• Op. 60 Mondnacht auf der Alster – walzer
• Op. 61 Bunte Reihe – lanciers
• Op. 62 Train – Marsch
• Op. 63 Marias Traum – walzer
• Op. 64 Quadrille im Militaerstil – quadrille
• Op. 65 Fifi – March
• Op. 66 En tete a tete – lanciers
• Op. 67 Trinket, scherzet! – walzer
• Op. 68 Margaretha – polka-mazurka
• Op. 69 Maskenscherze – quadrille
• Op. 70 Auf rosigem Pfad – walzer
• Op. 71 Geschichten aus dem Sachsenwald – walzer
• Op. 72 Leichtes Element – polka francaise
• Op. 73 Nervoes – polka schnell
• Op. 74 Schalagat – quadrille
• Op. 75 Blaue Augen – blauer Himmel – walzer
• Op. 76 Wissmann – Marsch
• Op. 77 Eichhoernchen – polka schnell
• Op. 78 Der Gladiator – march
• Op. 79 Spielmanns Lieder – walzer
• Op. 80 Strand-Idyllen – walzer
• Op. 82 Dimitri – march
• Op. 83 Fidele – march
• Op. 112 Maerchen aus der Quellental – walzer
• Op. 122 Die Koenigsmaid – walzer
• Op. 126 Redaktionsgeheinmisse – walzer
• Op. 128 La Barcarolle – walzer nach Motiven aus Offenbach's opera
• Op. 137 Carmen – Marsch nach Motiven aus Bizet
• Op. 139 Tirol in Lied und Tanz
• Op. 140 Carmen – quadrille nach Motiven aus Bizet's opera
• Op. 145 Prisca – walzer (Rupprecht)
• Op. 146 Funkensprache – polka schnell
• Op. 147 Flunkermichel – polka francaise
• Op. 148 Scheiden und Meiden (Les Adieux) – walzer
• Op. 149 Sommernacht am Rhein – walzer
• Op. 150 Frohsinn auf den Bergen – walzer
• Op. 152 Im 7 Himmel – potpourri
• Op. 153 Liebe schafft Rat – overture
• Op. 154 Freikugeln – Marsch
• Op. 157 Melodien-Parade – Marsch-potpourri
• Op. 163 Offenbach – quadrille nach Motiven von Offenbach
• Op. 164 Offenbach – walzer
• Op. 165 Wenn die Füsschen sie heben – walzer nach Motiven aus Die keusche Susanne von Jean Gilbert
• Op. 166 Wenn der Vater mit dem Sohne – Marsch nach Motiven aus Die keusche Susanne von Jean Gilbert
• Op. 167 Hahnen-Rheinländer (Die Keusche Suzanne – Gilbert) / Kätchen-Rheinländer (Tieck) – polka francaise
• Op. 168 Die keusche Susanne – potpourri (Gilbert)
• Op. 169 Onegin-Klänge – walzer nach Motiven aus Tchaikovsky's opera
• Op. 170 Margueritentag – walzer
• Op. 171 Operetten-Revue – potpourri
• Op. 174 Willst du Liebe lernen? – walzer nach Motiven aus Marine-Gust'l von Georg Jarno
• Op. 175 Spanisch-Polnisch – Marsch
• Op. 176 Auf hoher See – Marsch nach Motiven aus Marine-Gust'l von Jarno
• Op. 177 Die keusche Susanne – quadrille nach Motiven aus Die keusche Susanne von Jean Gilbert
• Op. 178 Die Marine-Gust'l – potpourri (Georg Jarno)
• Op. 179 Truthahn-Tanz – trot de dindon
• Op. 180 Blumenfest – overture
• Op. 188 Skizzen aus Russland – divertissement
• Op. 189 Die Wandervoegel – Marsch
• Op. 191 Polo-Spiele – intermezzo
• Op. 192 Mia Cara – tango
• Op. 193 Walzerflut oder 100 Jahre in 15 Minuten – chronologishe walzer-suite
• Op. 194 Die lustigen Marionetten – intermezzo
• Op. 195 Juchhei, Tirolerbub – march
• Op. 196 Souvenir de Chopin – fantasie
• Op. 197 Froh im Kreise – Deutsches Volkslieder Potpourri
• Op. 199 O Deutschland hoch in Ehren – Marsch
• Op. 200 Hurra Hurra die Ulanen sind da – Kriegsmarsch 1914
• Op. 201 Hindenburg – Marsch
• Op. 202 Kinderlieder – Marsch
• Op. 203 Verkaufte Braut – Marsch nach Motiven aus Smetana's Oper
• Op. 204 Andreas Hofer – Marsch
• Op. 205 Nachruf an Schubert – potpourri
• Op. 206 Nachruf an Mendelssohn – potpourri
• Op. 207 Alpensaenger – potpourri
• Op. 208 Holzschuh -Tanz – Charakterstück – potpourri
• Op. 209 Kuenstlerlaune – intermezzo
• Op. 210 Hoffnungssterne – walzer
• Op. 211 Von Buehne zu Buehne – opera fantasie
• Op. 212 Erinnerung an Josef Gung'l – potpourri
• Op. 213 Aus Deutschlands Liederhain – potpourri
• Op. 215 Lumbye-Fantasie – divertissement (Hans Christian Lumbye)
• Op. 216 Nymphe und Faun – walzer nach Motiven von Delibes
• Op. 218 Minutenspiele – potpourri
• Op. 219 Sang und Tanz vom Boehmerland – potpourri
• Op. 222 Russische Volksklaenge – potpourri
• Op. 223 Tanzlust auf der Alm – Ländler

Sources and references

• Lexikon des Blasmusikwesens, Freiburg-Tiengen: Blasmusikverlag Schulz, 1988
• La musica en la radio: radio Ciudad Real EAJ 65 y sus discos de pizarra Coordinador: francisco Alia Miranda Cuenca: Ediciones de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 2000, p. 321–356
• The heritage encyclopedia of band music: composers and their music Edited by Paul E. Bierley. William H. Rehrig, Westerville, Ohio: Integrity Press, 1991
• The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians London: Macmillan, 1980
• Kurschners Deutscher Musiker-Kalender 1954 Zweite Ausgabe des Deutschen Musiker-Lexikons erausgeber: Hedwig und E.H. Mueller von Asow, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, 1954
• Sohlman's musiklexikon Gosta Morin, Carl Allan Moberg. Einar Sundstrom Stockholm: Sohlman Forlag, 1951
• Dizionario universale dei musicisti: Supplemento Schmidl, Carlo. Milan: Sonzogno, 1938
• Kurzgefasstes Tonkunstler Lexikon: fur Musiker und Freunde der Musik Begründet von Paul Frank. Neu bearbeitet und erganzt von Wilhelm Altmann. Regensburg: Gustave Bosse, 1936
• Deutsches Musiker-Lexikon Herausgegeben von Erich H. Muller. Dresden: Wilhelm Limpert, 1929

External links

• Oscar Fetrás' biography Johann Strauss Society of Great Britain
• Oscar Festras biography Hamburg Stadtwiki
• Free scores by Oscar Fetrás at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)