Emil Bohnke

[1] In May 1928, Bohnke and his wife were in Pasewalk in search of a summer home when they had an automobile accident and, tragically, both were killed.

The children had been left with their maternal grandparents, Marie (1867–1957) and Franz von Mendelssohn (1865–1935), who thereafter raised them in their mansion in Berlin.

Bohnke composed a body of sixteen opuses, comprising mainly chamber music and piano pieces, but also orchestral works and concertos.

The later works are characterized by dense thematic material and bold harmonies that often go beyond his still-existing framework of tonality.

Bohnke's most important work, a Symphony composed in 1927, was premiered shortly after his death on 11 November 1928 by the Staatskapelle Berlin conducted by Erich Kleiber.