Emil von Reznicek
Emil Nikolaus Joseph, Freiherr von Reznicek (4 May 1860, in Vienna – 2 August 1945, in Berlin) was an Austrian composer of Romanian-Czech ancestry.
Reznicek's grandfather, Josef Resnitschek (1787–1848), was a trumpet virtuoso and band leader in the Imperial regiments Nos.
He began piano lessons in 1871; his first compositions date from 1876–78, when he was a student in Graz and at the Staatsgymnasium in Marburg an der Drau (Maribor).
From 1899 to 1902 the couple settled at Wiesbaden, where Reznicek wrote his fifth opera Till Eulenspiegel, which premiered in 1902 at Karlsruhe under the direction of Felix Mottl.
In Berlin, Reznicek enjoyed a good start with the premiere of his first symphony and a revival of Till Eulenspiegel at the Court-opera.
Today, Gregor is considered to be the founder of modern Regietheater; Reznicek's experience there registers in his operas beginning with Ritter Blaubart (1915–1917).
Reznicek's wife Berta fell seriously ill and was in critical condition for a month, and the composer's autobiography of 1940 indicates that he seriously considered suicide at the time.
Schlemihl met with immediate success and launched a new phase in Reznicek's career as a composer, becoming the first instalment of a trilogy that also included Der Sieger (1913) and Frieden - Eine Vision (1914).
With the Weimar Republic came public recognition: Reznicek was nominated for a professorship at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and for a seat in the Prussian Academy of Fine Arts.
When the Nazi Party came to power in 1933, Reznicek (who was not interested in politics) had a problem:[4] his wife Berta was of Jewish origin (although she had been raised as a Calvinist).
Reznicek's daughter Felicitas (1904–1997) – a journalist, writer, and pioneer of female mountain climbing – attempted to leave Germany for Switzerland, but received no permit to work there.
On the other hand, Emil-Ludwig (1898–1940), Reznicek's youngest son, was a fervent Nazi sympathizer even before 1933, joining the party and the SS.
When he appeared in Nazi uniform in 1933, Reznicek was outraged and a complete split of the family was prevented only with the promise never to discuss politics.
In 1934, Reznicek accepted Strauss's invitation to become the German delegate at the ständige Rat für die Internationale Zusammenarbeit der Komponisten.
Reznicek organised these concerts in Germany and in due course he was able to present compositions which were not particularly in-line with the Nazi-ideology (e.g. the music of Jewish composers such as Dukas and Wladigeroff or jazz-inspired works like The Rio Grande by Constant Lambert.
Historically Donna Diana (written exactly at the same time as Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel opera) marks the decisive step away from Wagner-imitation to Wagner-reception in the way of going beyond Wagner.
Reznicek's next opera Till Eulenspiegel goes further in exploiting the concept of a Volksoper including older music styles.
It was only with his experience at the Komische Oper Berlin and the illness of his second wife that Reznicek found a new and very personal style, one that can be described as a sort of musical expressionism.
