Julius Rietz

August Wilhelm Julius Rietz (28 December 1812 – 12 September 1877[1]) was a German composer, conductor, cellist, and teacher.

[4] At 16, he joined the orchestra of Berlin's Königstädter Theater, for which he wrote the music to Karl Eduard von Holtei's play Lorbeerbaum und Bettelstab.

Here he spent the rest of his life, frequently appearing as an opera conductor, and also undertaking the direction of the Dresden Royal Conservatory.

[5] In terms of his own composing, Rietz belonged to the classically inclined school (Mendelssohn's output, as might be expected, had a big influence upon him) and he was strongly opposed to the musical radicalism of Liszt and Wagner.

[5] The Louisville Orchestra First Edition series contained, besides many works mostly by modern composers (usually American), Rietz' Concert Overture, opus 7 (coupled with the second symphony of Max Bruch), and recorded around 1970.