Feuchtner Franz-Adam

Feuchtner Franz-Adam

Main article: Music in Russia in the XVIII century

Biography

1760: Internship with Franz Benda in Potsdam and performances in concerts of Frederick the Great Chapel

Born on February 10, 1741 in Regensburg (Germany) to a violin master, Franz-Adam Feuchtner became known as a brilliant violin virtuoso as a child. His patron, Prince Alexander-Ferdinand Thurn-und-Taxis, recommended him for training to the outstanding master of the Berlin school, Franz Benda, from whom Feuchtner trained in Potsdam from 1760. Benda polished the natural talent of the young man, and he successfully performed in concerts of the chapel of Frederick the Great. Feuchtner especially vividly interpreted Benda's solo Caprice, a genre to which he himself subsequently paid tribute as a composer. Feuchtner's partners in chamber concerts were such famous musicians as Karl-Philipp-Emmanuel Bach and Karl-Friedrich ^[1]

1763: Joining Russian diplomat Count Hermann von Keyserling

In 1763, the twenty-two-year-old artist entered the service of the famous Russian diplomat and patron of the arts, Count German von Keyserling, with whom he first visited St. Petersburg. He then spends about a year in the count's palace in Königsberg, where he gives numerous concerts, and is also engaged in pedagogical work. At this time, the future famous composer violinist of the Prussian royal chapel (1775-1794) Johann-Friedrich Reichardt is studying with him. In an autobiography published in 1805, Reichardt recalls his teacher as follows:

"The hardest thing was to find a clavier performer in our city who could accompany cleanly and clearly to Mr. Feuchtner - as Karl-Philipp-Emmanuel Bach and Karl-Friedrich-Christian Fasch and others, standing on the same artistic level <…>"^[2]

1764: Death of Count Keyserling. Duke Peter Biron's bandmaster in Mitava

In 1764, during another diplomatic trip to Warsaw, Count Keiserling dies, and Feuchtner is forced to look for a new place. He finds him in the Courland capital Mitava (Jelgava, modern Latvia), where he works hard for thirty years as court bandmaster to Duke Peter Biron.

1769: Three Russian Symphonies

It was here that in the very late 1760s or in 1770 he wrote his "Russian Symphony" (Simphonie russienne), published by Hartknoch in Riga in 1771. Chronologically, this is one of the earliest currently preserved symphonies using Russian intonation material.

Since musical editions of Russian folk songs appeared only in the mid-1770s, it is obvious that the quoted melodies were either recorded by Feuchtner himself from the voice of one of the Russian residents or guests of Mitava, or informed to him by one of the Russian musicians who worked at the Courland court. It is possible that the composer could take advantage of old recordings made during the service of Count Keyserling and the first visit to St. Petersburg.

The composition itself is a typical example of the era of the formation of the Vienna classical school, according to the canons of which it was built, wrote V. Gurevich. It is close to Haydn's symphonies of this period - and a four-part structure with characteristic tonal relations between parts (T-D-T-T), and the composition of the orchestra (strings, flutes, horns), and the form of each of the parts (sonata allegro, double two-part, simple three-part (minuet with trio and rondo), and in ways of thematic development of the material, and most importantly, a general cheerful emotional tone. The following folk melodies were used:

• in the main theme of the initial Allegro - "Ah you, seni, my seni,"
• in Allegretto - "In the garden, in the garden."
• There are no cited Russian topics in Menuet, in melody he is closer to the German ^[3].
• Finally, in the final, the refrain is close to the Russian dance "How do I like plow pahati," but does not exactly quote it.

In general, although the symphony is not particularly original, it shows the author's confident possession of a set of certain stylistic techniques, his good orientation in the genre structure of the early Vienna symphony. Russian folk melodies, undoubtedly, are the most interesting element of this composition.

It is significant that Feuchtner, apparently, tried to develop the Russian beginning in symphonies: "Musical Dictionary" by G. Mendel-A. Reisman (T. 10. Berlin, 1878) mentions two more of his "Russian symphonies." However, the music of these opuses has not survived.

The Russian Symphony recorded a turning point in the evolution of Feuchtner's work: it is much more complex than all his previous symphonic compositions, which is noticeable, for example, when compared with the four symphonies published by Steidel in Mitava in 1770. If these three-part opuses are similar in many ways to the works of Manfredini and F.-E. Bach and only partially record the influence of the Mannheim school, then the "Russian Symphony" is aimed at the future and parallels with Haydn symphonies do not deprive it of the right to independently comprehend the emerging classical style.

1779: A series of singspiles

F. Feuchtner's court duties did not prevent him from creating quite energetically in different genres: he wrote violin concerts and Caprice, string quartets and orchestral divertissements, spiritual and secular cantatas. As a member of the Petrina Academy of Arts (named after its founder, Duke Peter Biron), Feuchtner unsuccessfully tried his hand at the singspiel genre: in the late 1770s - early 1780s, one after another, he was staged:

• "Scipio" (Mitava, 1779),
• "Cephalus and Procris" (Berlin, 1780),
• "Gyros and Kassandra" (Libava, 1784).

E. Gurevich managed to find the scores of "Cephalus and Prokris" and "Giros and Kassandra" in the archives of Dresden and Hamburg. These are quite solid, dramatically detailed compositions, stylistically parallel to the Glucov opuses (although, of course, not reaching the depths of the Gluck generalizations). Pleasant, graceful music with predominance elegiac-sentimental moods and rare emotional bursts-climaxes (like the tragic aria of Cephalus in the finale of the opera) were successful among aristocratic listeners - it was no coincidence that the Crown Prince, the future King of Prussia, Friedrich-Wilhelm II, who patronized Feuchtner, was the initiator of the Berlin production.

1797: Moving to Petersburg as accompanist of the First Court Orchestra to replace Titz

A steadily measured life in Mitava, occasionally disrupted by travels in the ducal retinue to Italy, Germany and other European countries, an ever-growing family (in 1768 Feuchtner married Katarina-Maria Götsch, with whom he lived happily for half a century) contributed little to thoughts of change. However, Courland lost its independence in 1795, the Duke left to live his century in Germany, and his employees were out of work. For some time, Feuchtner wondered where to send his feet, perhaps about to move to Italy (according to unconfirmed reports of Grov, he visited there around 1796). But in the end, Feuchtner preferred to move to St. Petersburg, where he ended up at the end of 1797. Feuchtner came to Russia as an experienced, wise musician. Of course, they knew about him in St. Petersburg, otherwise they would hardly have invited the 56-year-old artist to the prestigious place of the court camermusist and accompanist of the first (opera) orchestra (Feuchtner was, apparently, the oldest of all foreign masters ever invited to the royal service).

In St. Petersburg, Feuchtner worked in an atmosphere quite favorable for creativity. It is known that after the death of his mother, Paul the Great sought to remove her close associates from the eyes, which also affected the musicians. The place of the beloved quartet player Catherine August Titz who left for Dresden was taken by Franz Feuchtner.

Feuchtner dedicated three quartets published by Gerstenberg and Dietmar to his new Mr. (the only full copy of this edition is kept in the museum of Kesthei Castle in Hungary). Feuchtner's quartets do not differ in such a bright Russian color as Titz's quartets, but they are not inferior in terms of skill. Writing them, the composer, of course, could not help but take into account the tastes of royal customers. Feuchtner was no doubt aware of Paul's trembling attitude to Haydn's quartets (opus 33) dedicated by Haydn to the future Russian emperor (1781). However, for all the similarities with the Haydn style, Feuchtner's quartets are by no means a copy of them. For example, in the Re-Major Quartet (reprinted in 1988 in Germany with a preface by Ernst Stöckl), Feuchtner admits bold rearrangements of material within parts: as a result, the reprise of the initial allegro is dynamized by the introduction of new harmonic and melodic bundles, and the rondo-shaped ending bears little resemblance to the true rondo: its title theme in full takes place only once - at its beginning. The top of the quartet is the slow part - Andante with variations. In it, the composer was able to achieve an organic combination of harmonies and intonations in the spirit of the European quartet tradition of the pre-Beethoven era with lyrical beauty and humming, clearly associated with the fashionable vocal-everyday genre of "Russian song." If, moreover, we take into account the fabulous popularity of the genre of variations in Russia at the end of the 18th century, then Feuchtner immediately hit the point and, presumably, quite satisfied the emperor and his family.

The process of including Feuchtner in St. Petersburg musical life went smoothly and progressively. This is evidenced by documents stored in the Russian State Historical Archive. The earliest of them dates back to 1799. In it, Feuchtner is listed among the musicians of the first court orchestra, moreover, the exact date of his enrollment in the state is given: "in the service from January 14, 1798, the salary is 450 rubles (without travel and apartment), the apartment has (he) state and firewood is ten fathoms or money." It should be noted that Feuchtner's salary was one of the lowest, other violinists received from 700 to 2500 rubles.

The coming to power of Alexander I and the reforms of theatrical affairs he started led the violinist to the orchestra of the French theater, where he took over as accompanist. Feuchtner showed himself from the best side during the magnificent celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg, performing at the head of an orchestra of one hundred musicians. Alexander singled out Feuchtner and since then has repeatedly entrusted him with servicing such public events. It is safe to say that significant changes in his material situation stemmed from the success of these performances. If the imperial theaters allocated in February 1806 by the Office "for renting a free apartment and buying firewood 190 rubles" were then for Feuchtner a considerable amount, then three years later (according to the list of orchestra members of the French troupe) his salary reached 1,500 rubles, and he could feel financially quite well-off.

On June 1, 1810, Franz Feuchtner was assigned a pension for long service (half salary, or 750 rubles), and he became one of the highest paid musicians in the royal service. Apparently, Feuchtner continued his pedagogical activities. His best student - the eldest son Konstantin, twenty years old - was accepted into the same orchestra in which his father played, and established himself from the best side (under the contract of 1809 he received 1200 rubles).

The composer also took an active part in the life of the German community of St. Petersburg, the Catholic parish of St. Catherine. Entered members of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society, for which the monumental "Te Deum" was written, which sounded under the direction of the author in 1818 and became the end of his career. Of his other choral opuses, let's call the four-part Mass in D major, dedicated to the notorious Austrian Archduke Rudolph.

Feuchtner's composer activity gradually decreases with the onset of old age. In addition to the aforementioned works, he composed:

• violin "Russian Arietta" with six variations and Capriccio (1817), according to Fetis, published by Breitkopf and Gertel;
• then the same publishing house saw the light of Six sonatas for violin with bass and two notebooks Fantasies for solo violin (1818), of which only three sonatas (No. 4-6) were preserved, discovered by V. Gurevich in the special storage of the Russian State Library and got there after the war from the Berlin State Library.

Franz and Konstantin Feuchtner are on the lists of employees of the Office of the Imperial Theaters of 1814, moreover, their situation has not changed materially compared to the previous three years, which, apparently, was the result of the deterioration of the country's financial situation during the anti-Napoleonic wars and the lack of funds in the treasury. The duties of father and son can be traced to the surviving contract of Konstantin Feuchtner (May 1816). Let's give this interesting document:

I, the undersigned, entered the service of the Directorate of Imperial Theaters<…> on the following conditions: 1. I play the violin in the orchestra, where the Directorate will be ordered, in addition to balls and masquerades. 2. Be at all samples and rehearsals exactly at the hours assigned from the Directorate. 3. Use all their talents to the good and benefit of the Directorate and obey all the legalizations established for order and service. 4. As a reward for my work and efforts, I will receive salaries annually of a thousand five hundred rubles, which will be paid to me in equal installments every two months, throughout the course of my service, which, according to the conclusion of this contract, should last three years.

It is significant that the document is written in Russian and German, and not in French, as was customary before the war of 1812. Age could not but affect the performing qualities of Franz Feuchtner, but until the age of 75 he felt quite comfortable. Following the second generation, the third appeared in St. Petersburg - the children of Konstantin Feuchtner and his wife Wilhelmina: Konstantin Jr., Alexander, Fedor, who can already be called Russian Germans.

1818: Retirement

The prosperous course of life was disturbed by the sudden death of Konstantin Feuchtner (May 31, 1816) at the age of 31. After that, Franz Feuchtner began to quickly surrender and was retired in 1818. In the minutes of the meeting of the Theater Committee of May 8, 1818, we read: "The violinist Feuchtner, who is in the service of the Theater Directorate, attracted special attention from his superiors with an exemplary zeal for office and laudable behavior, but now he has become completely incapable of service in the maturity of years." And further, in a letter from the managing senator A. Tyufyakin addressed to the emperor:

"Feuchtner in the service of the Directorate since 1798. Although he has been a citizen of Russia for about 15 years, he entered into it after entering the Directorate; therefore, on the basis of the additional rules on boarding houses highly confirmed by Your Imperial Majesty on the 25th day of August of the past 1817, he cannot use the right granted to Russian subjects when receiving it. "

In this regard, by decree of 1809, Franz Feuchtner, as a foreign citizen who entered the service and worked for more than eighteen years, was assigned a pension in the amount of half a salary, that is, 750 rubles. in year. The decision of the Theater Committee was approved by the Committee of Ministers on May 21, 1818 and sealed by decree of Alexander I of July 12 of that year. True, Feuchtner had to work in the orchestra for free for two more seasons, "in gratitude," and finally completed his musical career in 1820 (79 years!).

1822: Death in Courland Governorate

He again spent the last months of his life in the Courland province of the Russian Empire, where his son Karl Ludwig worked as a forester near Mitava. Here, in Klevenhof (now Kalntsiems, Latvia), on March 3, 1822, Franz Feuchtner died and was buried. His eldest daughter-in-law Wilhelmina Osipovna (nee Grimm) continued to live in St. Petersburg with the composer's three grandchildren: from archival documents we know that, for example, Konstantin Jr. studied in 1834 at the University of Dorpat. Traces of the Feuchtner family are lost in the 1840s, and only new archival searches can clarify the fate of the descendants of the German musician - the author of the Russian Symphony, one of the significant figures in the domestic musical culture of the late XVIII - first quarter of the XIX ^[4]

Compositions

List of works by F. A. Feuchtner

About 60 symphonies. Of these, documented:

• Four Symphonies (ed. 1770);
• Russian Symphony (ed. 1771);
• Four Symphonies (ed. 1777).

Two concertos for violin and orchestra (ed. 1771, 1775).

Two divertissements for orchestra (before 1795).

Chamber opuses:

• Solo C major for violin with bass (early 1760s);
• Three quartets. Dedicated to Emperor Paul I (ed. 1798 or 1799);
• Capriccio for violin with bass (1817);
• Russian Arietta with six variations for violin with bass (1817);
• Six sonatas for violin and cello (ed. 1818);
• 24 fantasies for solo violin (ed. 1818).

Zingshpili:

• "Scipio" (post. 1779);
• "Cephalus and Procris" (post. 1780);
• "Gyros and Kassandra" (post. 1784).

Spiritual music:

• "Ascension." Oratorio for soloists and orchestra (text by C. F. Neander, Spanish 1787);
• Mass in D major. For choir and orchestra. Dedicated to Archduke Rudolph (c. 1815);
• "Te Deum" (Spanish: 1818).

More than ten secular cantatas "on occasion," including:

• "We gladly follow You, O brightest couple" (to the marriage of Crown Prince Peter and Countess Carolina Louise von

Waldeck, 1765);

• "We praise your beautiful name" (to the name of the Dowager Duchess Benigna Gottlieb, 1778);
• "Gossip, O happy Fatherland, wreaths of joy" (to the name day of Duke Peter, 1780);
• "Golden Rays of the Morning Dawn" (for the birthday of Duke Peter, 1786);
• "Rejoice, Fatherland" (on the occasion of the birth of the Crown Prince, 1787);
• "He is coming" (to the return of Duke Peter, 1787) and others.

Шаблон:XVIII Century Music CD

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