KLUGHARDT – Cello Concerto in A minor (1892), Op.59 – CELLO AND ORCHESTRA

Other Identification:
August Klughardt lived from 1844 to 1902, making him contemporary with the golden age of romanticism. He began to earn his living as a conductor. At first, he worked at the municipal theatre in Posen (Poznań) for one season, then in Neustrelitz for one season, and finally in Lübeck for several months. From 1869 to 1873, he worked at the court theatre in Weimar. There, he met Franz Liszt, which was very important for his creative development. In 1873, he returned to Neustrelitz where he became chief conductor. He was appointed manager in 1880. In 1876, he visited the first Bayreuth Festival. From 1882 to the end of his life, he was director of music at the court in Dessau. In 1892 and 1893, he conducted Richard Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. He received many distinctions in his last years: he was appointed member of the Berlin Academy of Arts in 1898 and he was made honorary doctor by the University of Erlangen. He was also asked to direct the Singakademie in Berlin, but he rejected this offer. Klughardt died suddenly in Roßlau at the age of 54.
He wrote six symphonies and a lot of chamber music. He also produced a Violin concerto in D major, Op. 68 (c. 1895). In his operas, he used Wagner’s leitmotif technique, but he held to the older number opera instead of Wagner’s through-composed music-drama.
However, today, most of his output is nearly forgotten – only his Cello concerto, his Schilflieder (Reed Songs) and his Wind quintet are played from time to time.