Georg Goltermann

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Georg Goltermann should not be confused with Julius Goltermann (1825-1876), the cellist teacher of David Popper.

Georg Goltermann (August 19, 1824, Hannover – December 29, 1898, Frankfurt am Main) was a German cellist and composer.

[edit] Life

Goltermann's father was an organist and so he got an early introduction in music. He received cello lessons from Joseph Menter in München and was noted there for his compositional talents.

In 1852, after briefly touring Europe as a solo cellist, he became music director in Würzburg. In 1853 he accepted an offer to become deputy music director of the municipal theater Stadttheater in Frankfurt am Main, where he was promoted to Kapellmeister (Main Director) in 1874.

[edit] Works

Goltermann wrote five cello concerti, the most famous of which is the fourth concerto. This concerto is considered the "student's concerto" because it is the easiest of his five concerti, and it is studied fairly widely. His music is rarely if ever performed in professional concerts and is deemed to lack the musicality of true concerti. Instead his concerti are studied by students to learn technique and get a basic understanding of the concerto.

Concerto No.1 in A minor,Opus 14 : for cello and Piano

Concerto No.2 in D minor, Opus 30/cello and Piano

Concerto No.3 in B minor, Opus 30/cello and Piano

Concerto No.4 in G major, Opus 65/cello and Piano

Concerto No.5 in D minor, Op.67 : for cello and Piano

Of the above, Concerto No1 was the one most played professionally up to the early 1900s and again after WW1. The slow movement entitled Cantelina was often played separately as a cello solo. An early recording still exists of this played by Pablo Casals. Many of Goltermann's shorter solos were frequently in the repertoire up to the 1920s. As Chandos and other recording companies are reviving the works of forgotten composers it might be worth while to revive some of Goltermann's if only to see the reaction of the public and of present day critics.