Finke, Fidelio F(ritz or Friedrich)
Finke, Fidelio F(ritz or Friedrich)
Finke, Fidelio F(ritz or Friedrich), German composer and pedagogue; b. Josefsthal, near Gablonz, Bohemia, Oct. 22, 1891; d. Dresden, June 12, 1968. He studied with his father and with his uncle, Romeo Finke, director of the German Academy of Music in Prague, and then attended Novak’s master classes in composition at the Prague Cons. (1908–11). He joined its faculty as a teacher of theory and piano in 1915, becoming a prof, in 1926; he also was national inspector of the German music schools in Czechoslovakia (1920–38) and head of the master classes in composition at the German Academy of Music in Prague (1927–45). After serving as director and as a teacher of a master class in composition at the Dresden Akademie für Musik und Theater (1946–51), he was a prof, of composition at the Leipzig Hochschule für Musik (1951–59). His works evolved from German classicism to the exploration of the Second Viennese School and neoClassicism before embracing a readily accessible style.
Works
DRAMATIC Opera : Die versunkene Glocke (1915–18); Die Jakobsfahrt (Prague, Oct. 17, 1936); Der schlagfertige Liebhaber (1950–54); Der Zauberfisch (Dresden, June 3, 1960). D a n c e P a n t o m i m e : Lied der Zeit (1946). ORCH.: Eine Schauspiel-Ouverture (1908); 8 suites: No. 1 for Strings (1911), No. 2 (1948), No. 3 (1949), No. 4 for 16 Winds and Percussion (1953), No. 5 for Winds (1955), No. 6 (1956), No. 7 (1961), and No. 8 for 5 Winds, 2 Pianos, and Strings (1961); Pan, sym. (1919); Piano Concerto (1930); Concerto for Orchestra (1931); Divertimento for Chamber Orch. (1964); Festliche Musik (1965). CHAMBER: Piano Quintet (1911); 5 string quartets (1914–64); Piano Trio (1923); Violin Sonata (1924); Sonata for Solo Cello (1926); Flute Sonata (1927); Sonata for 4 Recorders (1936); 100 Stilcke for Recorder (1936); Sonata for Solo Harp (1945); Horn Sonata (1946); Clarinet Sonata (1949); Viola Sonata (1954); Wind Quintet (1955); piano pieces; organ music. VOCAL: Deutsche Kantate for Soprano, Bass, Chorus, Boy’s Chorus, Organ, and Orch. (1940); Eros, cantata for Soprano, Tenor, and Orch. (1966); songs.
Bibliography
D. Hartwig, F.F. R: Leben und Werk (Habilitationsschrift, Univ. of Leipzig, 1970).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire