Abt, Franz (Wilhelm)

views updated

Abt, Franz (Wilhelm)

Abt, Franz (Wilhelm), German conductor and composer; b. Eilenburg, Dec. 22, 1819; d. Wiesbaden, March 31, 1885. He was educated in Leipzig at the Thomasschule and the Univ. In 1841 he went to Zürich as conductor of the Allgemeinen Musikgesellschaft. He became 2nd conductor at the Braunschweig court in 1852, and subsequently was its 1st conductor from 1855 to 1882. Abt wrote over 600 works, becoming best known for his songs and choral pieces. In his day, his songs became so well known that some were mistaken for genuine folk songs.

Bibliography

B. Rost, Vom Meister des volkstümlichten deutschen Liedes F A. (Chemnitz, 1924).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

About this article

Abt, Franz (Wilhelm)

Updated About encyclopedia.com content Print Article