Rietz, (August Wilhelm) Julius
Rietz, (August Wilhelm) Julius
Rietz, (August Wilhelm) Julius , German cellist, conductor, music editor, and composer; b. Berlin, Dec. 28, 1812; d. Dresden, Sept. 12, 1877. He was of a musical family: his father was a court musician, and his brother was a friend of Mendelssohn. Julius studied cello and played in theater orchs. in Berlin. In 1834 he became 2nd conductor of the Düsseldorf Opera, and from 1847 to 1854 he was chief conductor of the Leipzig Opera; from 1848 to 1860 he served as chief conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orch. In 1860 he became Hofkapellmeister in Dresden, being named Generalmusikdirektor in 1874; was also artistic director of the Cons. there (from 1870). A scholarly musician and competent conductor, Rietz was also an excellent music editor. He prepared for publication the complete edition of Mendelssohn’s works for Breitkopf & Härtel (1874–77), and also ed. Mozart’s operas and syms., Beethoven’s overtures, etc. As a composer, he followed the musical style of Mendelssohn, numbering among his works 9 syms., a Cello Concerto, incidental music, and songs.
Bibliography
H. Zimmer, J. R. (diss., Univ. of Berlin, 1943).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire