Robert Franz

Robert Franz (28 June 1815 – 24 October 1892) was a German composer, mainly of lieder.

He was born Robert Franz Julius Knauth in Halle, Germany, the son of Christoph Franz Knauth. In 1847, Christoph Knauth adopted his middle name Franz as his new surname, and his son followed suit.

He suffered in early life from the hostility of his parents to a musical career. He was twenty years old when his father's animosity was conquered and he was allowed to live in Dessau to study organ playing under Friedrich Schneider. The two years of study under that famous teacher were advantageous chiefly in making him uncommonly intimate with the works of Bach and Händel, his knowledge of which be shown in his editions of the former's St Matthew Passion, Magnificat and ten cantatas, and the latter's Messiah and L'Allegro, although some of these editions have long been controversial among musicians.

In 1843 he published his first book of songs, which was followed by some fifty more books, containing in all about 250 songs. In his native Halle he filled various public offices, including those of city organist as well as conductor of the Singakademie and the Symphony. He also served as royal music-director and music master at the university. The first book of songs was warmly praised by Liszt and Schumann, and the latter wrote a lengthy review of it in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik and later published it separately as well.

Deafness began to make itself apparent as early as 1841. Franz also suffered from a nervous disorder that in 1868 compelled him to resign his offices. His future was then provided for by Franz Liszt, Joseph Joachim and others, who gave him the receipts of a concert tour amounting to some 100,000 marks.

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