Personalities | Peter Cornelius | Late Romantic | Classical

(Pa’-ter Kôr-nal’-yoos) 1824–74
German composer

Although gifted as an actor, Cornelius studied music in Berlin and joined Liszt’s circle in Weimar (1852), alongside Bülow, Joachim and others. He was a vociferous literary champion of the ‘New German School’ of Liszt and Wagner, yet his own works are surprisingly un-Wagnerian. They include many attractive Lieder, to his own poetry, and his opera The Barber of Baghdad. Its Weimar premiere (1858) aroused fierce opposition, leading to Liszt’s resignation, but in 1884 it enjoyed posthumous success in Felix Mottl’s revision. Cornelius composed two more operas, Der Cid (1865) and the unfinished Gunlod (completed 1891).

Recommended Recording:
Der Barbier von Bagdad, soloists, Bavarian Radio Chorus & Orchestra (cond) Heinrich Hollreiser (RCA/Sony)

Introduction | Late Romantic | Classical
Personalities | Eugen D’Albert | Late Romantic | Classical

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