Product Code Database
Christian Ludwig Schuncke (21 December 18107 December 1834) was a German pianist and composer, and close friend of Robert Schumann. His early promise was eclipsed by his death from tuberculosis at the age of 23.
He was generally known as Ludwig, and that name also appears as Louis in some references. His surname appears as either Schuncke or Schunke.
He demonstrated his talents very early, and they were encouraged. In March 1822, aged only 11, he performed Johann Nepomuk Hummel's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 85, under the direction of Louis Spohr. He then went on a concert tour of Germany. Carl Maria von Weber expressed his approval of Schuncke's early compositions.
In 1828, he was one of the four pianists who played Henri Bertini's transcription of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony for eight hands, the others being Bertini himself, Franz Liszt and Wojciech Sowiński. Beethoven's Contemporaries
He went to Paris for study, where his main teachers were Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Anton Reicha and Henri Herz, Naxos and where he also had friendships with people such as Hector Berlioz, Sigismond Thalberg and Johann Peter Pixis. In Paris, he made his living by demonstrating Duport pianos, and he also lived in Duport's household. After completing his studies, he returned to Germany. In Stuttgart, he made the acquaintance of Frédéric Chopin after hearing him perform his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor. Schuncke dedicated his Caprice in C minor, Op.10, to Chopin. He then moved to Vienna, Prague and Dresden, appearing in concert,Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. 1954, Vol VII, p. 640 before finally settling in Leipzig in December 1833. Nancy B Reich, Clara Schumann: The Artist and the Woman He lived in a boarding house and his room was next door to that of Robert Schumann, Classical Archives whose very close friend he became. Schuncke was one of the co-founders of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, RIPM and one of its early contributors, under the pseudonym "Jonathan". Marie C Miller, Eusebius and Florestan He was also a member of Schumann's Davidsbund.
He appeared as soloist at the Leipzig Gewandhaus on 27 January 1834. Robert Ostermeyer Musikedition In one article, Schumann favourably compared the playing of the emerging Franz Liszt to that of Ludwig Schuncke. Dana Andrew Gooley, The virtuoso Liszt
Schuncke dedicated his Grande Sonate in G minor, Op. 3, to Schumann, who greatly admired the work, and in turn dedicated his Toccata in C major, Op. 7, to Schuncke on its publication in 1834. In a letter dated 4 September 1834, Schumann wrote that his whole wealth could be summed up in three names: Henriette Voigt, Ernestine von Fricken and Ludwig Schuncke. Schubertiade Music
Schumann's Carnaval, Op. 9, had its origin in a set of variations on a Sehnsuchtswalzer by Franz Schubert. The catalyst for the variations may have been a work for piano and orchestra on the same theme by Schuncke (his Op. 14). Schumann felt that Schuncke's heroic treatment was an inappropriate reflection of the tender nature of the Schubert piece, so he set out to approach his variations in a more intimate way, for piano solo. He worked on the piece in 1833 and 1834. The work was never completed, however, but he did re-use the opening 24 measures for the opening of Carnaval. Andreas Boyde
Schuncke helped Schumann through his crisis of 1833–34, in which he had a serious depressive illness leading to a suicide attempt, and his brother and sister-in-law both died. Don Michael Randel, Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music Schumann in turn nursed Schuncke through his own final illness. Ludwig Schuncke died on 7 December 1834, at age 23, of tuberculosis. He is buried in the Alter Johannisfriedhof in Leipzig. Schumann forever after kept Schuncke's death bed portrait in his own study, in a gallery of pictures hung above his piano. Alessandra Comini, The Changing Image of Beethoven
His song Gretchen am Spinnrad is also recorded.
Further recordings of Schuncke's piano works can be found on the following CDs: "Ludwig Schuncke- Piano Music", Tatiana Larionova, Brilliant Classics 94807, 2015 and "Early Piano Works", Ulrich Roman Murtfeld, audite 87.811, 2023
Schuncke's music
Although their approaches sometimes differed, Schuncke and Schumann influenced each other to a significant degree. This can be seen in the following example, where an excerpt from Schuncke's Grande Sonate in G minor could easily be played alongside an excerpt from Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor.
Recordings
Jozef De Beenhouwer was the first to perform Schuncke's Grande Sonate in G minor, Op. 3, which has also been recorded by Mario Patuzzi, Gregor Weichert, Sylviane Deferne and Megumi Sano. (His name is shown on Patuzzi's, Weichert's, Deferne's and Sano's albums as "Christian L. Schunke", Classical Archives "Louis Schuncke" and "Ludwig Schunke" respectively.)
Works
Piano solo
Piano Duet
Piano and orchestra
Chamber music
Vocal works
External links
Categories: 1810 Births, 1834 Deaths, 19th-century German Classical Composers, 19th-century German Classical Pianists, 19th-century Deaths From Tuberculosis, 19th-century German Male Musicians, German Male Classical Composers, German Pianists, German Male Pianists, German Romantic Composers, German Male Classical Pianists, Musicians From Kassel, People From The Kingdom Of Westphalia, Pupils Of Anton Reicha, Pupils Of Robert Schumann, Tuberculosis Deaths In Germany, German Magazine Founders
|
|
