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Werner Reinhart (19 March 1884 – 29 August 1951) was a Swiss merchant, philanthropist, amateur , and patron of composers and writers, particularly Igor Stravinsky and Rainer Maria Rilke. Reinhart knew and corresponded with many artists and musicians of the early-mid 20th century in Europe and the world, and his Villa Rychenberg in Winterthur became an international meeting point for musicians and writers.
He was sometimes referred to as "the Winterthur Gaius Maecenas". Alice Bailly named Werner Reinhart "L'homme aux mains d'or" – the man with the golden hands, and her 1920 portrait of him is called "The Man with the Golden Heart". DeBartha Galerie Senarclens Oskar Kokoschka also painted his portrait in 1947.
Werner Reinhart inherited his wealth from the Volkart family business, based in Winterthur, which he ran together with his elder brother Georg. Reinhart and Hermann Scherchen played a leading role in shaping the musical life of Winterthur between 1922 and 1950, the emphasis being on contemporary music, and they were instrumental in numerous premieres being performed there. Scherchen was one of many people whom Reinhart patronised, not least in Scherchen's case because he had to pay alimony to no less than five ex-wives. Michael Kater, The Twisted Muse
Reinhart continued his support of Stravinsky's work in 1919 by funding a series of concerts of his recent chamber music. Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center These included a suite of five numbers from The Soldier's Tale, arranged for clarinet, violin, and piano, which was a nod to Reinhart, who was an excellent amateur clarinettist. The suite was first performed on 8 November 1919, in Lausanne, long before the better-known suite for the seven original instruments became widely known. A Musical Feast Stravinsky dedicated his Three Pieces for Clarinet to Reinhart, in gratitude for his ongoing support. naxos Philharmonic Society Presents
Reinhart founded a music library of Stravinskiana at his home in Winterthur. Kuko.com
During this time, Reinhart introduced Rilke to his protégée, the violinist Alma Moodie. R. M. Rilke: Music as Metaphor Rilke was so impressed with her playing that he wrote in a letter: What a sound, what richness, what determination. That and the "Sonnets to Orpheus", those were two strings of the same voice. And she plays mostly Bach! Muzot has received its musical christening.... Photo and description Rainer Maria Rilke: a brief biographical overview
Reinhart told Gertrud Hindemith "there was something Mozartian" about her husband's writing Trauermusik in less than a day in London after the death of King George V, and premiering it the same evening. "I know no one else today who could do that", he said.Michael Steinberg, The Concerto
Honegger's Sonatine for Clarinet and Piano (1921–22) was written for Reinhart. Colin James Lawson, The Cambridge Companion to the Clarinet
Honegger's Pastorale d’été was played in Berlin on 9 November 1922, conducted by Bernhard Seidmann. This was financially supported by Werner Reinhart, who also urged Honegger to program Horace victorieux, a work he believed to be far more important.
Rainer Maria Rilke
In 1919, Rainer Maria Rilke travelled to Switzerland from Munich. The outward motive was an invitation to lecture in Zürich, but the real reason was the wish to escape the post-war chaos and take up once again his work on the Duino Elegies. The search for a suitable and affordable residence proved to be very difficult and Rilke lived in various places. Only in the summer of 1921 was he able to find a permanent abode in the Chateau de Muzot in the commune of Veyras, close to Sierre in Valais. It was at Muzot, in February 1922, that Rilke, in a storm of inspiration, wrote most of the fifty-five Sonnets to Orpheus and several smaller collections of poems. Bookrags In May 1922, after deciding he could afford the cost of considerable necessary renovation, Werner Reinhart bought Muzot so that Rilke could live there rent-free, and became Rilke's patron. Ralph Freedman, Life of a Poet Here Rilke completed his greatest work, the Duino Elegies.
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith's Clarinet Quintet, first performed at the ISCM Festival in Salzburg on 7 August 1923, was dedicated to Werner Reinhart, as was his Canon in Three Voices Sine musica nulla disciplina (1944).
Ernst Krenek
Ernst Krenek and his then-wife Anna Mahler (daughter of Gustav Mahler) lived in Zurich 1924–25, at Reinhart's invitation. Universal Edition Of mountains and modernism: Othmar Schoeck Their marriage collapsed, however, and Krenek had a brief affair with Alma Moodie. While this relationship did not last, Krenek was so grateful for Moodie's introduction to Reinhart's assistance that he dedicated his Violin Concerto No. 1, Op. 29, to her. His Kleine Suite, Op. 28 (1924) was written for Reinhart himself, and a piano Prelude (1944, W.o.O. 87) bears the dedication, "Dedicated to Werner Reinhart in the old spirit of cordial friendship and with the most sincere wishes."
Arthur Honegger
Werner Reinhart was the primary financial supporter of the Théâtre du Jorat, where Arthur Honegger's oratorio Le Roi David premiered, and corresponded with its owner René Morax. Contemporary Music in a well-established Genre
Anton Webern
It was thanks to Werner Reinhart that Anton Webern, who was living in political isolation in Austria, was able to attend the premiere of his Variations for Orchestra, Op. 30 in Winterthur in 1943. Reinhart invested all the financial and diplomatic means at his disposal to enable Webern to travel to Switzerland. In return for this support, Webern dedicated the work to him.
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