Friedrich Gernsheim

David C.F. Wright DMus

Friedrich Gernsheim (17 July 1839–10 September 1916) was a German composer, conductor and pianist. Sadly, he has become known as the poor man’s Brahms, which is unfair. There are some similarities with the music of Brahms but there were many composers who lived in the shadow of Brahms who had  created an idiom admired by many and, not just in Germany but further afield as in the music of Parry.

Gernsheim’s music, particularly in the symphonies, are noted as being affectionate, warm and lyrical, pleasant and fresh without being sentimentalism.

He was born in Worms and given his first musical training at home under his mother’s care, then,  from the age of seven, studied under Worms’ musical director, Louis Liebe, a former pupil of Louis Spohr. Friedrich’s father, a prominent Jewish physician, moved the family to Frankfurt am Main in the aftermath of the year of  the revolution, 1848, where he studied with Edward Rosenhain, brother of Jakob Rosenhain. Friedrich made his first public appearance as a concert pianist in 1850 and toured for two seasons, then settled with his family in Leipzig, where he studied the piano with Ignaz Moscheles from 1852. He spent the years 1855–1860 in Paris, meeting Gioachino Rossini, Édouard Lalo and Camille Saint-Saëns.

His travels afterwards took him to Saarbrücken, where, in 1861, he took the conductor post vacated by Hermann Levi.  Then he moved to Cologne, where, in 1865, Ferdinand Hiller appointed him to the staff of the Conservatory (his pupils there included Engelbert Humperdinck and Carl Lachmund).

Gernsheim then served as musical director of the Philharmonic Society of Rotterdam, 1874–1890. In the latter year he became a teacher at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, and in 1897 moved there to teach at the Academy of Arts, where he was elected to the senate in 1897.

Gernsheim was a prolific composer, especially of orchestral, chamber and instrumental music, and songs. Some of his works tend to Jewish subject-matter, notably the Third Symphony on the subject of the Song of Miriam. His earlier works show the influence of Schumann, and from 1868, when he first became friendly with Brahms, a Brahmsian influence is very palpable. Gernsheim’s four symphonies (the first of which was written before the publication of Brahms’ First Symphony) are an interesting example of the reception of Brahmsian style by a sympathetic and talented contemporary. Gernsheim’s last works, most notably his Zu einem Drama (1902), show him moving away from that into something more personal.

His Opus 1 was the Piano Sonata in F minor.  It is an accomplished piece   and should be taken up by pianists. 

The first of his four violin sonatas  is his Opus 4 and dates from 1864.

Opus 6 is his Piano Quartet no 1in E flat which lasts just over half an hour. It is a very attractive work and not trammelled by Teutonic dullness. It is vital, often sparkling and very well conceived. It is by far superior to many chamber works readily available on disc. It is an uplifting piece and would be universally admired if known.

The String Quartet no 1 Op 9 was the first of four string quartets

A break from instrumental and chamber music is seen in Salamis Opus 10 for male chorus and orchestra. It was dedicated to his friend Max Bruch and is set in 39 pages of full score. The battle of Salamais was in 480BC between  Greeks and the Persian Empire ruled by Xerxes.

The first of his sonatas for cello and piano is his Opus 12.

A fine  Piano Concerto set in C minor was allocated as Opus 16. It plays for half an hour and is well written with the usual virtuosic elements; it is melodic and immediately accessible although it lacks the stature of Liszt and Rachmaninov. However, it is better than many concertos available on commercial CDs.

A spate of chamber works followed with the Piano Quartet no 2 Op 20, the String Quartet no 1 Op 25 of 1875, the Piano Trio no 1 and the String Quartet no 2, also of 1875.

By now, he felt he could undertake a symphony and his Symphony no 1 completed in 1875 and is his opus 32. It has been claimed to be heavily influenced by Brahms Symphony no 1 but that took 21 years to compose and was not finished until 1876, the year after the completion of the Gernsheim’s Symphony no 1 in G minor. It lasts about 40 minutes and is in four movement. The work is strong, lyrical and melodic. The scherzo hints at the scherzo of Beethoven’s Symphony no 7 and the finale is rather full of clichés but, nonetheless, it is a very attractive symphony.

His Violin Concerto no 1 in D  Op 42 was dedicated to Saraste and is rooted in D major. It has three movements: Allegro non troppo with an interesting cadenza, Andante afettuoso which hovers between A major and F sharp major and the finale Allegro energico e con brio  back in the key of D.

Agrippina Op 45 is scored for mezzo, chorus and orchestra and is about the wife of the Emperor Tiberius. Her brother was Caligula and she later married her uncle Claudius. She was a beautiful and a scheming  women with many affairs and lived in a time of many deaths and assassinations.

The Symphony no 2 in E flat Op 46 dates from 1882 and is in four movements lasting half an hour. The opening allegro is rather tame. In fact, the symphony does no wake up until the finale which is worth waiting for.

Op 54 was Symphony no 3 of 1887 entitled Miriam or the Song of Miriam, the sister of Moses. It lasts half an hour and is very successful. Occasionally, it seems to lose its way but the four movements are compelling and gives the listener a satisfying experience. It is a rewarding work and should be in the repertoire of our finest orchestras. There is a plethora of sub standard music played regularly and which is available on several CDs  while  fine works like this are not taken up. In one movement there is a strong hint of Mendelssohn, a fellow Jew, but none the worse for that since Mendelssohn is an underrated composer.

The last of his symphonies is the Symphony no 4 in B flat Op 62 of 1895 which has four movements: Allegro, Andante sostenuto, Vivace scherzando e energico and Allegro spirit e con gracoso. It was published by Simrock in 1896. It is a superb piece with wonderful melodies, magnificent orchestration and is completely satisfying. It has the feel good factor and is an excellent Romantic symphony. It is vastly superior to many such symphonies regularly broadcast and available on commercial CDs. Its neglect is a gross injustice.

The succinct Cello Concerto in E minor enjoyed much success in earlier times and has recently been taken up by some prudent cellists such as Alban Gerhardt. It tends to be very slightly slushy nut it is melodic and a worthwhile piece.  

Major works

•              Symphony no. 1 in G minor, op. 32, 1875
•              Symphony no. 2 in E♭ major, op. 46, 1882
•              Symphony no. 3 in C minor (‘Miriam’ or
• ‘Mirjam’), op. 54, 1887
•              Symphony no. 4 in B♭ major, op. 62, 1895

•              Piano Concerto in C minor, op. 16

•              Violin Concerto no. 1 in D major, op. 42
•              Violin Concerto no. 2 in F, op. 86
•              Fantasy Piece for violin with orchestra, op. 33

•              Cello Concerto in E minor, op. 78

•              Zu einem drama, op. 82

•              Divertimento, op. 53

•              String Quartet no. 1 in C minor, op. 25
•              String Quartet no. 2 in A minor, op. 31, 1875
•              String Quartet no. 3 in F major, op. 51, 1886
•              String Quartet no. 4 in E minor, op. 66
•              String Quartet no. 5 in A major, op. 83

•              Piano Quartet no. 1 in E♭, op. 6
•              Piano Quartet no. 2 in C minor, op. 20
•              Piano Quartet no. 3 in F major, op. 47, 1883

•              Piano Quintet no. 1 in D minor, op. 35
•              Piano Quintet no. 2 in B minor, op. 63, pub. ca. 1897

•              String Quintet no. 1 in D major, op. 9
•              String Quintet no. 2 in E♭ major, op. 8

•             String trio op. 74.

•              Violin sonata no. 1 in C minor, op. 4, pub. ca. 1864
•              Violin sonata no. 2 in C, op. 50, pub. ca. 1885
•              Violin sonata no. 3 in F, op. 64, pub. ca. 1898
•              Violin sonata no. 4 in G, op. 85

•              piano trio no. 1 in f, op. 28
•              piano trio no. 2 in b, op. 37

•              Cello sonata no. 1 in D minor, op. 12
•              Cello sonata no. 2 in E minor, op. 79
•              Cello sonata no. 3 in E minor, op. 87

•              Piano sonata in F minor, op. 1

•              Fantasy and Fugue for Organ, op. 76

•              Introduction and Allegro appassionato, op. 38

•             Salamis, for men’s chorus and orchestra op. 10
•             Nibelungen wiederfahrt, op. 73
•             Nornen wiegenlied, op. 65
•             Agrippina, op. 77

Of these works, the symphonies, the cello concerto, the first cello sonata, the piano trios, two of the piano quartets, the two piano quintets, the violin sonatas, and the second string quartet have to date been recorded. They are worth investigating.

© COPYRIGHT David C.F. Wright, DMus  1988, revised 2012; usual clause.

Friedrich Gernsheim was composer, conductor and pianist. He was given his first musical training at home under his mother’s care, then starting from the age of seven under Worms’ musical director, Louis Liebe, a former pupil of Louis Spohr. His father, a prominent Jewish physician, moved the family to Frankfurt am Main in the aftermath of the year of revolutions, 1848, where he studied with Edward Rosenhain, brother of Jakob Rosenhain. He made his first public appearance as a concert pianist in 1850 and toured for two seasons, then settled with his family in Leipzig, where he studied piano with Ignaz Moscheles from 1852. He spent the years 1855–1860 in Paris, meeting Gioachino Rossini, Édouard Lalo and Camille Saint-Saëns.

His travels afterwards took him to Saarbrücken, where in 1861 he took the conductor post vacated by Hermann Levi; to Cologne, where in 1865 Ferdinand Hiller appointed him to the staff of the Conservatory (his pupils there included Engelbert Humperdinck and Carl Lachmund); he then served as musical director of the Philharmonic Society of Rotterdam, 1874-1890. In the latter year he became a teacher at the Stern Conservatory in Berlin, and in 1897 moved there to teach at the Academy of Arts, where he was elected to the senate in 1897.

Gernsheim was a prolific composer, especially of orchestral, chamber and instrumental music, and songs. Some of his works tend to Jewish subject-matter, notably the Third Symphony on the legend of the Song of Miriam. His earlier works show the influence of Schumann, and from 1868, when he first became friendly with Brahms, a Brahmsian influence is very palpable. Gernsheim’s four symphonies (the first of which was written before the publication of Brahms’ First Symphony) are an interesting example of the reception of Brahmsian style by a sympathetic and talented contemporary. Gernsheim’s last works, most notably his Zu einem Drama (1902), show him moving away from that into something more personal. He died in Berlin.