Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916)

Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916).

• Profession: Conductor, composer.
• Residences: Leipzig, Vienna, Cologne.
• Relation to Mahler:
• Correspondence with Mahler: Yes.
  1. 00-03-1904 Year 1904 Vienna: Letter to Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916).
  2. 00-03-1904 Year 1904 Vienna: Letter to Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916). Late March/Early April.
  3. 00-06-1904 Year 1904 Vienna: Letter to Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916). Early June?
  4. 00-10-1904 Year 1904 Vienna: Letter to Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916). Late September/Early October.
  5. 00-10-1904 Year 1904 Vienna: Letter to Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916). Early October. About 1904 Concert Cologne 18-10-1904 – Symphony No. 5 (Premiere).
  6. 00-00-1905 Year 1905 Vienna: Letter to Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916). Spring.
  7. 16-06-1905 Year 1905 Klagenfurt: Postcard to Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916).
• Born: 17-06-1855 Grunsfeld, Wurttemberg, Germany.
• Died: 13-08-1916 Munich, Germany. Aged 61.
• Buried: 00-00-0000 Munchner Waldfriedhof, Munich, Germany.

Fritz Steinbach was a German conductor and composer who was particularly associated with the works of Johannes Brahms. Born in Grünsfeld, he was the brother of conductor Emil Steinbach (1849-1919). He studied at the Leipzig Conservatory and in Vienna. Among his teachers were Martin Gustav Nottebohm and Anton Door. In 1886 he succeeded Richard Strauss as the conductor of the Meiningen Court Orchestra. He remained there until 1902, during which time he often collaborated with Brahms and gave frequent guest performances at the court of Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. From 1898-1901 he was President of the Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein.

He was the music director of the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne from 1902-1914. He served as the director of the Lower Rhenish Music Festival in 1904, 1907, 1910, and 1913. He taught conducting at the Cologne Conservatory where his pupils included Adolf Busch (in composition), Fritz Busch (in conducting), Allard de Ridder, Karl Elmendorff, Hans Knappertsbusch, Franz Mittler, Karl Aagard Østvig, Albert van Raalte and Erwin Schulhoff. His pupil Walter Blume continued his researches into Brahms.

Gustav Mahler

Emil who was probably introduced to Mahler through his younger brother Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916), invited Mahler early in 1904 to conduct his Symphony No. 4 in Mainz. Mahler accepted, and the performance took place soon after 23-03-1904. The dates of their concerts make it clear that the steinbach brothers collaborated on this occasion (and probably on others too); four days after Mahler had conducted his Symphony No. 4 in Mainz for Emil Steinbach (1849-1919), he performed his symphony No. 3 for Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916) in Cologne. In an undated letter (24-03-1904 to Alma), Mahler, already in Cologne, gave his account to the Mainz concert (… turned out really well …).

• 1904 Concert Mainz 23-03-1904 – Symphony No. 4. – Emil Steinbach (1849-1919).
• 1904 Concert Cologne 27-03-1904 – Symphony No. 3. – Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916).
• 1904 Concert Cologne 18-10-1904 – Symphony No. 5 (Premiere) – Fritz Steinbach (1855-1916).