FRANZ SCHREKER Intermezzo , op . 8
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1878 in Monaco ; died 1934 in Berlin , Germany
• Born in Monaco to a Bohemian Jewish father and an Austrian mother , Schreker ’ s family moved frequently across Europe during his childhood . The family eventually settled in Vienna after the passing of his father when the composer was only 10 years old .
• Schreker entered the Vienna Conservatory where he studied composition . His interest in conducting grew , and he formed the Vienna Philharmonic Chorus , with whom he premiered famous works such as Schoenberg ’ s Friede auf Erden and Gurrelieder .
• Through the success of his operas , he eventually rose to prominence as a composer and , at one point , was the second most frequently performed living opera composer ( after Richard Strauss ).
• Sadly , his career experienced a turn of fate due to the rise of anti- Semitism in the region . Schreker ’ s performances were met with right-wing demonstrations , future performances were cancelled , and he lost his post in academia .
• During his lifetime , Shrecker went from being hailed as the future of German opera to a forgotten footnote . His work has seen a revival in recent years , and his style is characterized by a mixture of influences from Romanticism to the extended tonality of the 20th century .
ABOUT THE PIECE
• Written in 1901 , Intermezzo was Schreker ’ s first notable success , and he won an important prize sponsored by the Neue musikalische Presse .
• This beautiful and passionate work was incorporated into the third movement of his Romantische Suite , written several years later .
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
1901
MUSIC Claude Debussy ’ s Pour le piano
ART Pablo Picasso ’ s Blue Roofs
TECHNOLOGY Hubert Cecil Booth makes the world ’ s first vacuum cleaner
HISTORY The Socialist Revolution Party is founded in Russia
20 BALTIMORE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA