 |
Max RegerGerman composer, conductor, pianist, organist and music educator
Date of Birth: 19.05.1873
Country:  Germany |
Biography of Max Reger
Early Life and EducationMax Reger was born Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger in 1873 in Brand, Bavaria. He showed clear musical abilities from a young age, receiving piano lessons from his mother and learning to play the organ and music theory from his father. Reger later studied in Munich and Wiesbaden under the renowned composer Hugo Riemann. It was in Wiesbaden that Reger began teaching at the conservatory, a profession he would never leave.
Music Career
Reger's rise to fame began in Munich at the start of the 20th century. He performed extensively as a pianist, organist, and chamber accompanist, earning recognition for his skill. Although he had been composing music since his early youth, it took time for Reger's compositional talent to be fully appreciated. He wrote numerous works for organ and voice, with his fugues for organ and piano becoming particularly well-known. Reger once remarked, "Others write fugues – I live in them." His first significant composition, the organ suite "In Memory of Bach," was created in 1895.
Teaching Career and Legacy
In 1907, Reger began teaching at the Leipzig Conservatory, where he also served as the musical director of the university. He remained in Leipzig until his death, teaching and composing until the end. Among his famous students were Joseph Haas, Jaroslav Kvapil, and George Szell, among many others. From 1911 to 1914, Reger conducted the court symphony orchestra of Duke Georg II of Saxe-Meiningen, quickly building a strong ensemble that gained recognition throughout Germany.
Max Reger passed away from a heart attack during one of his weekly trips to Leipzig on May 11, 1916, at the age of 43. His musical legacy is diverse, spanning various genres. He composed over 70 opuses for different ensembles, around 200 works for the organ, several cycles of piano and vocal miniatures, and choral compositions. The only genre absent from Reger's oeuvre was opera.
After his death, a festival in Reger's honor was established in Dortmund. It is known that Reger performed in Russia in 1906, where he was recognized as a great master even before his fame grew in his homeland. The young generation of Russian musicians, including Sergei Prokofiev and Nikolai Myaskovsky, enthusiastically embraced Max Reger.
"In music, there are no compromises!" was the motto of composer and pedagogue Max Reger.
