Weigl, Karl

(b Vienna, 6 Feb 1881; d New York, 11 Aug 1949). Austrian composer, naturalized American. After graduating from the Vienna Music Academy in 1902, he studied composition with Zemlinsky and musicology with Adler at the University of Vienna (PhD 1904). He served as a rehearsal conductor for Mahler at the Vienna Hofoper (1904--06) and taught at the Vienna City Conservatory (1918--28), before becoming professor of theory and composition at the University of Vienna in 1930. In 1938, with the annexation of Austria by Hitler, Weigl, who was Jewish, found that his works could no longer be performed. He left Vienna for the USA, where, after considerable difficulty, he obtained teaching positions at the Hartt School of Music (1941--2), Brooklyn College (1943--5), the Boston Conservatory (1946--8) and the Philadelphia Musical Academy (1948--9) among other institutions. He became an American citizen in 1943.

Weigl was a respected composer in both Austria and the USA; his music was admired by Strauss, Mahler, Schoenberg, Walter, and Furtwangler. Representing the best of Viennese tradition in the melodiousness and clarity of design of his works, he was a particularly prolific composer of lieder in the tradition of Wolf and Mahler. The instrumental works combine a Brahmsian emphaticism with a profusion of polyphony. A Karl Weigl Memorial Fund, established for the perpetuation of his music through study, performance and recording, was set up at Mannes College in New York; its administration was transferred to Indiana University in 1979. He was married to the music therapist and composer Vally Weigl.

WORKS
(selective list)
Orch: Rhapsodie, str, 1905; Sym. no.1, E, 1908; Bilder und Geschichte, 1909; Phantastisches Intermezzo, 1922; Sym. no.2, d, 1922; Pf Conc., E, left hand, 1925; Vn Conc., D, 1928; Sym. no.3, B, 1931; Pf Conc., f, 1931; Sym. Prelude to a Tragedy, 1933; Komodienouverture, 1933; Vc Conc., g, 1934; Sym. no.4, f, 1936; Festival Ov., 1938; Music for the Young, 1939; Old Vienna, 1939; Rhapsody, pf, orch, 1940; 3 Intermezzi, str, 1942; Sym. no.5 'Apocalyptic', 1945; Sym. no.6, a, 1947
Chbr: Str Qt no.1, c, 1903; Str Qt no.2, E, 2 vn, va d'amore, vc, 1906; Str Qt no.3, A, 1909; Sonata no.1, C, vn, pf, 1922; Sonata, G, vc, pf, 1923; Str Qt no.4, d, 1924; Str Qt no.5, G, 1933; Sonata no.2, G, vn, pf, 1937; Sonata, va, pf, 1939; Str Qt no.6, C, 1939; Pf Trio, 1939; Pictures from Childhood, fl, vn, pf, 1942; Str Qt no.7, f, 1942; 2 Pieces, vc, pf, 1942; Str Qt no.8, D, 1949
Vocal: Stelldichein, 1v, 6 str, 1906; Weltfeier, T, Bar, chorus, orch, 1912; 3 Songs, Bar, orch, 1915; 3 Songs, S, orch, 1916; Der Rattenfanger von Hameln, children's operetta, 1932; 3 song cycles, 1v, str qt, 1934; c1950 lieder, duets, qts, choruses
Inst: Many pf pieces incl. Nachtphantasien, 1911; org works
MSS in US-NYp, Wc
Principal publishers: American Music Publishers, Arrow, Boosey & Hawkes, Breitkopf & Hartel, Leuckart, J. Markert, Mercury, Presser, MCA, Schott (Mainz), Universal

BIBLIOGRAPHY
R. Hoffmann: 'Karl Weigl', Musikblatter des Anbruch, iii (1921), 282--86
R. List: 'Ein osterreichischer Musiker in Amerika', Austria: die Welt im Spiegel Osterreichs, ii (1947), 278
K. Adler: 'Dear M and A', Music and Artists, i/4 (1968), 26--7
W. Sargeant: 'Musical Events', New Yorker (24 Feb 1968), 110, 112
P.L. Miller: 'Karl Weigl: A Centennial Appreciation', American Record Guide, xliv/10 (1981--2), 2--6
H.E. Selig: 'Karl Weigl's Op. 1 in its 19th Century Context: A Historic Literary-Musical Fusion of Goethe's Wanderers Nachtlied and Ein Gleiches', A History of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Fine Arts, ii (1990), 579--606
R. Davis: 'Karl Weigl: A Song Catalogue', NATS Journal, xlv/3 (1988--9), 22--7
W. Szmolyan: 'Ein Karl-Weigl-Symposium im Stift Altenburg', OMz, xliv (1989), 644--5
K. Weigl and A. Zemlinsky: 'Brahms and the Newer Generation: Personal Reminiscences' [Eng. trans.], ed. W. Frisch, Brahms and his World (Princeton, 1990), 205--210, esp. 205--7
 

CHARLOTTE ERWIN/MICHAEL MECKNA