Felix Mottl facts for kids
Felix Josef von Mottl (born in 1856, died in 1911) was a very talented Austrian conductor and composer. Many people thought he was one of the best conductors of his time. He wrote three operas, with Agnes Bernauer being the most successful. He also composed a string quartet, many songs, and other musical pieces. His version of Richard Wagner's "Wesendonck Lieder" is still the one most often performed today. Felix Mottl was also a teacher, and some of his students included Ernest van Dyck and Wilhelm Petersen.
A Life in Music
Felix Mottl was born in Unter Sankt Veit, which is now part of Hietzing, Vienna, in 1856. His exact birth date is sometimes listed as July 29, August 24, or August 29. He started his music training early, learning to sing at a special school for the Imperial Court Chapel. Later, he had a very successful time at the Vienna Conservatory.
He quickly became known as a skilled conductor of Richard Wagner's music. He even helped Hans Richter prepare the first full performance of Wagner's Ring Cycle in 1876. Mottl himself conducted Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde at the famous Bayreuth Festival in 1886. He also created the most popular orchestral version of Wagner's "Wesendonck Lieder".
From 1881 to 1903, Mottl was the main conductor at the Karlsruhe Opera. He was highly praised for his work there, especially for performing operas by Wagner, Berlioz, and Chabrier. He helped make these composers' works more popular. In 1903, he conducted the first performance of Friederich Klose's opera Ilsebill, which was very well received. He also arranged some of Chabrier's music for orchestra and created a popular collection of orchestral pieces from Christoph Willibald Gluck's operas.
Later in his career, Mottl traveled to Amsterdam, London, and New York to conduct, especially Wagner's music. He was a guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in 1903. In 1904, he became a director at the Academy of Arts, Berlin.
In June 1907, Felix Mottl recorded some music for player piano rolls. These included his own piano arrangements from Wagner's Tristan. On June 21, 1911, while conducting his 100th performance of Tristan in Munich, he had a heart attack. He was taken to a hospital and passed away 11 days later, on July 2, at the age of 54. Before he died, he married the soprano Zdenka Faßbender. His grave monument was created by the artist Fritz Behn.
See also
In Spanish: Felix Mottl para niños
