Walter Niemann
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10 Ausgewählte Klavierstücke2 Sonatinas, Op.15224 Preludes, Op.553 Amoretten, Op.153 Kompositionen, Op.73 Moderne Klavierstücke, Op.683 Poetische Studien, Op.573 Sonatinas, Op.244 Balladen, Op.815 Tonbilder, Op.61A
Alt-China, Op.62Alte Meister des KlavierspielsAnakreon, Op.50Aus einem alten Patrizierhause, Op.121B
Bali, Op.116Ballade, Op.49BrahmsBrasilianische Rhapsodien, Op.110D
Das Haus zur goldenen Waage, Op.145Das magische Buch, Op.92Das weiße Haus, Op.80Der Kuckuck, Op.38Der Orchideengarten, Op.76Deutsche Ländler und Reigen, Op.26Deutsches Waldidyll, Op.40E
Eine kleine Wassermusik, Op.32Erinnerungen, Op.9F
Fantasie-Mazurka, Op.53G
Galante Musik, Op.109Gartenmusik, Op.117H
Hamburg, Op.107Heidebilder, Op.12I
Im Kinderland, Op.46Impressionen, Op.112Introduction und Toccata, Op.106J
Janmaaten, Op.136Japan, Op.89Jean SibeliusK
Kleine Suite, Op.102Kleine Variationen über eine alt-irische Volksweise, Op.146Kocheler Ländler, Op.135Krippenmusik zur Weihnacht, Op.143M
Masken, Op.59Mein Klavierbuch, Op.114Meissner Porzellan, Op.6Moderne Tanzsuite, Op.115Musikalisches Bilderbuch, Op.19P
Pastellbilder, Op.5Phantasien im Bremer Ratskeller, Op.113Pharaonenland, Op.86Piano Sonata No.1 'Romantische', Op.60Piano Sonata No.2 'Nordische', Op.75Piano Sonata No.3 'Elegische', Op.83Piano Sonata No.4 'Fränkische', Op.88Porzellan, Op.120R
Rokoko, Op.148aRomantische Miniaturen, Op.33S
Sanssouci, Op.65Schmetterling, Op.82Schwarzwald-Idyllen, Op.21Silhouettes, Op.47Singende Fontäne, Op.30Sommernacht am Flusse, Op.45Suite nach Bildern von Karl Spitzweg, Op.84Suite nach Friedrich Hebbel, Op.23Suite nach Hermann Hesse, Op.71Suite, Op.87T
Trianon, Op.66V
Variationen über eine Sarabande von Froberger, Op.168Violin Sonata, Op.70WikipediaWalter Rudolph Niemann (10 October 1876 – 17 June 1953) was a German composer, arranger, and music critic.
Born in Hamburg, Niemann was the son of composer and virtuoso pianist Rudolph Niemann (1838–1898). His uncle, Gustav Adolph Niemann (1843–1881) was a violinist and important musical figure in Helsinki. Walter Niemann studied with
Engelbert Humperdinck as a youth in Leipzig. He then entered the Leipzig Conservatory where he was a pupil of
Carl Reinecke. He pursued doctoral studies in musicology at the University of Leipzig under
Hugo Riemann and Hermann Kretzschmar, earning a doctorate in 1901. His dissertation was on early ligatures and mensural music.
Niemann first worked as a teacher in Hamburg then served as the editor of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik in Leipzig from 1904 to 1906. From 1907 through 1917 he was a writer and critic for the Neueste Nachrichten in Leipzig. He also taught during those years on the faculty of the Hamburg Conservatory. In 1927, H. Abert in the Illustriertes Musiklexikon styled Niemann "The most important composer for piano today, who understands how to make music both fine and colored, although he often strays into the salon." He died in Leipzig, aged 76.
Niemann's compositions include 189 opus numbers, of which more than 150 are works for solo piano, chiefly of character pieces. He also composed violin sonata, several orchestral works, and some chamber music. Niemann was one of the very few German composers to explore Impressionist music. His works are characterized by color and exoticism, and the titles reflect interests in the past ("From Watteau's time", "Sanssouci" "Meissen porcelain"), and exotic subject matter on poetic titles ("Old China, Op. 62," "The Orchid Garden, Op. 67", "The Exotic Pavillon").
His book, "Masters of the Piano: past and present," published in 1919 is considered a classic. He also wrote popular biographies of composers; his biography of Brahms emphasized that composer's north German roots at the expense of his Viennese retirement and liberalism. As a reviewer he was outspoken in his criticism of "pathological" and "sensuous" composers like
Richard Strauss, Mahler, and
Arnold Schoenberg, and was threatened in 1910 with a libel suit by composer
Max Reger. He praised nationalists and folk-influenced composers like
Hans Pfitzner, Sibelius, and
Edward MacDowell, and was influential in popularizing Scandinavian composers in Germany. Following the second world war, Niemann's artistic viewpoint and consequently his work fell out of favor.