The 200th Birthday of Joachim Raff

Friday, May 27, 2022

That Joachim Raff has been forgotten by music history can no more be said than that he still has a permanent place in the repertoire. His merits as the first director of the Hoch’sches Konservatorium in Frankfurt are undisputed. He was able to turn the conservatory into one of the leading schools for music pedagogy through the teachers such as Clara Schumann and Julius Stockhausen. His 200th birthday can be used to put him more in the public spotlight.

The April issue of the journal Die Tonkunst is dedicated to Joachim Raff. The eight articles view him from a variety of perspectives, such as his relationship to Clara Schumann, his characteristic symphonies, and his treatment in histories of music.

RISM has over 180 records for Joachim Raff, including 61 autograph manuscripts. More than a third of the entries are compositions for piano. Most of the printed editions are preserved in Kloster Einsiedeln (CH-E), and the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (D-B) has a large portion of the autographs.

Image: Joachim Raff, “Glückselig,” from 3 Lieder op. 47. Autograph manuscript. Sächsische Landesbibliothek - Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek (D-Dl) Mus.6455-K-5,1. RISM ID no. 1001071716. Available online (Public Domain Mark 1.0).

Category: Musical anniversaries