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Max Reger (1873-1916) was a progressive early modernist composer
in Germany who expanded upon the styles of Johann Sebastian Bach
and Johannes Brahms. During his lifetime, Reger was considered
one of the great composers of the era along side Richard Strauss
and Gustav Mahler. Reger was a prolific composer who wrote more
than 1000 works in all forms except opera. In America, he is
best known for his organ works, which consist of symphonic-like
compositions, short character pieces and chorale preludes. The
organ works are a significant part of his oeuvre but they are
not all inclusive. Reger also contributed extensively to the
chamber, orchestral, vocal, piano and choral repertoire
throughout his life; these works are rarely performed today, in
America.
Although the primary influences upon Reger were Bach and Brahms,
it is the harmonic language of Richard Wagner that permeates his
tonal style. He is noted by many scholars and musicians as being
the person who emancipated dissonance to a level that allowed
Arnold Schoenberg to more easily develop serialism in the
1920’s. With this said, Reger wrote tonal music, exclusively,
expounding on the chromatic relationships between key
structures.
In 1947, Albert Schweitzer wrote: “The significance of Reger’s
work will only be appreciated in the future. I have had many
opportunities to see that other countries are not yet really
acquainted, much less familiar, with him. The fault is to be
found largely in the two wars and the interwar period, which set
up barriers to becoming acquainted and familiar with
him-barriers that would otherwise not have existed when it was
time for Reger’s art to go out into the world.”
Reger’s legacy extends to other composers who were influenced by
him. They include Bela Bartok (who visited with Reger in 1907,
in Leipzig), Alban Berg, Paul Hindemith (who attributed his
compositional style to Reger), Arthur Honegger, Sergey Prokofiev
and Arnold Schoenberg (who considered him a genius).
The following musical examples show the various elements of Max
Reger’s stylistic achievements: His music can be described as:
• Dramatic – Fantasy and Fugue on the Name of B.A.C.H., Opus 46
(1900)
• Serene - Piano Concerto, Second Movement, Opus 114 (1910)
• Chromatic - Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue, Opus 96
(1906)
• Melodic - Wiegenlied, Opus 142 (1915)
• Humorous - Quartet, Second Movement, Opus 109 (1909)
• Joyous - Scherzino for Horn and Orchestra, without opus (1899)
• Verging on Atonality - Variations on an Original Theme, Opus
73 (1903) |
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