Karl Wilhelm (conductor)
Karl Wilhelm, also Carl Wilhelm (5 September 1815, Schmalkalden – 26 August 1873, Schmalkalden) was a German choral director. He is best known as the composer of the music of the song “Die Wacht am Rhein.”
Biography
Wilhelm was born in Schmalkalden. He studied at Cassel under Louis Spohr, and then in Frankfurt am Main with Aloys Schmitt and A. André. From 1841 to 1864 he was the director of the Krefeld Liedertafel for which he composed numerous male choruses. In Krefeld in 1854 he set to words “Die Wacht am Rhein,” the poem Max Schneckenburger wrote in 1840. In recognition of the success and the national importance of this song, he received the title of “Royal Prussian Musical Director” in 1860, and four years later received a gold medal from Queen (later Empress) Augusta.
On 24 June 1871, he received a personal acknowledgement from Chancellor of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck. In the same year, he received an annual gift from the government of 3,000 marks, which was then more than four times a typical salary.
From 1865 on, Wilhelm worked as the director of the music society in Schmalkalden, where he died eight years later.
Notes
![]() | This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (July 2014) |
References
- Gilman, D. C.; Peck, H. T.; Colby, F. M., eds. (1905). . New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead.
External links
- Literature by and about Carl Wilhelm in the German National Library catalogue
- Free scores by Carl Wilhelm at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Free scores by Carl Wilhelm in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
- Articles lacking in-text citations from July 2014
- All articles lacking in-text citations
- Composers with IMSLP links
- Articles with International Music Score Library Project links
- AC with 0 elements
- 1815 births
- 1873 deaths
- German conductors (music)
- German male conductors (music)
- People from Schmalkalden
- People from the Electorate of Hesse
- 19th-century German composers
- 19th-century conductors (music)