Iwan Knorr: Symphonische Phantasie Op. 12
Faculty Sponsor
Katharina Ude
College
Other
Discipline(s)
Musical Analysis
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Symposium Date
Spring 4-28-2022
Abstract
My research investigates Iwan Knorr’s Symphonische Phantasie Op.12 (1897, published 1899). Though hardly known today, the work was well received in its own right, garnering positive reviews in 1897 (Signale fuer die Musikalische Welt Vol. 55 No. 52 [9 November 1897], 318). Knorr, though composing his symphonic fantasy in 1899, felt little affinity with the arising innovations of musical modernism. His symphonic fantasy, instead, takes sonata form as a guiding principle with which it stands in a close dialogue and from which it departs in order to account for the "fantasy" elements. Knorr was a member of a conservative musical circle, which helps explain his formal and stylistic choices. Since 1883 he had been on the faculty of the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, the same institution where Clara Schumann taught 1878-92. In 1908, he became director of the school. Because Symphonic Fantasy Op. 12 was composed with this institutional background, it makes sense to investigate the work from a lens that takes into account the retrospective stylistic orientation of the Clara Schumann - Brahms circle. By shedding light on Knorr's Symphonic Fantasy Op. 12 and its conservative bend and negotiation between the sonata- and fantasy principles, an entirely unknown composition comes to light.
Recommended Citation
Cretors, Jessica; Uhde, Katharina; and Sanchez, Dre, "Iwan Knorr: Symphonische Phantasie Op. 12" (2022). Symposium on Undergraduate Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 1121.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/cus/1121
Biographical Information about Author(s)
Bauer is a German author who wrote about Iwan Knorr and his accomplishments. Not much is known about this author, however his investigation on Knorr has been located to where Knorr worked as a Professor at his college. Therefore he has sources of his accomplishments.
Pougin was a critic of his time. He studied at a music conservatory where he learned how to analyze music. He used this skill to them critique composers works, which led to his discussion of Knorr's "Fantastic Symphony".