DICTIONARY OF MUSIC - El Atril

608 KUHNAU KUFFERATH
of preluding, op. 6 (Schotts) ; his Gradus ad
Parnassum or introduction to the works of J. S.
Bach, op. 4 (ibid.) ; his Fantasia eroica, op. 29
(Erfurt, Ktirner) ; and many preludes, fugues,
and other pieces for the organ, which are solid
and effective compositions. He also published
a treatise on harmony andmodulation (Eisenach,
Bornker, 1838). G.
KUHNAU, JOHAXN Christoph, was born
Feb. 10, 1735 at Volkstadt near Eisleben. Coming
to Berlin as school teacher in 1763, he took
furtlier lessons in liarmony and musical composition
from Kirnljerger, and in 1788 was appointed
cantor and director of the music at the Drei-
faltigkeitskirche (Trinity Church) in Berlin.
He did much to stimulate musical life in Berlin
by conducting performances of the larger choral
works. His death took place Oct. 13, 1805.
The only published work by which he has any
particular claim to rememijrance is his ' Vier-
stimmige alte und neue Choralgesiinge mit Provinzial-Abweichungen,
' the first part of which
appeared 1786, and was followed by a second
in 1790. His son, Johaun Friedrich Wilhelm
Kiihnau, republished this Choralbuoh in various
editions from 1817 onwards, and in a compressed
form, containing altogether 336 chorales in fourpart
harmony. Eight of the tunes are by
Christoph Kiihnau himself. He also collected
and edited a book of choral-vorspiele by various
composers, including Emanuel Bach and Kirn-
berger. j. e. m.
KUFFERATH, Hubert Feebinand, born
at Miihlheim on Ruhr, in Rhenish Prussia,
June 10, 1818, was the youngest of eight
brothers, all musicians, and grew up in musical
surroundings. As a child of seven he was
accustomed to tune the church organs of the
neighbourhood, and played botji piano and
violin in public at a very early age. His eldest
brother, Johann, director of the music-school
at Utrecht, undertook to teach him, and eventu-
ally sent him to Cologne to complete his studies
in violin playing and composition. At the
Niederrheinische Festival of 1839 at Diisseldorf,
he played a violin solo so much to Mendelssohn's
satisfaction that the master urged him
to go to Leipzig, where after studying the
violin 'under David, Kufferath took up the
pianoforte, studying composition under Mendelssohn
and Hauptman. In the winter of 1840,
he played his capriccio for piano and orchestra
at a Gewandhaus concert, and the piece was
noticed by Schumann in the Ncue Zeitschrift
filr ifiofiik. Kufferath was one of the famous
band of brilliant students which included Bennett,
Horsley, Verhulst, Eckert, and Gade. On
returning to Cologne in 1841, he became conductor
of the Mannergesangverein, and after
spending some time as a travelling virtuoso,
he settled in Brussels in 1844, where he was
for some time conductor of the Choral Society,
and, with Leonard and Servais, founded a
regular series of chamber concerts, at which h(
played, alternately, pianoforte and viola, Schumann's
concerted music was introduced to the
Belgian public by this organisation, and Mme.
Schumann occasionally took part in their concerts.
The title of pianist to the King was
conferred upon Kufferath by Leopold I. From
1872 until his death he held the post of professor
of counterpoint and fugue at the Conserva-
toire, he wrote an i^cole dii Choral which is in
use in Belgium and France. Among his pupils
may be mentioned Charles de Beriot, Edouard
Lassen, Franz Servais, Leon .lahin, Arthur de
Greef, and Edgar Tinel. Kulferath's works
include a symphony, a piano concerto, a string
quartet, a trio, many compositions for piano,
books of songs, and an andante for violin and
orchestra. He died at Brussels, June 23, 1896.
His son, Maurice Kuffer.ath, born at
Brussels, Jan. 8, 1852, was a pupil of the two
Servais for violoncello, took the degi'ee of
docteur en droit et en philologie ' at the university,
where a thesis on the theatre of Moliere
was rewarded with a prize. In 1873 he joined
the staff of the IndejKndance Beige and remained
there until 1900. He was especially responsible
for the articles on foreign politics, etc. Later
on he contributed frequently to the Guide
Musical, and eventually became its editor and
chief proprietor. Under his control the paper
became known for its championship of the best
modern tendencies in music. For the exhibition
at Brussels in 1880 he i\Tote a report on musical
instruments, and subsequently was sent by the
Belgian government to report upon the conditions
of German and Austrian theatres. Among
his literary works, the most famous are his
interesting monogi-aphs on Wagner's later works,
Les Maitres Chanteurs, Lohengrin, JValkyrie,
Siegfried, Tristan et Yseult, and Parsifal. Most
of them have gone through many editions, and
all are of the utmost use to students, as they
show the development of the legends in Wagner's
hands, and take a far wider view of the subject
than is to be found in the ordinary handbooks.
Sector Berlioz et Schumann, and Henri Vicuxtemps
are the subjects of two more volumes,
and Kufferath has tran-slated into French certain
famous books of Wagner, Riohter, etc., as well
as Wagner's letters to Roeckel ; he has written
translations of the words of songs, etc., and of
several operas, such as Mozart's * Enlevement
an Serail,' etc. In 1900 he was appointed
director of the Theatre de la Monnaie with
Guillaume Guide. Under their direction, the
first complete performance of the Wagnerian
trilogy in French took place, and the following
operas were given for the first time : D'Indy's
'Etranger,' Erne-st Chausson's 'Roi Arthus,'
J. Alheniz's ' Pepita Jimenez,' and 'L'Ermitage
fleuri,' Gilson's 'Captive,' and Blockx's 'Fiancee
de la Mer.' He was associated with Ysaye and
Guillaume Guide in founding the Ysaye con-