Nicodé, Jean Louis

Jean Louis Nicodé
(b. Jezyce near Poznan [Jersitz near Posen], 12 August 1853 – d. Langebrück [Dresden], 14 October 1919)

Faschingsbilder [Carnival Pictures] Op. 24
for orchestra (ca. 1880-89)

I Maskenzug [Masked Procession]. Polonaise in D. Zappy and very lively (p. 1) – More lively (p. 61)
II Liebesgeständnis [Love Confession]. Waltz in A. A bit lively (p. 72) – Very lively (p. 78) –Tempo primo (p. 87) – More lively (p. 88) – Gradually becoming faster (p. 90)
III Seltsamer Traum [Bizarre Dream]. Night Piece in F. Tranquil (p. 92) – Very agitated (p. 96) – The Clock Strikes Midnight (p. 100) – Very fast –Tempo primo (p. 101) – Very broad (p. 104)
IV Humoreske [Humoresque]. Galop in A. Agile and fiery (p. 105) – Very fast (p. 126)

Preface
Like August Klughardt, Philipp Scharwenka, HansKoessler or Engelbert Humperdinck, Jean Louis Nicodé was one of the most significant German composers of the generation between Johannes Brahms and Richard Strauss. His father was of French-Huguenot, his mother of Polish descent. In the third year after his birth the family moved to Berlin after the father had lost his property “by misadventure“. First he got some music lessons by his father. Then was taught privately by the organist Hartkaes. In 1869 he began studying at the ’Neue Akademie der Tonkunst’ that had been founded by Theodor Kullak (1818-82) in 1855. Director Kullak was his piano teacher, the Mendelssohn pupil Richard Wüerst (1824-81) and later on Friedrich Kiel (1821-85) were his composition teachers. After finishing his academic training Nicodé first became well-known as a pianist, and in 1878 he was appointed piano teacher at the Royel Conservatory in Dresden one year after Franz Wüllner (1832-1902) had been appointed the institute’s director. In 1884 Wüllner became director of the Cologne Conservatory, and Nicodé followed him there after the Dresden directorate had prevented him from programming a four-hands arrangement of Franz Liszt’s ’Faust Symphony’. But then he was offered the direction of the Philharmonic Concerts in Dresden. He strongly supported the cause of the ’Neudeutsche’ (New-German school), met with massive hostility, and vacated his position in 1888. In 1893 he became musical director of the Chemnitzer Städtische Kapelle [Chemnitz Municipal Orchestra] and there he also founded a new choir in 1896 that soon became well-known as the ’Nicodé Choir’. In Dresden he staged the ’Nicodé Concerts’ until 1900 and established the music by Felix Draeseke, Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss against all the conservative resistance. He mainly became legendary as a conductor of Beethoven and Wagner, demanded 22 rehearsals for Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, …

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