Schillings, Max von

Max von Schillings – Tanz der Blumen (Dance of the Flower, 1930)

(b. Düren, 19 April 1868 – d. Berlin, 24 July 1933)

At the turn of the century Max von Schillings was one of the most prominent personalities in German musical circles.

Schillings was born on the 19th of April 1868 in Düren in a bourgeois family. Initially he studied law, literature and history of art in Munich. There he became friends with Richard Strauss, who was, at this time, Hofkapellmeister at the State Opera. This friendship was to last a lifetime. Thus both promoted each other‘s works, and used their influence in the German musical community to achieve this. Schillings was even twice successor to R. Strauss, in 1910 as chairman of the “Allgemeiner Deutscher Musikverein” and in 1930 as chairman of the “Genossenschaft Deutscher Tonkünstler”.

In addition to Strauss and Schillings, the composer Ludwig Thuille and other influential musicians formed the “Münchener Schule”. It was inspired by Wagner‘s musical dramas and advanced the genre of symphonic poems. Schillings remained in Munich until 1908, and during this period the majority of his compositions was created; his operas “Ingwelde” (1894), “Pfeifertag” (1899) and “Moloch” (1906), the orchestral works “Zwei symphonische Fantasien” (1895), “Symphonischer Prolog zu Sophokles‘ König Ödipus” (1900), the melodrama “Das Hexenlied” (1902) and finally the song cycle “Songs of Bells”.

After his time in Munich as an independent composer, Schillings took the position as assistant of the manager of the Royal Court Theatre in Stuttgart in 1908, and in 1911 he became General Music Director. He remained here until the end of the First World War in 1918. This period was a great success for the Stuttgart Theatre. Schillings was therefore made honorary doctor at the University of Heidelberg in 1911, and in the same year was knighted by the King of Würtemberg. However, his activity in Stuttgart meant that Schillings had hardly any time to compose. Remarkable are his most successful opera “Mona Lisa”, which appeared in 1915, and his violin concerto from 1910.

In 1918 he moved to Berlin as a superintendant of the Berlin State Opera from 1919 on, but he was not as successful as in Stuttgart. His endeavours were the subject of controversial discussion in public and in 1925 led to his immediate dismissal, as he was not prepared to accept a second manager as the Ministry of Culture required. He had not composed since the end of his Stuttgart period, and now, without a job, he plunged into a deep crisis. Schillings took engagements as conductor inland and abroad, directed the Waldopern-Festspiele in Zopott and became General Music Director in Riga. His position improved in 1932, as Schillings became chairman of the Reichsverband Deutscher Tonsetzer and also president of the Preußische Akademie der Künste. On the 24th of July 1933 Schillings died as the result of an intestinal cancer operation.

For years his career as a conductor and artistic director left him with no time for composing. It was not until 1930, after he had not composed anything for 13 years, that his “Tanz der Blumen” ​​emerged as a kind of epilogue. This time he confines himself to a small orchestra, and the colourful soundscape are reminiscent of his friend Richard Strauss.

Playing time: approx. 5 minutes

Marcus Prieser, 2020

For performance material please contact Heinrichshofen Verlag, Wilhelmshafen.