Otto Goldschmidt

Daguerreotype of Goldschmidt c1851-52

Goldschmidt in later years

Otto Moritz David Goldschmidt (21 August 1829 – 24 February 1907) was a German composer, conductor and pianist, known for his piano concertos and other piano pieces. He married the "Swedish Nightingale", soprano Jenny Lind.

Life

Goldschmidt was born in Hamburg, Germany, and his parents were Jewish salesman Moritz David Goldschmidt and women's rights activist Johanna Goldschmidt. He had seven siblings, and his wealthy and well-educated parents belonged to the community of liberal Reform Jews in Germany. Since his mother was musically gifted – an excellent singer, pianist, violinist and harpist – she focused on the musical education of her children. Goldschmidt attended the Conservatory in Leipzig from 1843 to 1846 where he studied under Hans von Bülow, Felix Mendelssohn and Moritz Hauptmann. From Mendelssohn, Goldschmidt received this student certificate: "Mr. Goldschmidt has developed a fine talent for piano playing in gratifying manner and also has shown not insignificant talent in composition for his instrument."^[1] Additionally, he took private piano lessons with Clara Schumann.

Autograph of Jenny Lind after her marriage to Goldschmidt

On 5 February 1852, Goldschmidt married the world-famous soprano Jenny Lind in Boston, Massachusetts.^[2] To please his wife, he converted to Protestantism. They had three children. From 1858, they lived in London where Otto became a professor in 1863 and later vocal director at the Royal Academy of Music. There, the pair belonged to the circle of German-English intellectuals including Arthur Sullivan, Rudolf Lehmann and Charles Dickens. In 1863, Goldschmidt and William Sterndale Bennett compiled the Chorale Book of England. In 1876, he founded the Bach Choir, which he led until 1886. He several times conducted the famous Lower Rhine festivals at Düsseldorf.

After the death of his wife in 1887, Goldschmidt released her biography Jenny Lind. Ihre Laufbahn als Künstlerin (Leipzig 1891).

Goldschmidt died in London in 1907 at the age of 77.

Works

Goldschmidt wrote especially piano concertos and other piano pieces, songs and trios. In his oratorio Ruth, his wife sang the soprano part at the 1870 premiere, the last performance of her career.

Sources

• German Wikipedia article
•  "Goldschmidt, Otto". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920. 

References

1. ^ Hans Joachim Marx: Hamburger Mendelsson-Vorträge. Hamburg 2003.
2. ^ Wedding with Lind The New York Times

External links

• Free scores by Otto Goldschmidt in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)

Persondata
Name	Goldschmidt, Otto
Alternative names	Goldschmidt, Otto Moritz David
Short description	German composer, conductor and pianist
Date of birth	21 August 1829
Place of birth	Hamburg
Date of death	24 February 1907
Place of death	London