Reisiger, Karl Gottlieb

The eldest son in the family of organist and choirmaster Christian Gottlieb Reisiger , he received his first piano and violin lessons from his father. Already at the age of ten years, Reissiger performed as a pianist and accompanied choral singing with an organ. From 1811 to 1818 He studied at St. Thomas's Leipzig School , where he studied piano and composition with Johann Gottfried Schiht , and also improved as a violinist, violist and singing. At the same time, Reissiger begins to be interested in theology and begins to attend lectures at the University of Leipzig , but on the advice of Schiht refuses to do so. In 1821, Reissiger leaves Leipzig and travels to Vienna , where he takes music lessons from Salieri for one year, and to Munich in 1822, in order to improve in composition under the guidance of Peter von Winter .

Attempts by Reissiger to get a job were unsuccessful, but in 1824 his first opera, “Left Didon”, was staged under Weber's control in Dresden . The opera had some success, and the Prussian king gave the young composer the amount of 500 thalers so that he could complete his musical education in Italy. During the year, Reissiger studied ancient music in Rome under the direction of Giuseppe Baini , the largest music specialist at Palestrina at that time, and in 1825 he returned to Berlin , where he began teaching conducting. In 1826, after the death of Weber, Reissiger took his place as conductor of the Court Opera in Dresden. Having become famous as a conductor of German operas, already in 1828, Reisiger received the post of conductor and held him until the end of his life. Under the direction of Reissiger in 1841, the premiere of Wagner 's opera Rienzi was successfully held, and soon Wagner himself was accepted into the theater as the second conductor. In 1849, Wagner and Reissiger quarreled over the latter’s refusal to write an opera on the libretto proposed by Wagner, and Wagner soon left Dresden. Later, he repeatedly spoke of Reisiger in an extremely hostile spirit, calling the philistine and opponent of his innovative ideas ^[4] . However, Reissiger was carrying out plans to deliver the “ Tannhäuser ” in 1852, but they did not materialize.

In 1851, Reissiger was appointed chief conductor of the theater. By this time he was already known in Europe as a first-class conductor, and the Dresden Opera under his leadership was one of the best opera companies in Germany. Reisiger was often invited to run music festivals, he willingly gave master classes and taught theory: among his students were Clara Schumann , Gustav Merkel , Joachim Raff . In 1856, Reissiger was also attracted to the general musical direction of the first conservatory created in Dresden.

The legacy of Reissiger the composer is extensive: he owns more than two hundred compositions, including eight operas, a symphony, oratorios and masses, songs, works for piano and chamber ensembles. A special place in his work is occupied by works for clarinet dedicated to the Dresden musician Johann Gottlieb Kotte .

• Reisiger, Karl Gottlieb // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : 86 t. (82 t. And 4 extra.). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Carl Gottlieb Reissiger (1798-1859) Forgotten Composer for the Clarinet. Biography and detailed analysis of Reisiger's clarinet works
• Karl Gottlieb Reissiger: Sheet Music at the International Music Score Library Project