HANS GÁL
- selected works for cello -
Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 89
Concertino for Cello and String Orchestra, Op. 87
Piano Trio Op. 49b
- selected works for cello -
Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 89
Concertino for Cello and String Orchestra, Op. 87
Piano Trio Op. 49b
Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 89 - Hans Gál
Hans Gal's sonata was published in 1953.
Hans Gal's sonata was published in 1953.
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Concertino for Cello and String Orchestra, Op. 87- Hans Gál
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Piano Trio, Op. 49b - Hans Gál
Gál’s opus numbers do not follow an exact chronology because he experienced delays in publishing certain works. His Opus 49b Piano Trio was likely composed in 1949.
Gál’s opus numbers do not follow an exact chronology because he experienced delays in publishing certain works. His Opus 49b Piano Trio was likely composed in 1949.
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Hans Gál was born in 1890 in a suburb of Vienna to Jewish parents with Hungarian heritage. Encouraged by a musical aunt, he began piano lessons at a young age. In 1909, he began teaching harmony and piano at the New Vienna Conservatory. Meanwhile, he continued his studies in composition with Eusabius Mandyczewski, a friend of Brahms. Gál was a well-rounded musician; he also studied musicology at the University of Vienna under Guido Adler.
After World War I, Gál grew quickly as a composer and his career began with many achievements. His first opera, Der Arzt der Sobeide, (Sobeide’s Doctor) premiered in 1919 and was received very well by audiences. Just two years later, he composed an immediate operatic hit, Die heilige Ente (The Holy Duck). It was conducted by George Szell in Dusseldorf and was performed successfully in over twenty theaters. In 1924, he signed a contract with the publisher Simrock. Additionally, Gál won the Austrian State Prize for composition (1915), the Art Prize of the City of Vienna (1926), and a prize in the Columbia Broadcasting Corporation competition (1928). During the 1920s, his works were frequently performed in Germany.
In 1929, Gál was appointed Director of Mainz Conservatory in Germany. With Hitler’s rise in 1933, Gál was fired due to his Jewish origins. Soon after, the performance and publication of his work was banned in Germany. Not surprisingly, he left Mainz, moving back to Vienna. With the Anschluss--the Nazi invasion of Austria in 1938--the Gál family left for England. They traveled one by one over the course of three months, so as not to raise suspicions. Upon arriving, the family moved to Edinburgh.
In 1940, fear of German invasion increased and the British government announced a ‘protected zone’ along thirty coastal counties in which any male Austrians and Germans between the ages of 16 and 60 were classified as “enemy aliens” and arrested. Gál and his son Franz, along with 11,000 other people, were arrested and taken to Huyton Internment Camp. Soon after, they were separated; Gál was transferred to Camp Douglass on the Isle of Man. Gál was shocked and outraged. They had come to England and Scotland to escape persecution. Instead, they ended up in internment camps alongside Nazi prisoners of war. Gál was interned for five months—he was released earlier than planned because he needed medical attention unavailable at the camp.
In 1929, Gál was appointed Director of Mainz Conservatory in Germany. With Hitler’s rise in 1933, Gál was fired due to his Jewish origins. Soon after, the performance and publication of his work was banned in Germany. Not surprisingly, he left Mainz, moving back to Vienna. With the Anschluss--the Nazi invasion of Austria in 1938--the Gál family left for England. They traveled one by one over the course of three months, so as not to raise suspicions. Upon arriving, the family moved to Edinburgh.
In 1940, fear of German invasion increased and the British government announced a ‘protected zone’ along thirty coastal counties in which any male Austrians and Germans between the ages of 16 and 60 were classified as “enemy aliens” and arrested. Gál and his son Franz, along with 11,000 other people, were arrested and taken to Huyton Internment Camp. Soon after, they were separated; Gál was transferred to Camp Douglass on the Isle of Man. Gál was shocked and outraged. They had come to England and Scotland to escape persecution. Instead, they ended up in internment camps alongside Nazi prisoners of war. Gál was interned for five months—he was released earlier than planned because he needed medical attention unavailable at the camp.
Back in Edinburgh, Gál quickly realized the hardships of returning to society. He was unemployed and had no source of income. Furthermore, at this point he had few connections in the musical world of Edinburgh. After the war ended, Gál finally secured a teaching job at Edinburgh University, where he taught for many years past retirement age. Gál died in 1987 at the age of 97.
Although he lived a long life and was not killed by Nazis, the Holocaust effectively halted the momentum of Gál’s career. His music was largely forgotten because of his forced relocation, internment at the Isle of Man, and the difficulties performers may have in obtaining his sheet music.
Although he lived a long life and was not killed by Nazis, the Holocaust effectively halted the momentum of Gál’s career. His music was largely forgotten because of his forced relocation, internment at the Isle of Man, and the difficulties performers may have in obtaining his sheet music.