Wilhelm Jacoby

[thalbergmad]

For my records, I rather need at least the birth and death dates of the above chap who composed a piano concerto and some songs.

He has the same name as a famous playwright, which is making it difficult (for me anyway) to find any info whatsoever.

A huge thanks to whoever comes up with something.

Luv

Thal

[eschiss1]

I gather the one we're not looking for, just to be clear, was also a librettist, and had dates 1855-1925?

Other works by Jacoby-the-composer include a ballade ("Ahasver") Op.7 for baritone and orchestra and 2 Lieder with piano accompaniment, all played with the piano concerto at a sort of Jacoby Evening on October 14, 1881 in Berlin, according to a contemporary issue of Musikpädagogische Blatter. (Which, btw, if there was any question, places the composition date of the piano concerto above at "by 1881", of course... I don't know if it's known better than that? HMB gives a publication date of earlyish 1882 (that is, notice of receipt etc. appears in the issue of HMB of July 1882. It may have been first-published before, even maybe well before, that, but that's an estimate, anyways!) (HMB lists other works, but it seems no further than op.13, suggesting offhand a possible fl. date of 1882 (though this can be contradicted by other evidence, e.g. copyright extensions by the composer - himself - at later dates); suggesting either a fallow period of music composition or that he was indeed as you say a different person than the playwright...)

[eschiss1]

Is it certain that they're different people? (People who both wrote plays, libretti, played piano, composed piano works, etc. - extended themselves a lot but still... well... while not commonly encountered, not unknown; still, maybe there's evidence against...)

[thalbergmad]

I am not certain that they are different people, but the small amount I have read about the playwright, does not indicate he composed.

My sight reading skills are reasonably feeble, but I am prepared to believe it was composed in the 1880's.

Unusually, this is not included in Giles Enders website.

I remain mystified.

Thal

[Alan Howe]

This link suggests 1882:
http://www.amazon.com/Concert-Pianoforte-grosses-Orchester-Score/dp/B0000CXUDU/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1382970400&sr=1-1

[eschiss1]

Well, yes, 1882 was the publication date, far as I know (unless some other source mentions something even earlier for publication, or for performance, or...- and I know I've found also but only also a mention of a 1882 performance, I think). If the score doesn't have composition date on it, that's usually what one puts up there- so it probably doesn't imply additional knowledge of composition date. I think.

[thalbergmad]

The BL holding gives us 1882 as well, but does not tell us birth and death dates for the composer.

Thal

[Wheesht]

According to the music department at the Zentralbibliothek in Zurich (and the sources indicated there), the playwright and the composer are one and the same: http://www.zb.uzh.ch/spezialsammlungen/musikabteilung/nachlaesse/einzelne-nachlaesse/003588/index.html.de] Clicking on Nachlassverzeichnis will lead to a pdf of the works held in Zurich.

[thalbergmad]

Well done that man. Thanks very much.

Regards

Thal

[eschiss1]

Ah, so there are later works- a suite, a 3rd piano concerto, a violin concerto - will see if I can maybe find any mention of their performance anywhere, then, now I  know they exist. I thought that his having seeming to have ceased to composed by 1882 seemed odd, but I guess his compositions just were no longer published after that, or maybe those publications are lost (don't know, did what happened to Junne and to Tischer&Jagenberg also happen to whoever had possession of Trautwein's plates...)

[Mark Thomas]

A very neat piece of sleuthing. As Zurich has a First and Third Piano Concerto, at some stage at least there was a Second, too.

[giles.enders]

I only know of Jacoby because his piano concerto is in the British Library along with some lieder.  There is no further information about him there.