Kitty (Katharina) von Escherich, neé Haus (1855-1916)

[Wheesht]

Kitty (Katharina) von Escherich (1855-1916)

Born in Warasdin (Lower Styria), today Varazdin, Croatia, 25 November 1855 as Katharina Haus.
She showed musical talent very early on, taking after her father, who worked as an estate manager, but who was also a music enthusiast. Everywhere he lived for any length of time, he founded a (regional) orchestra so that the then still unknown Beethoven symphonies could be presented. He died when Kitty was just four years old, and despite the financial difficulties the family found itself in now, she received the best possible music education suited to her talents.
She had her first lessons in Laibach (Ljubljana), where the family now lived: piano with Josef Zöhr and singing with Gustav Moravec – either as their private pupil or at the public music school of the Philharmonic Society. In 1873 she entered the Conservatoire of the "Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde" in Vienna, and from 1874/5 she studied piano with Julius Epstein and received her diploma in 1876. For her composition teacher she chose Franz Krenn rather than Anton Bruckner, who was also available. She repeatedly won second prize in the end of the school year competitions and left the conservatoire in summer 1878.
Very little is known about her musical career in the following ten years. She got married to Gustav von Escherich, 'Privatdozent' in mathematics at the University of Graz in 1878, and the couple had two children. Besides her duties as a wife and mother she appears to have continued to compose.
From 1884 the family lived in Vienna, where she first appeared in concert in 1889 both as a pianist and composer with her sonata for piano and violin in F major. Several other works were performed over the years to come, mostly vocal, especially a-cappella pieces. The performance of her piano concerto in D major in February 1900, with Lucilla Tolomei as the soloist, received good reviews in the Austrian press. From 1907 she held a salon frequented by scientist and artists. Here, works by J. S. Bach were performed, and in 1913 she was one of the co-founders of the 'Bach-Verein'. The one work of hers that left the strongest impression with the critics was her Psalm 'Aus den Tiefen' for soprano solo and women's choir with piano, first performed on 10 February 1908 in a concert organised by the 'New Women's Club' of Vienna. After another concert, with her Psalm 'De Profundis' for soprano and women's choir in April 1908, there are no more records of performances that have come to light.
On 10 April 1916 she died in Vienna.
Part of her estate, including the piano concerto, is held by the "Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde".
There is a detailed work list available, and her German Wikipedia entry can be found here.

[tpaloj]

Thank you for the info wheesht. I'm always very much interested in unknown piano concerti: ones that were apparently warmly received in their time sound even more alluring. Does anyone here happen to have connections to the "Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde" archive? I would offer to pay for the expenses of scans of the PC full score. Or just try to email them myself if not...

[Wheesht]

Thank you for your interest, tpaloj

I have been in email contact twice with the "Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde", and in both cases I received a reply within a few days, but I couldn't say that I have connections to them.

Here's their email:

office@a-wgm.com

[Gareth Vaughan]

In all my dealings with the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, I have found them to be unfailingly helpful. My main contact there used to be Otto Biba who, I believe is the Archivdirektor. That said, it is now (alas!) over ten years since I had any correspondence with them.

[Wheesht]

Otto Biba is still the Archivdirektor. My contact with him was "only" six years ago...

Now I'm going to listen to him on Radio Stephansdom in "Stories from the Archives" (broadcast every first Saturday of the month and the rebroadcast the Monday after).

[tpaloj]

Great, I'll try contacting the archive - I'll post updates in this thread once I know how it goes.

Now I'm going to listen to him on Radio Stephansdom in "Stories from the Archives" (broadcast every first Saturday of the month and the rebroadcast the Monday after).

Only in German is it?

[Wheesht]

'Fraid so.