Friedrich Kuhlau

The composer and pianist Friedrich Kuhlau was born in the North German town of Uelzen and emigrated to Denmark because of the Napoleonic Wars. There he became a composer of national standing thanks to the success of his opera Die Räuberburg (1815) and the Singspiel Erlenhügel (1828). Kuhlau left to posterity a rich oeuvre. Above all, the great piano sonatas, his sets of variations and his compositions for flute are still alive today in countless recordings.

This work by the Danish musicologist Jørgen Erichsen is the first German-language monograph devoted to Kuhlau’s life and work. On the basis of Kuhlau’s biography, Erichsen provides a vivid insight into early 19th -century Danish musical history. He pays particular attention to the relationship between money making and artistic production. In this context he examines the composer’s relationship with the publishers on whom he depended for the circulation of his works, and describes the role of the Danish royal family, whose commissioning of works had a decisive influence on Kuhlau.

Jørgen Erichsen’s study, the result of many years’ research, discusses the findings of existing studies of Kuhlau and his works and makes available new and previously unpublished source material. The book includes an updated list of Kuhlau’s works and a comprehensive index of personal names.