Georg Goltermann
- Georg Goltermann should not be confused with Julius Goltermann (1825-1876), the cellist teacher of David Popper.
Georg Eduard Goltermann (19 August 1824 – 29 December 1898) was a German cellist and composer.
Life
Goltermann was born in Hannover. His father was an organist, and therefore he got an early introduction to music. He received cello lessons from Joseph Menter and in München and was noted there for his compositional talents.
In 1852, after briefly touring Europe as a solo cellist, he became music director in Würzburg. In 1853 he accepted an offer to become deputy music director of the municipal theater Stadttheater in Frankfurt am Main, where he was promoted to Kapellmeister (Main Director) in 1874. He died in the same city.
Works
Goltermann wrote eight cello concertos, the most famous of which is the fourth concerto. This concerto is considered the "student's concerto" because it is the easiest of his five first concerti, and it is studied fairly widely. His music is rarely performed in professional concerts and is deemed to lack the musicality of true concertos. Instead his concertos are studied by students to learn technique and get a basic understanding of the concerto.
Concerto No. 1 in A minor, Op. 14 for cello and piano
Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 30 for cello and piano
Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 57 for cello and piano
Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 65 for cello and piano
Concerto No. 5 in D minor, Op. 67 for cello and piano
Concerto No. 6 in D major, Op. 100 for cello and piano
Concerto No. 7 in C major, Op. 103 for cello and piano
Concerto No. 8 in A major, Op. 130 for cello and piano
Of the above, Concerto No. 1 was the one most played professionally up to the early 1900s and again after World War I. The slow movement entitled Cantilena was often played separately as a cello solo. An early recording still exists of this played by Pablo Casals. Many of Goltermann's shorter solos were frequently in the repertoire up to the 1920s.
Nocturne Op. 43, No. 3 for cello and piano
Nocturne Op. 49 for cello and piano
Nocturne Op. 54 for cello and piano
Nocturne Op. 59 for cello and piano
Nocturne Op. 92 for cello and piano
Trois Romances Sans Paroles Op. 90 for solo cello
La Foi Op. 95 for cello and piano