Margarete Voigt-Schweikert

Friday, May 26, 2023

Our series RISM A-Z takes us to Margarete Voigt-Schweikert (1887-1957), a composer who made a significant impact on her hometown of Karlsruhe. After initial lessons from her mother (piano) and her father (violin), she became one of the first pupils of the Munz Conservatory in Karlsruhe. She continued her studies at places including the Royal Conservatory in Stuttgart, where her composition teacher was Joseph Haas. Even as a student, numerous lieder by Voigt-Schweikert were performed in and around Karlsruhe. She also was active as a performer, music teacher, and music critic.

Her archive is preserved mostly in the music collection of the Badische Landesbibliothek in Karlsruhe (D-KA). Of the 225 sources in RISM, a large part has already been digitized (RISM Catalog | RISM Online). Lieder (129) are the focus of her oeuvre and include settings by Gustav Falke, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Gustav Schüler, Hans Heinrich Ehrler, and Martha Kropp. She also wrote piano pieces (54). Her fairy-tale opera Der Froschkönig (RISM Catalog | RISM Online) was also performed at the Großherzogliches Hoftheater.

Image: Margarete Voigt-Schweikert, Der Froschkönig (violin). Badische Landesbibliothek, Karlsruhe (D-KA) Mus. Hs. 1418,259. RISM ID no. 453010012 (RISM Catalog | RISM Online). Available online (Creative Commons 4.0).

Category: RISM A-Z