Wilhelm Fitzenhagen

Karl Friedrich Wilhelm Fitzenhagen (Seesen, 15 September 1848 – Moscow, 14 February 1890) was a German cellist whose career was largely spent in Russia, where he became one of the most respected teachers of the instrument and a central figure in Moscow's musical life.

Childhood and first studies

He was born in Seesen into a musical household, his father being the town's music director. From a very young age he received instruction in several instruments: the piano at five, the cello at eight and the violin at eleven. He also learnt a number of wind instruments well enough to stand in for members of his father's orchestra when required.

Training with distinguished masters

His first regular cello lessons were with Plock, a member of the Duke of Brunswick's chamber orchestra. In 1862, having made his debut as a soloist, he became a pupil of Theodor Müller. Three years later he played before the duke, who excused him from all military service. In 1867, thanks to the support of certain noble patrons, he was able to spend a year in Dresden studying with Grützmacher, a period that gave his training greater depth and confirmed his commitment to the concert platform.

Early career in Dresden and Leipzig

A year later he was appointed to the Dresden Hofkapelle, where his career as a soloist began. In 1869 he played at a festival in Leipzig, and the following year at the Beethoven Festival. Liszt tried to persuade him to stay in Weimar, but Fitzenhagen chose instead to accept a professorship at the Imperial Conservatory in Moscow in 1870.

Teaching and standing in Moscow

In Moscow he acquired a reputation as the finest cello teacher in Russia, and equally as a soloist and chamber music performer. Among those he taught were Adamowski and Brandukov, who would later achieve fame in their own right. He was appointed concertmaster of the Russian Imperial Musical Society and, in 1884, director of the Moscow Musical and Orchestral Society.

Friendship with Tchaikovsky and shared premieres

He formed a rewarding friendship with Tchaikovsky. As a member of the quartet of the Russian Musical Society, he gave the first performances of Tchaikovsky's string quartets opp. 11, 22 and 30, as well as of the Piano Trio op. 50. This close collaboration was one of the most significant episodes of his career.

The Variations on a Rococo Theme

In 1876 Tchaikovsky dedicated his Variations on a Rococo Theme op. 33 to Fitzenhagen, who had probably commissioned the piece. Even before its premiere, given on 30 November 1877 by the Russian Musical Society in Moscow under Nikolay Rubinstein, Fitzenhagen had altered the solo part considerably. On later tours, eager for greater applause, he rearranged all but the first two variations, changed and extended several passages, and removed the final variation altogether. That version was published in 1878 as Tchaikovsky's own arrangement for piano and cello, though it was in effect issued without the composer's approval. The full score, similarly altered, appeared in 1889. Tchaikovsky, who called Fitzenhagen that idiot and complained of his poor proofreading, eventually resigned himself to it with the remark that the devil could take it and that it should stand as it was. The work remained in this form for some seventy years, until the publication of Tchaikovsky's original text and the emphatic advocacy and teaching of Piatigorsky brought the composer's version to light.

Compositions and legacy

Fitzenhagen was also an industrious composer, with more than sixty works to his name, though very few of them survive. His significance lies chiefly in his work as a teacher, his prominent presence in Moscow's concert and chamber life, and his role as Tchaikovsky's direct collaborator in the creation of several of the most important works of the period's cello repertoire.