Carl Reinecke (6/23/1824 - 3/10/1910)

A later visit to Leipzig brought Reinecke into contact with Liszt, whom he also visited in Weimar. The latter advised him, after a short stay in Bremen, to go to Paris, and there he was able to meet Berlioz, Stephen Heller and the composer Louis Théodore Gouvy. In 1851 Hiller invited him to join the staff of the Cologne Music School, where he worked for three years, his pupils including the young Max Bruch. In Cologne he also deputised for Hiller in choir rehearsals, gaining experience as a conductor and establishing his own choral group. In these years in Cologne he became friendly with Brahms and was often a guest of the Schumanns in nearby Düsseldorf. In 1854 he took over the direction of the choral society and concerts in Barmen and during the next five years raised the level of musical activity there, conducting on a number of occasions the Lower Rhineland choral festivals, before leaving in 1859 to spend a year as director of music at the University of Breslau.

1860 was a decisive year in Reinecke's career. On the recommendation of Hiller and Gade he was appointed director of the Gewandhaus concerts in Leipzig, and professor of composition and piano at the Conservatory. He was to manage the concerts for the next 35 years and to serve as a teacher until 1902, his pupils including, Grieg, Reznicek, Sinding, Sullivan, Svendsen and Weingartner, among many others. After his retirement he devoted his time to composition and to writing on music. He died in Leipzig on 10th March, 1910, a much respected figure.