Kurt Honolka (27 September 1913 – 7 October 1988) was a German musicologist, journalist, and music and theatre critic. He is known as a translator of the librettos of Czech operas into German, such as Smetana's Dalibor and Janáček's Osud.
Kurt Honolka | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 September 1913 |
| Died | 7 October 1988 (aged 75) |
| Education | German University in Prague |
| Occupations |
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| Organizations | |
Career
editBorn in Litoměřice, Bohemia, Honolka studied musicology and law at the German University in Prague,[1] and earned a Ph.D. in law. He worked almost exclusively as a musicologist. He became a member of the Nazi Party in 1939.[2] He published in the daily newspapers Prager Tagblatt[3] and Der neue Tag. From 1941, he wrote war reports (Kriegsberichte), for example Kampfflieger über England. Aus dem Tagebuch einer Kampffliegerstaffel (Fels-Verlag, Essen 1942),[2] and Fliegerkameraden (Fels-Verlag, Essen 1944).[4]
Honolka was a music critic for the Stuttgarter Nachrichten and editor of the Feuilleton section from 1949 to 1963.[1][3] He also worked as a musicologist and translated several librettos of operas to German, especially those by Czech composers.[3] He tried to revive forgotten works by notable composers by using new, more dramatic texts, for example Weber's Euryanthe and Schubert's Alfonso und Estrella. He also translated songs and choral music.[5] His translation to German of Smetana's Dalibor was used in a new production in 2019 of the Oper Frankfurt.[6]
Honolka received the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg in 1980. He was awarded the Schubart-Literaturpreis of the city of Aalen in 1986. He died in Stuttgart on 7 October 1988.[5]
Works
editPublications by Honolka are held by the German National Library, including:[7]
Books
edit- Das vielstimmige Jahrhundert (1960)
- Musik im 20. Jahrhundert (1960)
- Der Musik gehorsame Tochter (1962)
- Knaurs Weltgeschichte der Musik[8] Droemer Knaur 1968, New edition 1979, ISBN 3-426-03610-X.
- Antonín Dvořák. Mit Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten[9] Rowohlt 1974. (New edition 2002, ISBN 3-499-50220-8)
- Bedřich Smetana in Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten[10] Rowohlt, Reinbek 1978, ISBN 3-499-50265-8.
- Die großen Primadonnen. Vom Barock bis zur Gegenwart[11] Heinrichshofen, Wilhelmshaven 1961. (New edition 1982, ISBN 3-7959-0279-7)
- Leoš Janáček. Sein Leben – sein Werk – seine Zeit.[12] Belser, Stuttgart/ Zürich 1982, ISBN 3-7630-9027-4.
- Papageno. Emanuel Schikaneder. Der große Theatermann der Mozart-Zeit.[13] 1984, ISBN 3-7017-0373-6.
- Schubart. Dichter und Musiker, Journalist und Rebell. Sein Leben, sein Werk.[14] Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 3-421-06247-1
- Hugo Wolf – sein Leben, sein Werk, seine Zeit.[15] Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart 1988, ISBN 3-421-06477-6.
Translations of opera librettos to German
edit- Zwei Witwen by Smetana
- Die verkaufte Braut by Smetana
- Dalibor by Smetana
- Die Teufelskäthe by Dvořák
- Osud by Janáček
- Les vêpres siciliennes by Verdi
- Così fan tutte by Mozart
- Die Hochzeit des Figaro by Mozart
- Idomeneo by Mozart
- Amahl und die nächtlichen Besucher by Menotti
- Hilfe, Hilfe, die Globolinks by Menotti
Literature
edit- Friedrich Herzfeld (1973). Das Lexikon der Musik – Ein Handbuch für den Alltag (6th ed.). Frankfurt am Main: Ullstein. ISBN 3-550-06012-2.
- Der Musik Brockhaus (in German). Mannheim: Brockhaus. 1982. ISBN 3-7653-0338-0.
References
edit- ^ a b "Kurt Honolka" (in German). Rowohlt. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ a b Fred K. Prieberg: Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945, Kiel 2004, p. 3198.
- ^ a b c "Honolka, Kurt". Who's Who? (in German). Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ Nachtrag zur Liste der auszusondernden Literatur 1947.
- ^ a b "Honolka, Kurt (1913 Leitmeritz, Böhmen - 07.10.1988 Stuttgart)" (in German). Lexikon zu Leoš Janáček. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ "Dalibor" (PDF) (in German). Oper Frankfurt. 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ "Publications by Kurt Honolka" (in German). German National Library. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
- ^ Knaurs Weltgeschichte der Musik on ZVAB
- ^ Antonín Dvořák. Mit Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten on WorldCat
- ^ Bedřich Smetana in Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten on WorldCat
- ^ Die großen Primadonnen. Vom Barock bis zur Gegenwart on Stanford Libraries
- ^ Leoš Janáček. Sein Leben – sein Werk – seine Zeit on WorldCat
- ^ Papageno. Emanuel Schikaneder. Der große Theatermann der Mozart-Zeit on WorldCat
- ^ Schubart. Dichter und Musiker, Journalist und Rebell. Sein Leben, sein Werk on WorldCat
- ^ Hugo Wolf – sein Leben, sein Werk, seine Zeit on Stanford Libraries
External links
edit- Literature by and about Kurt Honolka in the German National Library catalogue
- Kurt Honolka discography at Discogs
- Dr. jur. Kurt Honolka sudetendeutsche-akademie.eu
