Conradi August, *27 June 1821 Berlin, †26 May 1873 Berlin, German composer, conductor and organist. Between 1840 and 1842, he studied at the Berlin Akademie der Künste under A.W. Bach and K.F. Rungenhagen (harmony and composition). In 1843, he became organist at the Invalidenhaus church in Berlin. In 1844, he stayed in Weimar as a copyist for F. Liszt, whom he subsequently assisted in orchestrating works in 1848–49. In 1849, Conrad became a conductor at the theatre in Szczecin, and later also in Düsseldorf and Cologne. In 1856, he settled permanently in Berlin, where he conducted the orchestra of the Wallner Theater (until 1864) and the Victoria Theater (1864–73).
Conradi initially focused on symphonic music, achieving, among other things, considerable success with the Viennese premiere of his Symphony No. 4. Turning to stage music, he became one of the most celebrated composers of operettas, farces and musical comedies in Berlin during the third quarter of the 19th century. His marches and dances were also popular, particularly the Zigeunerpolka, known from F. Liszt’s piano transcription.
Literature: G.R. Kruse August Conradi, “Die Musik” XII, 1933–34; E. Haraszti Les origines de l’órchestration de Franz Liszt, “Revue de Musicologie” XXXV, 1952.
Instrumental:
5 symphonies, including Symphony No.1 1843, Symphony No. 4 in A minor, performed in Vienna in 1846
Adagio und Rondo for flute and orchestra
numerous marches, dances, potpourris and orchestral fantasies, including the Zigeunerpolka
string quartets
Piano trio in D major
Vocal-instrumental, including masses
Stage:
Rübezahl, opera, performer in Berlin 1846, Szczecin 1847
comic operas:
Die Braut des Flussgottes, performed in Berlin 1859
Das schönste Mädchen in Städtchen, performed in Berlin 1868
numerous farces (so-called “possen”), vaudevilles and operettas, mainly based on librettos by D. Kalisch, F. Pohl, A. Weirach and H. Wilken, all performed in Berlin.
