Hanke, Karl (EN)

Hanke, Haneke, Karl, *1750 Rosswald (now Rudoltice, Moravia), †10 June 1803 Flensburg, German composer. In his youth, he played in the court band of Count Albert von Hoditz in Rosswald, and later, he probably studied with J.G. Graun in Berlin (before 1771) and at Ch.W. Gluck in Vienna (between 1772 and 1775). In 1776–78, he was bandmaster at the court of Count Hoditz. In 1778, after the count’s death, he moved with his wife, the talented singer Maria Anna née Stormkin (1760–1789), to Brno. He became the bandmaster there, and his wife became the prima donna of a German theatre group. From April 1781 to May 1783, the Hanke couple operated in Warsaw; Hanke directed the performances of a German theatre company (including probably the Warsaw premiere of Die Entführung aus dem Serail by W.A. Mozart, 8 May 1783), and Maria Anna sang the main parts in German operas and took part in public concerts. A new contract with the Warsaw theatre, signed in April 1783, also provided for Hanke to be entrusted with teaching duties. However, the contract did not enter into force due to the withdrawal from the theatre of the entrepreneur, Prince J.M. Lubomirski. After leaving Warsaw, Hanke and his wife stayed in Wrocław and Berlin from November 1783 to 1786, they both worked in the Hamburg theatre, and in 1786, they were engaged in the court theatre in Schleswig. After the death of Maria Anna, Hanke married the German singer Sophia Christina Berwald, a student of J.G. Naumann in 1791. In 1792, he settled in Flensburg, taking an active part in the musical life of the city. He served as a city musician and cantor and also ran a singing school and organised public concerts.

Hanke belonged to a large group of composers at that time who were able to adapt their talent to the requirements of various patrons. His music was once known in many Central European countries. Today it is difficult to assess Hanke’s achievements, preserved in single copies of only a few published works. However, it is worth paying attention to the composer’s interest in new and important achievements in the development of literature, as evidenced by his use of texts by Beaumarchais, Goethe, Schiller or texts on fairy-tale and romantic themes. The stay in Warsaw resulted in Hanke’s most popular work, the singspiel Der Wunsch mancher Mädchen, which the composer dedicated to Gluck.

Literature: E.L. Gerber Neues historisch-biographisches Lexicon der Tonkünstler, 4 vol., Leipzig 1812–14; A. Einstein Ein Schüler Glucks, “Acta Musicologica” X, 1938.