Will Eisenmann

Will Eisenmann was born on 6 March 1906 in Stuttgart (Germany) as Wilhelm Engelhard Eisenmann. He studied at the Württembergische Hochschule für Musik in Stuttgart from 1926 to 1929. His professional career started with several volontary services at the operas in Stuttgart, Wiesbaden and Cologne in the departments direction and dramatic adviser.
At that time Will Eisenmann also started to compose and he sent one of these early works to the French writer Romain Rolland. He chose Rolland for such a move because Will Eisenmann strongly identified himself with the French musical language and Rolland was a renowned pacifist and supporter of the international understanding, ideas the young Will Eisenmann shared as well. Romain Rolland was impressed by the composition and helped Will Eisenmann to get a scholarship to study in Paris with Paul Dukas and Charles Koechlin.
In 1932 Will Eisenmann attended the World Congress Against Imperialist War in Amsterdam as a member of "Les amis de Jean-Christophe". When he returned to Germany after the congress Will Eisenmann was blacklisted by the Sturmabteilung of the Nazi Party and it was clear that Germany couldn't be a safe place anymore. Therefore Will Eisenmann first settled in Spain, but when fascistic powers became stronger he finally moved to Switzerland. There he met the conductor Hermann Scherchen, who became a lifelong champion and supporter of the music of Will Eisenmann.
In 1936 Will Eisenmann received the prize of the Emil Hertzka Foundation for his opera "Der König der dunklen Kammer" which surely made an impact on his decision to start a career as a composer. In the same year Will Eisenmann met Hermann Hesse, the two became friends and his song cycle "Hesse-Lieder" confirmed his position as an up-and-coming composer.
During World War II Will Eisenmann opposed the conscription order of the German army and remained as a victim of political persecution in Switzerland. In the years of war Switzerland banned Will Eisemann from paid working. It was only after World War II that he could make a living as music teacher and critic. Will Eisenmann nevertheless continued to compose during the war and later and created compositions up to opus number 109 over the decades of which many were published and performed.
Will Eisenmann died on 20 August 1992 in Schwarzenberg (Switzerland).

In my possession are three manuscripts of works by Will Eisenmann. This includes the "Epitaphe pour Maurice Ravel op.21", and the two Ballades for flute and piano op.53 and op.74. All three scores are fair copies and the Will Eisenmann had the routine to pen down his working manuscripts in pencil and let his wife Eva prepare the fair copies in ink. Therefore my manuscripts are strictly speaking no autographs, but of course important documents. The main musical estate of Will Eisenmann is archived at the Zentral- und Hochschulbibliothek Luzern.

1) Epitaphe pour Maurice Ravel

The composition "Epitaphe pour Maurice Ravel" is scored for piano and orchestra and I own fair copies of the full score and the piano part. The work was composed from December 1937 to January 1938 according to the manuscript.

The full score was published by Tischer & Jagenberg in 1938 but the publication is virtually impossible to find nowadays and the ZHB Luzern is the only public library that holds a copy.

The title of the work is often given as "Trauermusik (Epitaphe pour Maurice Ravel)". But the word "Trauermusik" is not part of the original manuscript and was added later by Will Eisenmann or the publishing house so it seems.

At the end of the manuscript there is also a handwritten note about the first two performances of the work. It says that the world premiere was given on 10 March 1938 under the direction of Hermann Scherchen. The second performance was given on 26 May 1938 at the Radio Suisse Romande under the direction of Hans Haug.

2) Ballade I

The Ballade I for flute and piano op. 53 was composed in 1952 and remains unpublished. In my possession is a handwritten fair copy of the flute part as well as a copy of the fair copy of the full score. The manuscripts came from the estate of flutist Gabriele Zimmermann who very likely performed the work.

3) Ballade II

The Ballade II for flute and piano op.74 was composed in 1964. It also remains unpublished. In my possession are the handwritten fair copies of both the full score and the flute part. The full score has an inscription by Will Eisenmann saying "Gabriele Zimmermann zu eigen" and maybe that means that he dedicated the work to her. The manuscript also includes notes about performances of the work, very likely done by Gabriele Zimmermann. The first performance was on 3 June 1965 with Bernhard Kistler (piano) for a recording at the Süddeutscher Rundfunk. A second recording for the Südwestdeutscher Rundfunk was done on 29 September 1965 again with Gabriele Zimmermann (flute) and Olivier Eisenmann (piano).