Kurt von Heeringen
Kurt von Heeringen was born on 19 April 1878 in Strasbourg (at that time: German Empire, today: France). He came from a Prussian military and aristocratic family: his father, Josias von Heeringen, later became a Prussian generaloberst and served as Prussian minister of war. After completing his school time he entered the Prussian Army, following the professional path established by his father.
In 1896 Kurt von Heeringen entered the Prussian Army. In the following years he advanced steadily within the officer corps and was promoted to the rank of captain in 1911 and assigned to the Great General Staff in Berlin. Before the outbreak of the First World War he had already been decorated with the Order of the Red Eagle, Fourth Class. During the war he served primarily as a general staff officer and was awarded the Iron Cross First Class in 1914 for his service. By 1917 he had reached the rank of major. Following the German defeat and the armistice of November 1918, von Heeringen’s role as a general staff officer ended. In the unstable political and military environment of the early Weimar Republic he remained active in paramilitary circles. In the summer of 1919 he organized the Schutzregiment Groß-Berlin, a Freikorps formation composed mainly of men from Berlin and its surroundings. The unit became involved in the Kapp Putsch of March 1920. Kurt von Heeringen participated also in other nationalist and anti-republican organizations, for example in 1921 he became the first managing director of the Westfalenbund.
In addition to his political activities, Kurt von Heeringen became increasingly involved in Freemasonry. He rose within the ranks of the Große Landesloge der Freimaurer von Deutschland (Grand National Mother Lodge of the Freemasons of Germany). In 1931 he was elected Landesgroßmeister (Grand Master) of the organization.
Kurt von Heeringen died on 6 January 1937 in Berlin (Germany).
There are no information about the musical education and musical activities of Kurt von Heeringen. Nevertheless one of his compositions was performed on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Füsilier Regiment von Gersdorff No. 80 in 1913, a ceremonial celebration was held in the presence of Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse. Among the performances was a festive play titled “Treu und tapfer” (“Faithful and Brave”), written by Kurt von Heeringen. Presented in six scenes with musical interludes, the play depicted episodes from the regiment’s wartime history. Furthermore three of his songs were published by Albert Stahl Musikverlag in Berlin in 1926. So Kurt von Heeringen surely enjoyed a musical education during his juvenile years and composed music over a long period of time, but only in his leisure time. His works received little recognition and success and so are completely forgotten nowadays.
Kurt von Heeringen Archive
In my possession is a manuscript book with several compositions by Kurt von Heeringen. The book contains the following works which is very likely the complete musical output of Kurt von Heeringen. I have typeset a few of these works and the scores can be downloaded at the end of this website:
op.1 No.1: Sehnen, for voice and piano (text by Thassilo von Scheffer)
op.1 No.2: Die Nixe, for voice and piano (text by Maria Stona)
op.2 No.1: Über den Bergen, for voice and piano (text by Karl Busse)
op.2 No.2: Mädchenbitte, for voice and piano (text by Frida Schanz)
op.2 No.3: Schlummerliedchen, for voice and piano (text by Richard Leander)
op.3: Musik for the play "Treu und tapfer", for orchestra
op.4 No.1: Weißer Flieder, for voice and piano (text by Börries von Münchhausen)
op.4 No.2: Der alte Herr, for voice and piano (text by Börries von Münchhausen)
op.4 No.3: Pferd und Frau, for voice and piano (text by Börries von Münchhausen)
op.5: Danzig 1920, for voice and orchestra (text by Carl Lange)
op.6 No.1: Chronik, for voice and piano (text by Agnes Miegel)
op.6 No.2: Das weiße Heidekraut, for voice and piano (text by Agnes Miegel)
op.6 No.3: Johannisnacht, for voice and piano (text by Agnes Miegel)
op.7 No.1: Der Feendudelsack, for voice and piano (text by August Kopisch)
op.7 No.2: Unter'm Machangelbaum, for voice and piano (text by Ernst von Wildenbruch)
op.8 No.1: Dein Lied, for voice and piano (text by Thassilo von Scheffer)
op.8 No.2: Sterbende Blumen, for voice and piano (text by A. von Gersdorff)
op.9 No.1: Volksweise, for voice and piano (text by Anna Kleie)
op.9 No.2: Ganz im Geheimen, for voice and piano (text by Franz von Königsbrunn-Schaup)
op.10: Der erste Grad. Schöpfung, for voice and piano (text by Otto Hieber)
op.11 No.1: Adagio, for voice and piano (text by Egid Filek von Wittighausen)
op.11 No.2: Irrlichter, for voice and piano (text by Käte Schumacher) (1923)
op.12: Brigitte, for voice and piano (text by Felix Dahn)
Den unbekannten Freunden, for voice and piano (text by Hermann Gebhardt)
Mysterion, for voice and piano (text by Thassilo von Scheffer) (1923)
Mädchen am Fenster, for voice and piano
Lenzestrost, for voice and piano (text by Karl Henekell)
Der Heilige, for voice and piano (text by Ernst von Bandel) (1923)
Die Passionsblume, for voice and piano (text by Eugen Peschier) (1924)
Pürsch, for voice and piano (text by Paul Ewert) (1924)
Der Traum, for voice and piano (text by Franz Lüdtke) (1925)
Wiegenlied, for voice and piano (text by V. Renata) (1925)
Frühling in der Stadt, for voice and piano (text by Heinrich Seidel) (1925)
Glückselig, for voice and piano (text by J. G. Fischer) (1926)
Das deutsche Lied, for voice and piano (text by Josephine Moos) (1926)
