Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (24 October 1739 – 10 April 1807), was a German princess and composer.[1] She became the duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, by marriage, and was also regent of the states of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach from 1758 to 1775. She transformed her court and its surrounding into the most influential cultural center of Germany.

Duchess Anna Amalia
Portrait by Johann Ernst Heinsius
Duchess consort of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach
Tenure1756–1758
Duchess regent of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach
Tenure1758–1775
Born(1739-10-24)24 October 1739
Wolfenbüttel
Died10 April 1807(1807-04-10) (aged 67)
Weimar
SpouseErnest Augustus II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
IssueKarl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Prince Frederick Ferdinand
HouseBrunswick-Bevern
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
FatherCharles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
MotherPrincess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia

Family
Standard

She was born in Wolfenbüttel, the ninth child of Karl I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia. Her maternal grandparents were Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover.

Marriage

In Brunswick on 16 March 1756 she married Ernst August II Konstantin, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and they had two sons. Ernst August died in 1758 leaving her regent for their infant son, Karl August.[2]

Regency

During Karl August's minority she administered the affairs of the duchy with notable prudence, strengthening its resources and improving its position in spite of the troubles of the Seven Years' War. In 1775, her son having attained his majority, she retired.[2]

Cultural role

As a patron of the arts, Anna Amalia drew many of the most eminent people in Germany to Weimar, including Johann Gottfried Herder, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and Abel Seyler's theatrical company.[2] When she succeeded in engaging the Seyler Company, this was "an extremely fortunate coup. The Seyler Company was the best theatre company in Germany at that time."[3] Amalia von Helvig was also later to be a part of her court. She hired Christoph Martin Wieland, a poet and translator of William Shakespeare, to educate her son. She also established the Duchess Anna Amalia Library, which is now home to some 1,000,000 volumes. The duchess was honoured in Goethe's work under the title Zum Andenken der Fürstin Anna-Amalia.

Music

Anna Amalia was a notable composer who studied music with Friedrich Gottlob Fleischer[4] and Ernst Wilhelm Wolf.[5]

Her compositions include:

Chamber
  • Divertimento (clarinet, viola, violoncello, and piano) c. 1780[6]

Harpsichord

Opera
  • Das Jahrmarktsfest zu Plundersweilern (text by Goethe)[1]

Orchestra
  • Oratorio (1768)[6]
  • Sacred Choruses (four voices and orchestra)[1]
  • Symphony (2 oboes, 2 flutes, 2 violins and double bass) 1765[6]

Vocal

Ancestry

References
  1. Jezic, Diane (1988). Women composers : the lost tradition found. New York: Feminist Press at the City University of New York. ISBN 0-935312-94-3. OCLC 18715963.
  2. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Anna Amalia". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 59. This cites F. Bornhak, Anna Amalia Herzogin von Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Berlin. 1892).
  3. "Herzogin Anna Amalie von Weimar und ihr Theater," in Robert Keil (ed.), Goethe's Tagebuch aus den Jahren 1776–1782, Veit, 1875, p. 69
  4. "Search Results for Anna Amalia | Grove Music Online | Grove Music". Grove Music Online. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  5. Baker's biographical dictionary of musicians. Nicolas Slonimsky, Laura Diane Kuhn, Nicolas Slonimsky (Centennial ed.). New York: Schirmer Books. 2001. ISBN 0-02-865525-7. OCLC 44972043.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. ANNA AMALIA von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, retrieved February 25, 2011
  7. The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers. Julie Anne Sadie, Rhian Samuel (First ed.). New York. 1994. ISBN 0-393-03487-9. OCLC 33066655.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 52.

Further reading
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.