Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
| Duchess Anna Amalia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Duchess consort of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach | |
| Tenure | 1756–1758 |
| Duchess regent of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach | |
| Tenure | 1758–1775 |
| Born | 24 October 1739 Wolfenbüttel |
| Died | 10 April 1807 (aged 67) Weimar |
| Spouse | Ernest Augustus II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach |
| Issue | Karl August, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Prince Frederick Ferdinand |
| House | Brunswick-Bevern Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach |
| Father | Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel |
| Mother | Princess Philippine Charlotte of Prussia |
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.
Family[]
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, with 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[]
- sonatas[1]
Opera[]
- Das Jahrmarktsfest zu Plundersweilern (text by Goethe)[1]
- Erwin und Elmire (text by Goethe) 1776[7]
Orchestra[]
- Oratorio (1768)[6]
- Sacred Choruses (four voices and orchestra)[1]
- Symphony (2 oboes, 2 flutes, 2 violins and double bass) 1765[6]
Vocal[]
- songs[1]
Ancestry[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e 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.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c 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. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 59. This cites F. Bornhak, Anna Amalia Herzogin von Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Berlin. 1892).
- ^ "Herzogin Anna Amalie von Weimar und ihr Theater," in Robert Keil (ed.), Goethe's Tagebuch aus den Jahren 1776–1782, Veit, 1875, p. 69
- ^ "Search Results for Anna Amalia | Grove Music Online | Grove Music". Grove Music Online. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
- ^ 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.CS1 maint: others (link)
- ^ Jump up to: a b c ANNA AMALIA von Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon, retrieved February 25, 2011
- ^ The Norton/Grove dictionary of women composers. Julie Anne Sadie, Rhian Samuel (First ed.). New York. 1994. ISBN 0-393-03487-9. OCLC 33066655.CS1 maint: others (link)
- ^ 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[]
- Carl August Hugo Burkhardt (1875), "Amalia, Herzogin von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), 1, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 386–387
External links[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anna Amalia, Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. |
 |
Wikisource has the text of a 1905 New International Encyclopedia article about "Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel". |
- PRNewsWire: Goethe's forbidden love for Anna Amalia
- Death Mask of Ann Amalia Of Brunswick
- Free scores by Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- . The American Cyclopædia. 1879.
| show Authority control  |
|---|
- 1739 births
- 1807 deaths
- People from Wolfenbüttel
- House of Brunswick-Bevern
- 18th-century women rulers
- German opera composers
- Female opera composers
- House of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
- 18th-century German people
- Duchesses of Saxe-Weimar
- Duchesses of Saxe-Eisenach
- German classical composers
- German female classical composers
- Regents
- German female regents