Felix Schmidt by Luckhardt

Felix Schmidt
1848-1927
German Bass
Son of tenor Heinrich Schmidt (1809-70) . He grew up in Lübeck, where he received his early musical training from his father. He studied vocal with the famous tenor Edward Mantius and Music Theory with Weitzmann in Berlin . After he had taken part in the 1870-71 Franco-German war, he continued his vocal studies with Adam Schulze in Berlin and Music Theory with Friedrich Kiel at the Berlin Music Academy. He then began a career as a concert singer and an educator. 1872-75 he worked as an assistant lecturer at the Music Academy in Berlin, then in 1878 as a associate and in 1888 he became a full professor . From 1895 he was head of the dramatic singing class at the university. 1887-1918 he conducted the Berlin teacher glee club, and started one of the leading choirs in Germany at this time. In 1888 he published the work of his former teacher Weitzmann "theory of music" in German translation. Despite these diverse activities, he went on to work in the concert hall; he was regarded as an excellent concert and Lieder singer and has appeared not only in the German musical centers but in concert tours in Milan and Switzerland. He retired in 1921- He was married to the concert soprano Maria Schmidt-Kühne (* 1858), who had been his pupil, and with who he often performed .