Engelbert Humperdinck

Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer of the late Romantic period. He became famous above all for his fairy tale opera "Hansel and Gretel". His mother had a great influence on the musical education of the young Engelbert. His musical talent showed up early on. As a child and adolescent, he wrote compositions that were performed by his mother and sisters.
At the age of 18 he began studying at the Conservatory in Cologne. In 1877 he went to Munich and studied composition with Franz Lachner and Josef Rheinberger. His teachers were critical to the music of Richard Wagner to hostile. On Humperdinck, however, some performances of Wagnerian operas made such an impression that he joined a circle of Wagner followers who had given themselves the name "Order of the Grail". In 1880 he visited Richard Wagner in Naples, who was currently residing there with his family. Humperdinck was initially turned away by the servant. After handing in his card, which he had added “Member of the Order of the Grail”, he was called back. According to his own account, he enjoyed a conversation that was momentous for his entire life "under the examining eyes of the master". Wagner quickly recognized the young man's talent and suggested that he come to Bayreuth as his assistant. Humperdinck worked there for a year and a half (January 1881 to July 1882) on the preparatory work for the premiere of Parsifal. Wagner's influence on him was so great that it took a long time before he found his own style again. Wagner's sudden death in 1883 struck him deeply. He remained loyal to the Bayreuth Festival. Later he taught Wagner's son Siegfried in composition.
Humperdinck's music is always close to folk songs. Several of the songs composed by him have a decidedly folk song character. In his opera “Hansel and Gretel” he processed existing folk songs (“Suse, liebe Suse, was raschelt im Stroh” and “Ein Männlein steht im Walde”).