*1869 Moscow - †1949 Salzburg
In 1872, Hans Pfitzner’s family moved to Frankfurt where his father, Robert, was a violinist with the opera orchestra. From 1886 until 1890, Hans Pfitzner studied at the Dr. Hoch’s Conservatory under James Kwast (piano) and Iwan Knorr (composition).
From 1892 until 1893, he taught piano and theory at the conservatory in Koblenz; in 1894 he was appointed non-salaried Kapellmeister at the Stadttheater in Mainz where he was to organize the first performance of his first opera Der arme Heinrich. During that time he also continued his studies, now under Hugo Riemann at Wiesbaden. In 1897, Hans Pfitzner moved to Berlin to take up the post of Professor of Composition and Conducting at the Stern Conservatory.
Due to his National Socialist affiliations, Hans Pfitzner is regarded as a controversial figure. In 1934, he was awarded the city of Frankfurt’s Goethepreis; in 1936 he was appointed Reichskultursenator; in 1942, he joined the Nationalsozialistische Volkswohlfahrt (National Socialist People’s Welfare).
Because Pfitzner was a staunch supporter of the Nazi regime’s cultural policy and because he received the highest honours available in that field, the City of Münster’s Street Name Commission decided to re-name its Pfitznerstraße in 2012:
www.muenster.de/stadt/strassennamen/pfitznerstrasse.html
Article on Hans Pfitzner (in German only):
Klassik-Debatte: Kann man Hans Pfitzner retten? www.zeit.de/2007/45/Spitze_45