Paul Geisler

Paul Geisler was born on 10 August 1856 in Stolp (at that time part of the Kingdom of Prussia, today known as Slupsk in Poland). He received his earliest musical education from his grandfather, who served as conductor and director of the conservatory in Marienburg (today Malbork). He later continued his studies in Stolp with the conductor and teacher Konstantin Decker. Paul Geisler subsequently attended conservatories in Berlin and Leipzig.
His professional career began in 1881 when he was appointed repetiteur in Leipzig. Between 1882 and 1883, he joined Angelo Neumann's celebrated traveling Wagner company. In 1883, he became Kapellmeister at the Stadttheater in Bremen, working under the distinguished conductor Anton Seidl until 1885. During the following years, Geisler held further musical appointments in Leipzig and Berlin, where he established himself as both a conductor and composer. Eventually, he settled in Posen (today Poznan, Poland), where he founded a conservatory and became one of the city's leading musical figures. In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the honorary title of Royal Kapellmeister in 1902.
As a composer, Geisler was regarded during his lifetime as an important representative of the New German School, although his reputation was eventually eclipsed by that of its more prominent members. His output was particularly rich in stage works and includes seven operas: Ingeborg (1884), Die Ritter von Marienburg (1891), Hertha (1891), Palm (1893), Wir siegen (1898), Prinzessin Ilse (1898), and Warum? (1899). He also composed the dramatic episode with music Wikingertod, several symphonies, and a number of symphonic poems, among them "Der Rattenfänger von Hameln", "Till Eulenspiegel", and "Heinrich von Ofterdingen". His catalogue further includes the cantatas Golgatha and Sansara, numerous songs, and works for piano.
Paul Geisler enjoyed considerable esteem during his career and, from 1880 onward, was regarded as one of the exciting new composers of the New German School. For instance, the Zeitschrift für Musik wrote on 8 December 1896:

"The highly gifted musical firebrand Paul Geisler was born in Stolp in 1856, but despite his numerous and highly significant works, he has not yet been able to win the full recognition he deserves. [...] His compositions all bear the stamp of a brilliant, passionate mind; they are full of beauty, power, and passion, though they admittedly borders at times on the very outermost limits of the beautiful."

At the latest after his death, however, both he and his works were forgotten and are now in need of rediscovery.
Paul Geisler died on 3 April 1919 in Posen (today Poznan, Poland).

In my possession is the autograph full score of the work "Merlin" for orchestra with final chorus. The work was composed in 1890 and premiered the same year. The composition is the last part of the cycle "Golgatha" and a music critic wrote in 1890 about the performance:

"Shortly before the close of the season, Paul Geisler also presented his Merlin here, the final part of the cycle "Golgatha"  - a monumental work that all too often follows quite unmistakably in the footsteps of Richard Wagner, especially "Parsifal". Yet it is nevertheless a work of distinction, bearing witness to great determination and considerable artistic mastery. Geisler does not choose the easy path, nor does he tread the well-worn roads of everyday convention."