A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Rummel
RUMMEL. A German musical family, (1) Christian Franz Ludwig Friedrich Alexander was born at Brichsenstadt, Bavaria, Nov. 27, 1787. He was educated at Mannheim, and seems to have had instruction from the Abbé Vogler. In 1806 he took the post of bandmaster to the 2nd Nassau infantry, made the Peninsular Campaign, married in Spain, was taken prisoner, released, and served with his regiment at Waterloo. He was then employed by the Duke of Nassau to form and lead his court orchestra, which he did with great credit to himself till 1841, when it was dissolved. Christian Rummel died at Wiesbaden Feb. 13, 1849. He was not only an able conductor and a composer of much ability and industry, but a fine clarinetist and a good pianoforte-player. His works are numerous, and embrace pieces for military band, concertos, quintets and other pieces for clarinet, many pianoforte compositions, especially a sonata for 4 hands (op. 20) waltzes, variations, etc. and a Method for the PF. (2) His daughter Josephine was born at Manzanares in Spain during the Peninsular War, May 12, 1812. She was pianist at the Court at Wiesbaden, and died Dec. 19, 1877. (3) His son Joseph, born Oct. 6, 1818, was educated by his father in music generally, and in the clarinet and PF. in particular, on both of which he was a good player. He was for many years Kapellmeister to the Prince of Oldenburg, then residing at Wiesbaden—a post in which he was succeeded by Adolphe Henselt. Up to 1842 he lived in Paris, and then removed to London for five years. In 1847 he returned to Paris, and remained there till driven back to London by the war in 1870; and in London he resided till his death, March 25, 1880. Joseph Rummel wrote no original music, but he was one of the most prolific arrangers of operas and operatic selections for the PF. that ever existed. For nearly 40 years he worked incessantly for the houses of Schott and Escudier, publishing about 400 pieces with each house under his own name, besides a much larger number under noms de plume. His arrangements and transcriptions amount in all to fully 2000. He wrote also a series of exercises for Augener & Co., and for Escudier. (4) Joseph's sister Franziska, born at Wiesbaden, Feb. 4, 1821, was educated by her father until she went to Paris to study singing under Bordogni, and afterwards to Lamperti at Milan. She became principal singer at the Court of Wiesbaden, and at length married Peter Schott, the well-known music publisher at Brussels, who died in 1873. (5) Another son, August, became a merchant in London, where he still lives, and where (6) his son Franz was born, Jan. 11, 1853.
Franz Rummel at the age of 14 went to Brussels to study the PF. under Brassin, first as a private pupil and afterwards in the Conservatoire. He took the first prize for PF.-playing there in 1872, and afterwards became one of the staff of teachers. He made his first public appearance at Antwerp Dec. 22, 1872, in Henselt's PF. Concerto; in July 1873 played the Schumann Concerto at the Albert Hall Concerts, London; and again at Brussels, before the King and Queen of the Belgians, with great distinction. He remained at the Conservatoire as professor till 1876, when on the advice of Rubinstein he threw up his pest and began to travel, playing in the Rhine Provinces, Holland, and France. Early in 1877 he came to London, and played at the Crystal Palace on April 7. Next year he went to America, where he met with great success, though interrupted by a serious accident. He returned in 1881, and played again at the Crystal Palace on April 30. His répertoire is large, embracing the works of Tschaïkowsky, Raff, Rubinstein, Liszt, as well as those of the more established classical masters.