Heinrich Zöllner
Illustration — Heinrich Zöllner, 1899 Heinrich Zöllner (4 July 1854 – 8 May 1941) was a German composer and conductor.
Heinrich Zöllner

Unbekannter Fotograf der Epoche. · Zeitschrift "Berliner Leben", Heft 06 (1899). · Public domain
- Born
- 1854 · Leipzig.
- Died
- 1941 · Freiburg im Breisgau.
- Nationality
- German Reich
- Occupation
- composer · conductor · librettist · writer · music director · music teacher · pianist · musician
- Fields
- opera
- Education
- University of Music and Theatre Leipzig
- Teachers
- Carl Reinecke · Salomon Jadassohn · Ernst Richter
- Languages
- German
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Illustration — Heinrich Zöllner, 1899 Heinrich Zöllner (4 July 1854 – 8 May 1941) was a German composer and conductor.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Heinrich Zöllner. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q70819 · wikipedia · Heinrich Zöllner
In this article
Biography
Biography
Heinrich Zöllner studied at University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. Training under Carl Reinecke, Salomon Jadassohn and Ernst Richter is recorded. The recorded working language is German. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are opera. Employment is recorded with Leipzig University, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln and University of Music and Theatre Leipzig.
The son of composer Carl Friedrich Zöllner, Heinrich Zöllner was born in Leipzig. From 1875 to 1877 he attended the Leipzig Conservatory where he studied music under Carl Reinecke, Salomon Jadassohn, and Ernst Friedrich Richter. In 1878, Zöllner became the director of music at the University of Dorpat (now Tartu) in Estonia where he stayed for almost seven years. In 1885, he joined the faculty at the Cologne Conservatory and while there he conducted the Cologne Male Voice Choir. Zöllner moved to the United States in 1890 to become the conductor and director of the Deutscher Liederkranz in New York City. He remained in that position for eight years and achieved considerable success. His cantata, Die neue Welt (The New World), won a prize at the 1892 Cleveland Sängerfest. Zöllner returned to Leipzig in 1898 to replace Hermann Kretzschmar as director of music at Leipzig University, taking over the Paulus male choir. Four years later he was appointed professor of composition at the university as a replacement for his mentor, Carl Reinecke. From 1903 to 1906, he was the editor of the Leipziger Tageblatt. He was conductor of the Flemish Opera in Antwerp from 1907 until his retirement in 1914. He retired to Freiburg and worked part-time as an opera critic for the Breisgauer Zeitung. He died in Freiburg aged 86.
Works
Works
Zöllner's compositions include ten operas, five symphonies, several large-scale works for chorus and orchestra, six string quartets, overtures, works for solo and four-hand piano, choral music, lieder, and numerous smaller vocal pieces. Like his father, Zöllner composed a significant number of pieces for men's chorus. However, unlike his father, he showed a preference for large-scale works with full orchestral accompaniment. He is probably best remembered for his 1899 opera Die versunkene Glocke, which enjoyed frequent revivals up until the outbreak of World War II.
Operas
Operas
• Die lustigen Chinesinnen (1885 Cologne, Stadttheater) • Faust (19 October 1887, Munich, Hoftheater) • Matteo Falcone (18 December 1893, New York, Irving Place) • Bei Sedan (1 September 1895, Leipsig, Neues Theater) • Der Überfall (7 September 1895, Dresden, Hoftheater) • Das hölzerne Schwert (24 November 1897, Kassel, Hoftheater) • Die versunkene Glocke (8 July 1899, Berlin, Theater des Westens) • Frithjof (6 October 1910, Antwerp) • Zigeuner (15 March 1912, Stuttgart, Hoftheater) • Der Schützenkönig (18 December 1913, Elberfeld-Barmen, Stadttheater)
Choral works
Choral works
• Hymnus der Liebe • Die neue Welt • König Sigurds Brautfahrt • Die Heerschau • Bonifazius • Luther (Oratorium)
Identity
Identity
Heinrich Zöllner is recorded with the occupation music director. Classed in the genre opera. Recorded as composer, conductor, librettist, writer and music director.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1854
Heinrich Zöllner was born on 4 July 1854.
1941
Heinrich Zöllner died at Freiburg im Breisgau.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Leipzig.
Birth place
Freiburg im Breisgau.
Death place
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Heinrich Zöllner”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q70819: Heinrich Zöllner
General reference · Wikidata
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
People, houses and institutions
Knowledge graph
People, houses and institutions
Teachers, collaborators, publishers and institutions recorded against this person, each on a stated basis.
Died at
1- Freiburg im BreisgauPlace
Established from a fact already recorded on a verified source.
Further particulars
Held on the record
Further particulars
Open the remaining particulars
Formation and teaching. Zöllner studied at University of Music and Theatre Leipzig. He trained under Carl Reinecke, Salomon Jadassohn and Ernst Richter.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Music memorabilia
42,934 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Heinrich von NutzhornPerson
- Heinrich WeberPerson
- Heinrich WernerPerson
- Heinrich Wilhelm ErnstPerson
- Heintje SimonsPerson
- Heinz BaumannPerson
- Heinz BongartzPerson
- Heinz BurtPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Heinrich Zöllner?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.