His main sphere of activity as composer, conductor and organist were supplemental to his work as a professor of choralconducting, counterpoint, and composition. Upon graduation from the conservatory, he obtained a post teaching music theory at the Rheinische Musikschule in Cologne. Eight years later he became organist at the cathedral in Trier. He remained in this post until the end of the war, adding the position of director of the Trier School of Music in 1940. After the war he taught music theory at the Cologne Musikhochschule beginning in 1946, becoming a professor there in 1948 and deputy director in 1958. He was also a reader at Bonn University from 1946 until 1973, and a lecturer at the University of Cologne from 1956 until 1961.[1] He also conducted various semiprofessional ensembles such as the Bach-Verein Köln and the Rheinischer Kammerchor.
Schroeder died on 7 October 1984 in Bad Orb aged 80.
Compositions
Schroeder's main accomplishments as a composer were in of Catholic church music, where he attempted to break free of the lingering monopoly held by Romantic music. His works are characterized by the employment of medieval elements such as Gregorian chant, modal scales, and fauxbourdon which he combined with quintal and quartal harmonies and 20th-century polyphonic linear, sometimes atonal writing similar to that of Paul Hindemith.[1] His catalog includes much organ music as well as folk-song settings, German settings of the Ordinary and Proper of the Mass, and chamber music (especially with the organ).
Honours and awards
Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Düsseldorf, 1952
Beethoven-Variationen, Meditationen Variationen zu einem eigenen zum Dankgesang in der lydischen Tonart aus L. van Beethovens Streichquartett Op. 132 (1980–81)
Variations on Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht (1982)
Mixtura à cinque (1983)
Musik für Orgel (1983)
Suite concertante (1983)
Zehn Introduktionen zu Festtags-Introiten (1983)
Concerto da chiesa (1984)
Pezzi speciali (1984)
Chamber music
String Trio no. 1, for violin, viola, and cello, in E minor, Op. 14, no. 1 (1933)
Quartet no. 1, for string quartet, in C minor, Op. 26 (1939)
String Trio no. 2, for 2 violins and viola, Op. 14, no. 2 (1942)
Duo for violin and piano, op. 28 (1942)
Quartet no. 2, for string quartet, Op. 32 (1952)
Piano Trio no. 1, for violin, cello, and piano, op. 33 (1954)
Sextet for piano and winds, Op. 36 (1957)
Quartet no. 3, for oboe, violin, viola, and cello, Op. 38 (1959)
Sonata for solo violin (1960)
Sonata for oboe and piano (1962)
Piano Trio no. 2, for violin, horn, and piano, op. 40 (1964)
Piano Trio no. 3, for clarinet, cello, and piano, op. 43 (1967)
Quartet no. 4, for string quartet, Op. 44 (1968)
Sonata for solo flute (1971)
Sonata for solo oboe (1970)
Sonata for solo clarinet (1970)
Sonata for solo bassoon (1970)
Sonata for solo trumpet (1970)
Sonata for solo horn (1971)
Sonata for violin and piano (1971)
Sonata for solo trombone (1972)
Sextet for 2 clarinets, 2 horns, and 2 bassoons, Op. 49 (1973)
Quintet for clarinet and strings, Op. 48 (1974)
Wind Quintet, Op. 50 (1974)
Sonata for solo cello (1974)
Sonata for solo viola (1974)
Sonata for cello and piano (1974)
Sonata for solo contrabass (1975)
String Trio no. 3, for violin, viola, and cello, Op. 52 (1976)
Duo for violin and viola (1979)
Quartet no. 5, for string quartet, Op. 55 (1978)
Sonata for clarinet and piano (1979)
Chamber music with organ
Prelude, Canzona, and Rondo, for violin and organ (1938)
Fünf Stücke, for violin and organ (1953)
Concertino for violin, oboe, and organ (1966)
Sonata, for cello and organ (1966)
Duplum, for harpsichord and organ (1967)
Duo da chiesa, for violin and organ (1970)
Drei Dialoge, for oboe and organ, (1972)
Sonata for trumpet and organ (1974)
Sonata, for oboe and organ (1977)
Sonata, for flute and organ (1977)
Cum organo et tubis, concertino for organ, two trumpets, and three trombones (1975)
Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, versets for trumpet and organ on the hymn by Philipp Nicolai (1980)
Impromptu, for trumpet and organ (1982)
Intrada a due, for 2 trumpets and organ (1982)
References
Lück, Rudolf, and Erik Levi. 2001. "Schroeder, Hermann". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
