Biography
Born in Bohemia, Heinrich launched his musical endeavors only after relocating permanently to the United States in 1817, following several unsuccessful earlier efforts. Largely self-taught, he proceeded on foot from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh before descending the Ohio River into Kentucky, an odyssey whose impressions later shaped his creative output. During 1817 he also became the first conductor to lead a Beethoven symphony on American soil and presided over the preliminary sessions that established The New York Philharmonic Society.
Romanticism pervades his entire body of work. Most orchestral scores, together with many other pieces, reject rigid formal schemes and function instead as fantasias in which movements are joined at will and thematic material is freely recycled from his own catalog as well as from well-known patriotic airs. These enigmatic textures surpass the conventional chromatic language of the period, driven by his ongoing desire to evoke natural vistas, depict Native Americans according to his own understanding, and embody the frontier ethos.
Heinrich performed widely as both violinist and pianist throughout the United States and Europe. Although he wrote in an array of genres, instrumental techniques and timbral possibilities govern even his vocal writing, placing exceptional demands on performers who frequently found its florid passages daunting.
Romanticism pervades his entire body of work. Most orchestral scores, together with many other pieces, reject rigid formal schemes and function instead as fantasias in which movements are joined at will and thematic material is freely recycled from his own catalog as well as from well-known patriotic airs. These enigmatic textures surpass the conventional chromatic language of the period, driven by his ongoing desire to evoke natural vistas, depict Native Americans according to his own understanding, and embody the frontier ethos.
Heinrich performed widely as both violinist and pianist throughout the United States and Europe. Although he wrote in an array of genres, instrumental techniques and timbral possibilities govern even his vocal writing, placing exceptional demands on performers who frequently found its florid passages daunting.