Biography
A composer who created operas along with their accompanying librettos, he encountered scant recognition during his career. After completing studies under Rietz, he obtained an initial appointment in Dresden. So forward-looking were his compositional outlook and creative stimuli that conservatory admission remained out of reach. Endorsement from Liszt of his scores—above all “Konig Sigurd”—together with the wish to mount the work, spurred Draeseke to write the symphonic poem “Julius Caesar.” The bulk of his output continued to meet rejection. He therefore relocated to Switzerland, where he gradually assembled enough piano pupils to support himself. Yet once prospects there faded he returned to Germany. His idiom underwent further evolution during the Swiss years, yielding pieces of greater substance such as “Gudrun,” “Herrat,” and “Fischer und Kalif.”