Rybner (real name, Rubner), (Peter Martin) Cornelius
Rybner (real name, Růbner), (Peter Martin) Cornelius
Rybner (real name, Růbner), (Peter Martin) Cornelius , Danish pianist, conductor, teacher, and composer; b. Copenhagen, Oct. 26, 1855; d. N.Y., Jan. 21, 1929. He studied at the Copenhagen Cons. with Gade and J.P. Hartmann, and then at the Leipzig Cons. with Ferdinand David (violin) and Reinecke (piano); finished his pianistic studies under Hans von Bülow and Anton Rubinstein. After a series of concerts in Europe as pianist, he settled in Karlsruhe. He succeeded Motti in 1892 as conductor of the Phil. Soc, and held this position until 1904, when he emigrated to the U.S., succeeding MacDowell as head of the music dept. at Columbia Univ. (1904–19). About 1920 he changed his name to Rybner. His works include a ballet, Prinz Ador (Munich, 1902), a symphonic poem, Friede, Kampf und Sieg, a Violin Concerto, numerous choruses, piano pieces, songs, and some chamber music.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire