Türk, Daniel Gottlob

Türk, Daniel Gottlob, eminent German organist, pedagogue, music theorist, and composer; b. Claussnitz, near Chemnitz, Aug. 10, 1750; d. Halle, Aug. 26, 1813. He was the son of Daniel Türcke, an instrumentalist in the service of Count Schönburg. He received music lessons from his father and studied wind instruments with his father’s fellow musicians, then received instruction in harmony and counterpoint from G.A. Homilius at the Dresden Kreuzschule. He subsequently entered the Univ. of Leipzig in 1772, but also pursued music training with J.A. Hiller, in whose “popular concerts” he served as 1^stviolinist; also studied clavichord with J.W. Hässler. In 1774 he settled in Halle, where he became Kantor at the Ulrichskirche and a teacher at the Lutheran Gymnasium; in 1779 he was named director of music at the Univ., where he taught theory and composition; left his Gymnasium post in 1787 to become organist and music director of the city’s principal church, the Marktkirche (Liebfrauenkirche). He was given an honorary doctorate at the Univ. in 1808, and that same year was promoted to prof. of music there. As the leading Halle musician of his day, he played an energetic role in its concert life as both a performer and an organizer. He was held in the highest esteem by his contemporaries. Among his compositions are various vocal works and keyboard pieces. R. Haggh tr. with notes Turk’s School of Clavier Playing: Instructions in Playing the Clavier for Teachers and Students (Lincoln, Nebr., 1982).

Bibliography

J. Lippert, Verzeichniss der musikalischen und andern Bücher, so wie auch der gedruckten und geschriebenen Musikalien des seligen Professor der Musik und Universitäts-Musikdirektor Dr. T., welche...ver steigert werden sollen (Halle, 1816); G. Hedler, D.G. T (1750-1813) (diss., Univ. of Leipzig, 1936); B. Grahmann, ed., D.G. T: der Begründer der hallischen Händeltradition (Wolfenbüttel and Berlin, 1938).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire