Walter Abendroth

Walter Fedor Georg Abendroth (29 May 1896 in Hanover – 30 September 1973 in Fischbachau) was a German composer, editor, and writer on music. Life Walter Abendroth was born in the Lower Saxon city of Hanover. The middle child of a land surveyor, he grew up with a younger brother and an older sister in Hanover and, from 1907, in Berlin. He encountered the teachings of Rudolf Steiner as a schoolchild. From that moment on, Anthroposophy, a movement for which he would remain active in many contexts, became a constant companion in his life. From 1914 he studied Painting and Music in Munich; 1916 he was drafted into the military. After 1918, his “Wanderjahre” took him to Göttingen, where he married in 1920, Jena, Hamburg, Cologne and finally back to Berlin in 1930. Following primarily private musical studies, he became a freelance composer and music critic. Between 1930 and 1934 he took over editing the Allgemeine Musikzeitung, combining this activity with contributions to the Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger. Following the National Socialists arrival in power, he became a staff music writer at the Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger until 1944. In 1934, he expressed agreement with nationalist socialist cultu