Carl Bohm

Who was Carl Bohm?

Carl Bohm was a German pianist and composer.

Bohm is regarded as one of the leading German songwriters of the 19th century, and wrote such works as Still as the Night, Twilight, May Bells, Enfant Cheri and The Fountain.

The Oxford Companion to Music says that Bohm was "a German composer of great fecundity and the highest salability... He occupied an important position in the musical commonwealth inasmuch as his publisher, N. Simrock, declared that the profits on his compositions provided the capital for the publication of those of Brahms." Bohm's specialty was music in a lighter vein, very different from the dark, brooding and introspective works of Brahms.

Bohm, like Schubert, was more than just a songwriter, composing in most genres. His chamber music, mostly quartets and piano trios, were extremely popular not only amongst amateurs but also among touring professional groups who were always in need of a sure-fire audience pleaser.

Edition Silvertrust states that Bohm "was certainly very well known during his lifetime. Yet today, his name brings nothing but blank stares." This curious obscurity is borne out more than ever by the fact that Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians contains no article about him.