From the Youth

Taught to play several instruments by the town piper in Schleusingen, near his place of birth Erlau in Thuringia, Kaspar (Gaspard, Caspar) Kummer performed various functions from 1813 onwards in the service of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; from 1821 he was principal flautist in the castle orchestra. After taking retirement in 1855 he dedicated himself exclusively to teaching and composition. Contemporaries praised his rich tone, precise technique and tasteful phrasing, as well as his compositions: numbering about a hundred and fifty, these still follow the classical model while displaying impressive Romantic features that stand out from the general pattern of salon pieces of the time. Kummer died after suffering a stroke in Coburg. ‘From the time of youth’ is the second piece from a cycle of lyric pieces op. 109 based on poems by Friedrich Rückert. Plate no. 7460 / published in 1843.