Wilhelm Ramsøe


Wilhelm Ramsøe was a Danish composer, musician and conductor.

Biography

Emilio Wilhelm Ramsøe was born in Copenhagen, the second child of five. His father, Emilius Wilhelm Ramsøe was a professional oboe-player; his mother was Anne . He had four siblings, Kirstine, Frederik, Louis, and Alvilda. He was christened in 1837 at Garnison parish. Later the family moved to the area of Nørregade in neighborhood of Nørre Kvarter in Copenhagen.

Career

Ramsøe began playing violin at very young age. At 17 years old, he became conductor at actors guild for traveling theater companies; he conducted concerts in Denmark and Norway. Between 1857 and 1864, he conducted several concerts and performances at the newly built 2,000-seat concert hall Alhambra which opened in 1857. It was during this time that Ramsøe established his reputation as a conductor and composer; this led to his appointment as music-director at the then popular Folketheateret. From 1864 to 1875 he continued to conduct, while also composing and arranging various comedies. However, after a difference of opinion with the Folketheateret theater director, Michael Wallem Brun, Ramsøe left the theatre and moved to Stockholm.
In approximately 1877, he moved to St Petersburg, first working as a viola player in the Italian opera orchestra, and later at the Bolshoi Theatre with the Russian opera orchestra.

In 1887 he was engaged as Royal music director at the Mikhaylovsky Theatre opera and ballet house.
He returned annually to Copenhagen for summer vacations and conducted the symphonic wind band of Rosenborg Brøndkuranstalt, which played every morning in Rosenborg park.

Marriage and later illness

On 5 September 1863, Ramsøe married Mathilde Marie Strandmann-Petersen in Copenhagen.
His last years were plagued by bad health; he died in St. Hans Hospital, Roskilde. He was 58 years old.

Contributions

Ramsøe is today most known for: