Photo: Creator:F. Garibotti · CC BY-SA 4.0 · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Friedrich Kiel
Person · male · Kingdom of Prussia · Puderbach · born 1821 · died 1885 · recording since 1997
German composer and music teacher (1821–1885)
Listen on SpotifyYouTube Music
Also known as 弗雷德里克·基尔
Timeline
6 events▣ Album 3◦ Birth 1† Death 1★ Debut release 1
1820s
1880s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Complete Works for Violoncello and Piano
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
2020s
Biography
English biography488 words · 3 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1351913924
Biography
Friedrich Kiel (8 October 1821 – 13 September 1885) was a German composer and music educator.
Writing of the chamber music of Friedrich Kiel, the scholar and critic Wilhelm Altmann notes that it was Kiel’s extreme modesty which kept him and his exceptional works from receiving the consideration they deserved. After mentioning Johannes Brahms and others, Altmann writes, "He produced a number of chamber works, which . . . need fear no comparison".
Biography
Kiel was born on 8 October 1821, in Bad Laasphe. He was taught the rudiments of music and received his first piano lessons from his father, but was in large part self-taught. Something of a prodigy, he played the piano almost without instruction at the age of six, and by his thirteenth year he had composed much music. Kiel eventually came to the attention of Prince Albrecht Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg, a great music lover. Through the Prince's efforts, Kiel was allowed to study violin with the concertmaster of the Prince’s fine orchestra with which he later performed as a soloist. Kiel was also given theory lessons from the renowned flautist Kaspar Kummer. By 1840, Kiel was court conductor and the music teacher to the prince’s children. Two years later, Louis Spohr heard him and arranged for a scholarship which allowed Kiel to study in Berlin with the renowned theorist and teacher Siegfried Dehn. In Berlin, Kiel eventually became sought after as an instructor. In 1866, he received a teaching position at the prestigious Stern conservatory, where he taught composition and was elevated to a professorship three years later. In 1870 he joined the faculty of the newly founded Hochschule für Musik which was shortly thereafter considered one of the finest music schools in Germany. For his many students See: List of music students by teacher: K to M#Friedrich Kiel.
Kiel's hobby was mountaineering and at age 60, he climbed Europe's second highest peak, the Monte Rosa, on the Swiss-Italian border. In September 1883 he was involved in a traffic accident with a coach. His injuries eventually forced him to retire shortly before his death in September 1885.
Compositions
Kiel's compositions number over seventy, including a piano concerto, motets, oratorios (including the Star of Bethlehem), as well as a Missa Solemnis and two Requiems.
Chamber music comprises a considerable part of Kiel's output and must be regarded among his most important and best compositions. (See list below) Altmann noted that, "throughout my long life, I have found Kiel’s chamber music a never-failing source of delight". He praised Kiel highly as a melodist and lamented that it was "scandalously unjust" that Kiel’s two string quartets were as good as forgotten. Writing about Kiel's two Piano Quintets Opp. 75 & 76 in The Chamber Music Journal, R. H. R. Silvertrust remarks, "Both of these quintets are as fine as any in the entire literature". Several of his chamber works, along with the piano concerto and some choral works, have been recorded.
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 20 | 81.1th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 6 | 79.7th |
| Studio albums | 5 | 84.6th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 6 | 80.8th |
| Recording span (years) | -112 | 4.8th |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (6 release groups · 5 studio albums)
Albums · 5
Complete Works for Violoncello and Piano
1997 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:15:49
1Sonate a-Moll, op. 52: Allegro moderato, ma con spirito11:572Sonate a-Moll, op. 52: Intermezzo3:503Sonate a-Moll, op. 52: Adagio con espressione6:434Sonate a-Moll, op. 52: Rondo. Poco Allegretto e semplice5:475Drei Stücke, op. 12: Allegretto2:076Drei Stücke, op. 12: Allegretto scherzando6:507Drei Stücke, op. 12: Allegro capriccioso4:278Reisebilder, op. 11: Leise. Nicht schnell2:579Reisebilder, op. 11: Jagdscene. Frisch und schnell2:5910Reisebilder, op. 11: Rast. In behaglichem Tempo, doch innig vorzutragen2:5211Reisebilder, op. 11: Intermezzo5:5012Reisebilder, op. 11: Auf der Alpe. In mässiger Bewegung3:5113Reisebilder, op. 11: Sturm. Am Wasserfall. Allegro5:5414Reisebilder, op. 11: Romanze. Ziemlich langsam und sehr innig2:3815Reisebilder, op. 11: Einkehr. Mässig bewegt3:3616Reisebilder, op. 11: Fremde Musikanten. Rasch3:31Works for Violoncello and Piano, Vol. 2
2003 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 1:06:43
1Sonate D-Dur, WoO: Allegro11:052Sonate D-Dur, WoO: Allegretto Siciliano4:143Sonate D-Dur, WoO: Allegro7:104Kleine Suite A-Dur, op. 77: Praeludium. Andante2:525Kleine Suite A-Dur, op. 77: Allegretto quasi andante3:396Kleine Suite A-Dur, op. 77: Andantino3:407Kleine Suite A-Dur, op. 77: Poco allegro e scherzando4:118Sonata g-Moll, op. 67: Allegro10:099Sonata g-Moll, op. 67: Scherzo. Vivo4:4010Sonata g-Moll, op. 67: Andante con moto5:1511Sonata g-Moll, op. 67: Allegro molto9:48Piano Works: Piano Suites / 6 Fugues / 10 Pianoforte‐Stücke
2025 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 20 tracks · 1:11:58
1Piano Suite, op. 28: I. Sonate. Allegretto vivace10:122Piano Suite, op. 28: II. Impromptu. Presto appassionato5:543Piano Suite, op. 28: III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace3:434Piano Suite, op. 28: IV. Notturno. Andante grazioso1:5556 Fugues, op. 2: No. 1 in C‐sharp minor. Allegro ma non troppo4:2366 Fugues, op. 2: No. 2 in A major. Moderato1:5576 Fugues, op. 2: No. 3 in A minor. Allegro moderato3:3786 Fugues, op. 2: No. 4 in B major. Allegro risoluto5:5596 Fugues, op. 2: No. 5 in F minor. Moderato3:15106 Fugues, op. 2: No. 6 in C minor. Allegro moderato4:391110 Pianoforte‐Stücke, op. 18, Book I: No. 1, Praeludium1:001210 Pianoforte‐Stücke, op. 18, Book I: No. 2, Scherzo2:261310 Pianoforte‐Stücke, op. 18, Book I: No. 3, Duett3:101410 Pianoforte‐Stücke, op. 18, Book I: No. 4, Andante2:131510 Pianoforte‐Stücke, op. 18, Book II: No. 5, Hongroise2:451610 Pianoforte‐Stücke, op. 18, Book II: No. 6, Scherzo4:081710 Pianoforte‐Stücke, op. 18, Book II: No. 7, Melodie1:391810 Pianoforte‐Stücke, op. 18, Book III: No. 8, Ballade3:161910 Pianoforte‐Stücke, op. 18, Book III: No. 9, Lied2:342010 Pianoforte‐Stücke, op. 18, Book III: No. 10, Hymne3:19— · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 13 tracks · 57:29
1Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Introitus5:492Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Kyrie2:533Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Sequentia: Dies Irae6:064Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Sequentia: Recordare6:125Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Sequentia: Confutatis4:266Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Sequentia: Lacrimosa6:007Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Offertorium: Domine2:568Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Offertorium: Quam olim Abrahae3:119Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Offertorium: Hostias5:0310Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Sanctus: Sanctus2:1311Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Sanctus: Osanna2:5012Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Sanctus: Benedictus3:5113Requiem in F minor, op. 20: Agnus Dei5:59— · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 5 tracks · 59:38
1Praeludium und Fuge über B-A-C-H11:362Drei Fantasien für die Orgel, op. 58: Fantasie Cis-moll6:123Drei Fantasien für die Orgel, op. 58: Fantasie H-moll8:494Drei Fantasien für die Orgel, op. 58: Fantasie C-moll4:315Phantasie und Fugue über Ad nos, ad salutarem undam28:30
Album · 1
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Missa SolemnisSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 6 tracks · 1:00:511Missa solemnis, op. 40: Kyrie5:13 2Missa solemnis, op. 40: Gloria16:48 3Missa solemnis, op. 40: Credo13:52 4Missa solemnis, op. 40: Sanctus8:26 5Missa solemnis, op. 40: Agnus Dei7:46 6Ouverture à grand orchestre, op. 68:46 | Compilation | January 1998 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Friedrich Kiel head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 20 | 81.1th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 6 | 79.7th |
| Studio albums | 5 | 84.6th |
| Awards recorded | 1 | 89th |
| Timeline events | 6 | 80.8th |
| Recording span (years) | -112 | 4.8th |
| Genres | 1 | 56th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Order of the Red Eagle | won |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Friedrich_Kiel_by_F._Garibotti_-_Archivio_Storico_Ricordi_ICON010546_%28cropped%29.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/d6071be6-4fdf-46b1-91c1-829c4a03fe02discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/d6071be6-4fdf-46b1-91c1-829c4a03fe02core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q694191genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q694191seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Kielbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Kiel
Why this artist is in the database
- List of composers by name
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Creator:F. Garibotti · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q694191 · MusicBrainz: d6071be6-4fdf-46b1-91c1-829c4a03fe02
Similar artists
Browse every Tier 3 artist →Ranked from this record's own data: shared genre tags (rarer tags weigh more), era, home country and comparable fame. Every card lists the signals that placed it — no editorial picks.
Dionisio Aguado y García
Spain · Person
classical music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1996, 1 year apart
20 wikis
Felix Mikhailovich Blumenfeld
Russian Empire · Person
classical music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1994, 3 years apart
20 wikis
Agathe Backer Grøndahl
Norway · Person
classical music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1999, 2 years apart
23 wikis
Ján Levoslav Bella
Austrian Empire · Person
classical music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1994, 3 years apart
15 wikis
Lord Berners
United Kingdom · Person
classical music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1995, 2 years apart
15 wikis
Woldemar Bargiel
Kingdom of Prussia · Person
classical music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1994, 3 years apart
15 wikis
Alexander Arutiunian
Soviet Union · Person
classical music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1997, same year
26 wikis
Adriano Banchieri
Person
classical music
1 shared genre tag · debut 1995, 2 years apart
27 wikis