Elisabeth Kulmann

Portrait of Elisabeth Kulmann, after a bust by Paolo Catozzi

Elisabeth Kulmann (Russian: Елисавета Борисовна Кульман/Jelissaweta Borissowna Kulman, July 17 [O.S. 7] 1808 - December 1 [O.S. November 25] 1825) was Russian, German and Italian poet and translator.

Biography

She was born in the Russian Empire in a large family of Boris Fedorovich, and Mary (née Rosenberg) Kulmann, of German origin. Father, collegiate councilor and a retired captain, died early. The family lived on Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg. As a child, she has shown phenomenal philological abilities, learning ancient and modern languages under the direction of Karl Grosgeynrikh.

Fluent in 11 languages, she wrote over 1,000 poems before her death at age 17. Robert Schumann considered her a wunderkind and set some of her poems to music including "Mailied" ["May Song"] and "An den Abendstern" ["To the Evening Star"].[1]

She was buried in the Smolensky Cemetery in St. Petersburg, with a monument of the work by Alexander Triscorni - marble sculpture of a girl on a bed of roses. On the monument are carved inscriptions in several languages, including Latin: Prima Russicarum operam dedit idiomati graeco, undecim novit linguas, loquebatur octo, quamquam puella poetria eminens (The first Russian young girl, who knew the Greek language, and learned eleven languages, spoken in eight, and was an excellent poet).[2]

In the 1930s her burial was moved by Bolsheviks authorities on Lazarevsky Semetery in Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

References

  1. ↑ Paulsen, Nina (December 2005). "Russlanddeutsche Unter Monarchie und Diktatur: Ein Neuer Band der 'Russland-Deutschen Zeitgeschichte' des HFDR Erschienen" [German-Russians Under Monarchy and Dictatorship: HFDR Publishes a new Volume of the Series 'Russland-Deutsche Zeitgeschichte' [Contemporary German-Russian History]' from the NSDU Libraries]. Volk auf dem Weg: 11. The Ukrainian music researcher and critic Grigoriy Hansburg wrests from total oblivion the gifted poet Elisabeth Kuhlmann (1808 - 1824), who was born into a German professional officer's family in St. Petersburg. This poet actually shows up historically mainly through the music of Robert Schumann, who was inspired by Kuhlmann's poetry and set several of her poems to music.
  2. ↑ Elisabeth Kulmann (1808-1825)

Elisabeth Kulmann works

Musical works in Kulmann verses

Further reading

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