Background
His father, Charles Rietzel, was Vice-President and first flute of the New York Philharmonic Society.
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Herman Rietzel
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After studies in Stuttgart, Germany with Wilhelm Speidel, Herman returned to the United States. He made his debut at Steinway Hall in New York on May 10, 1877, and, beginning two years before his death, he performed as soloist with the New York Philharmonic on several occasions, enjoying particular success in one of the piano concerti of Hermann Goetz during the 1881-1882 season. Following the 1881-1882 Philharmonic season, Rietzel signed with a touring company headed by Clara Louise Kellogg.
During a break in that company"s tour of New England, on May 26, 1882 Rietzel and bass singer George Conly took a pleasure outing in a rowboat on Lake Spofford near Chesterfield, New Hampshire.
Later that day, the boat was found overturned, but Rietzel"s body was not recovered until the following June 7. The accident precluded Reitzel"s planned participation in a tour through the United States and to Australia and New Zealand in a company being organized by violinist Camilla Urso.
Among the participants was virtuoso pianist Teresa Carreño, who performed Liszt"s Hungarian Rhapsody northern 6 and, as an encore, music of Louis Moreau Gottschalk.
Also participating was a young Emma Juch, of the same age Reitzel had been at his death, who had made her United States debut in the same house only eight months before.
