Heinrich Hofmann

[Alan Howe]

There has been some comment about this interesting composer:

Hofmann, Heinrich (Karl Johann)
(b Berlin, 13 Jan 1842; d Gross-Tabarz, Thuringia, 16 July 1902). German composer and pianist. He received his musical education at Theodor Kullak's Neue Akademie der Tonkunst in Berlin, where from 1857 he studied with Kullak, Eduard Grell, Siegfried Dehn and Richard Wüerst and was later active as a pianist and teacher. The great success of his comic opera Cartouche in Berlin in 1869 aroused high expectations and encouraged him to devote himself exclusively to composition. His ensuing orchestral and choral works, notably the Ungarische Suite op.16, the Frithjof-Symphonie op.22, Das Märchen von der schönen Melusine op.30, the Singuf-Rattenfängerlieder op.62a, as well as his operas Armin and Ännchen von Tharau, assured his growing fame throughout Germany in the 1870s and 1880s. However, the mere fashionable eclecticism of his work did not ensure continuing success; he absorbed the various current trends without being able to enrich them. 'Heinrich Hofmann is not a highly gifted composer', said Hanslick of his work on the occasion of a successful Vienna performance, 'but a reliable, skilled practical musician, able to present commonplace ideas in a tastefully refined form.' The natural simplicity and Classical clarity of his style are best seen in his poetic keyboard works, above all in the piano duets; these and his chamber music, especially the Piano Trio op.18 and the String Sextet op.25, typify his amiable traditionalism. In 1882 he was appointed to the Royal Academy of the Arts and in 1898 was elected to its senate.

Works

Stage

Cartouche (comic op, 1, W. Fellechner), Berlin, 2 July 1869 (Berlin, c1870)
Der Matador (operetta, 1, Simmel), Berlin, Friedrich-Wilhelmstädtisches, 13 April 1872
Armin (heroic op, 5, F. Dahn), op.40, Dresden, Hof, 13 Oct 1877 (Berlin, 1877)
Ännchen von Tharau (lyric op, 3, R. Fels), op.44, Hamburg, 6 Nov 1878 (Berlin, 1878)
Wilhelm von Oranien (romantic op, 3, Fels), op.56, Hamburg, 5 Feb 1882 (Leipzig, 1881)
Donna Diana (comic op, 3, E. Wittkowski, after Moreto), op.75, Berlin, Kgl, 5 Nov 1886 (Leipzig, 1887)

Choral

Nornengesang (H. Hofmann), solo v, female vv, op.21 (Leipzig, 1885)
Das Märchen von der schönen Melusine (dramatic cant, W. Osterwald), solo vv, op.30 (Berlin, 1876)
Aschenbrödel, fairy tale (after C.D. Grabbe), solo vv, op.45 (Berlin, 1881)
Sinnen und Minnen: ein Tanzpoem (R. Hamerling, F. Rückert, P. Heyse), pf, op.68 (Leipzig, 1883)
Festgesang (E. von Wildenbruch), op.74 (Leipzig, 1885)
Harald's Brautfahrt (F.A. Maercker), Bar, male vv, op.90 (Leipzig, 1888)
Johanna von Orleans (F. von Schiller) S, Bar, male vv, op.105 (Leipzig, 1891)
Prometheus (H. Richter), S, Bar, B, op.110 (Leipzig, 1892)
Waldfräulein, fairy tale (A. Büchner, after J.C. von Zedlitz), solo vv, op.111 (Leipzig, 1893)
Nordische Meerfahrt: ein Wikingersang, Bar, male vv, org ad lib, op.113 (Leipzig, 1894)
Die Lieder des Troubadours Raoul Le Preux an Königin Jolanthe von Navarra (F. Dahn), Bar, orch, op.89 (Leipzig, 1888); Die Verlassene, S, orch, op.118 (Leipzig, 1896)
Salve regina, Adeste fideles, chorus, op.53 (Leipzig, 1880)
Singuf-Rattenfängerlieder (J. Wolff), male vv, op.62a (Berlin, 1886); other works for male, female and mixed vv

Songs

c100 lieder, incl. Singuf-Lieder (Wolff): op.58 (Berlin, 1882), op.59 (Leipzig, 1882), op.60 (Leipzig, 1882), op.82 (Berlin, 1886); 11 duets; 6 trios; qt; 2 Liederspiele, 4vv, pf

Orchestral

Ungarische Suite op.16 (Berlin, 1873)
Frithjof-Symphonie, op.22 (Berlin, ?1876)
Vc Conc., d, op.31 (Berlin, 1880)
Adagio, F, vn, op.31a (Berlin, 1880) [arr. from op.31]
Irrlichter und Kobolde, scherzo, op.94 (Leipzig, 1888)
Konzertstück, fl, op.98 (Leipzig, 1888)

Chamber

Pf Trio, A, op.18 (Leipzig, 1874)
Str Sextet, op.25 (Breslau, ?1875)
Romanze, vc, pf, op.48 (Dresden, 1880)
Pf Qt, op.50 (Dresden, 1880)
Serenade, F, vc, pf, op.63 (Leipzig, 1882)
Sonata, vn, pf, op.67 (Leipzig, 1883)
Octet, 2 vn, va, vc, fl, cl, hn, bn, op.80 (Leipzig, 1883)

Piano

Pf 2 hands: Der Trompeter von Säkkingen, op.52 (Leipzig, 1880); 2 Serenaden, op.54a (Leipzig, 1880); Nachklänge, opp.34 and 37 (Berlin, 1882); Lose Blätter: 5 kleine Stücke, op.85 (Berlin, 1887); Stimmungsbilder, op.88 (Leipzig, 1887)
Pf 4 hands: Steppenbilder op.39 (Berlin, 1877); [6] Italienische Liebesnovelle, op.19 (Leipzig, 1880); Skizzen, op.43 (Berlin, 1880); 2 Serenaden, op.54 (Leipzig, 1881); Ekkehard, op.57 (Leipzig, 1882); 6 Charakterstücke, op.70 (Leipzig, 1884); Ritornelle, 6 pieces, op.108 (Berlin, 1891); Zum Wiegenfeste, 6 pieces, op.109 (Leipzig, 1891); Romantische Suite, op.120 (Leipzig, 1896)

[eschiss1]

In 1882 Joseph Bennett devoted an article of the Musical Times (April 1 1882, 1st part pages 181-185 and then continued in a later issue) to Hofmann with some music examples (viewable for US people at Google Books here but also at big college libraries and thelike...) - he mentions Armin (referring to it as Hofmann's first opera- well, sometimes distance in time provides more accuracy- "Hofmann's first opera was produced in Dresden on October 14, 1877", he writes- Operone agrees that this was his third) .
Bennett mentions a set of "Frauenbilder aus Shakespeares Dramen" (including portraits of Miranda, Ophelia, Juliet and Desdemona) op.33 which seems interesting from his description - of course it might also be lost, too- but will see what i can find...

[eschiss1]

Hofmann did have a work or two performed at the Proms by the way, including the flute concertpiece (in 1895, 1896 and 1901), a movement from his flute  serenade opus 65 (in 1899), and his  Huldigungsmarsch, Op 128 in 1901. Albert Fransella was the flutist in the solo works

[Mark Thomas]

The two 1882 articles about Hoffman which Eric mentioned are well worth reading, although they concentrate on his vocal and piano music, and I've uploaded them in PDF format here and here. A couple of weeks ago I uploaded his Frithjof Symphony, the Flute Konzertstuck and three chamber works here. The man's music is ingratiating to say the very least and well worth an occasional airing.

[eschiss1]

His Schauspiel-Ouverture (opus 28, published 1875) is in a Lambeth Orchestra concert conducted by Mr. Fifield (I believe...) next month (October 20, '12). I think we're talking the same Hofmann- HMB suggests so (no abbreviation, just "Hofmann, Heinrich")- though this overture doesn't show up in your list above...? (Roughly contemporary with the cello concerto, also published, in piano reduction, in 1875- not 1880; full score in 1876.)

(Also in regards that list, the Fritjof symphony was published 1874/75, not 1876. See HMB 1875, page 2.)

[Alan Howe]

Thanks as ever, Eric.

[Mark Thomas]

It really is a great shame that the promised recordings of Hofmann's Frithjof Symphony and the Hungarian Suite have not materialised. I believe that the recordings sessions were pulled for lack of funds. The symphony is a very enjoyable work, clearly strongly influenced by Raff's example. I don't know the Suite, but it too was highly praised in its day. I doubt whether it is a master work either but, on the evidence of Frithjof, many works of much worse quality have found their way into the catalogue. It all comes down to money in the end, though. Anyone out there with a spare £10,000?

[Derek Hughes]

Heinrich Hofmann has a walk-on part in Cosima Wagner's Diaries on 27 July 1879. Reading the scores of three new operas, including Hofmann's Armin, she and Richard are irked to discover--though honest enough to admit--that the best of the three (Goldmark's The Queen of Sheba) is by a Jew:

'In the evening whist and perusal of modern operas, Armin, Folkunger, Königin von Saba; it turns out that the Israelite's work is after all the best, musically more refined; but one cannot take any of these things seriously. The libretto of Armin, with its repulsive and superficial patriotism, aimed merely at effect, is truly horrifying.'

I've glanced at--no more--the vocal score of Armin. It appears to be about the massacre at the Teutoburg forest, like Kleist's Hermannschlacht. The prelude seemed rather crude.

Richard and Cosima already knew Goldmark's The Queen of Sheba. On 25 May 1875 Richard 'takes up La Juive, pleasure in the great style of this work—a quite different use of Jewish sounds from that in present day Jewish operas (Die Maccabäer, Die Königin von Saba).' On 10 November that year, they see it, and Cosima dismisses it with a bad pun and an anti-Semitic sneer: 'no gold, no marks, but plenty of Mosenthal' [the librettist, who had called on the Wagners earlier in the year. One of his earliest texts had been for Nicolai's Merry Wives]. Wagner's reaction to Goldmark's opera, however, was more nuanced. Three years later (6 October 1878), he astonished Cosima with his detailed recollection of it. It didn't all work, he thought, but he was impressed by one scene in particular.

The morning after the perusal of the three scores, Cosima left Wagner in his study--working, as she thought, on Parsifal. He in fact spent the morning studying The Queen of Sheba. Hofmann's nationalistic tub-thumping is heard of no more.