Hugo Daffner (1882-1936)

[Wheesht]

IMSLP has 6 of Daffner's compositions, among them the second symphony.

There is a German wikipedia article, according to which he wrote three symphonies.

The Stadtarchiv Munich has a biographical entry in German and English; this is a translation (with the help of DeepL) of a slightly longer version which is only available online in German.
It describes his style as late romantic-impressionist.

Hugo Daffner was born in Munich as the only child of the retired Colonel of the Medical Corps Dr Franz Daffner and his wife Josefine. Like some of his ancestors, he also had a gift for music. After graduating from high school (German school leaving certificate), he began studying music at the Akademie für Tonkunst (Academy of Music) in Munich, where, among other things, he studied composition with Reger. At the same time, he completed his training as a concert pianist.
In 1904, he received his doctorate in philosophy from the University of Munich with the thesis 'The Development of the Piano Concerto up to Mozart,' which was published in 1906. During this time, he also took up his first professional musical post as a bandmaster and solo repetiteur in Munich.
In 1907, he went to Königsberg as editor of the Königsberger Allgemeine Zeitung, where he mainly wrote for the 'Music' section. After moving to Dresden in 1908, he became editor of the Dresdner Nachrichten and married the actress Alice Politz in the same year. Politz, with whom he had a son. In 1912 and 1913, he travelled in Italy and France, and the impressions he gained there may have been the impetus for his founding of the German Dante Society in Weimar in 1914, which had originally been established in 1885 but had dissolved at the end of the 19th century due to a lack of members.
During the First World War, he resumed his medical studies, which he had already begun in Munich, and passed the medical state examination in 1920, becoming Dr. med. After that, he worked again as a feature editor at the Königsberger Allgemeine Zeitung, with a focus on music and founded the "Bund für neue Tonkunst". From 1922 to 1933 he lived in Berlin, where he was entered in the medical register; but his exact medical activity cannot be determined due to a lack of information. He was mainly active in the literary and musical fields, with his role in the German Dante Society as chairman, secretary, treasurer and editor of the yearbooks being particularly noteworthy.
A remarkable literary work is his article Eine Münchner Wertheriade, published in 1928 in the yearbook Kippenberg, vol. 7, in which he deals with the suicide of Fanni v. Ickstatt, who had thrown herself from the Frauenturm in Munich in 1785. It is probably a coincidence that his last apartment in Munich was on Icktstattstraße.
In the mid-1920s, it became clear that Hugo Daffner was no longer able to fulfil his many functions in the German Dante Society adequately; the reason was probably a manic-depressive illness, which led to his being committed to a 'sanatorium'. In October 1926, he broke with the Society. He resigned from all offices and broke off all contacts, although he had been appointed an honorary member.
In the autumn of 1933, he moved to Munich to live with his stepmother Rosa Daffner (his father had died in the same year), who took him in for half a year. He then moved into his last apartment at Ickstattstr. 17, where he worked only as a composer. His compositions can be described as late-romantic impressionist. Only a small portion of them were published; the majority can be found as autographs in the music department of the Bavarian State Library in Munich. A summary of his works can be found in the Lexikon Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.
Hugo Daffner's compositional style was not appreciated by the Nazi rulers, though. His
attitude to life as a composer was a constant source of annoyance to them, and after years of struggle with the authorities, he was labelled an 'unproductive individual' and, at the request of the District Welfare Association of the City of Munich, sent to the Dachau concentration camp on 20 December 1935, 'in order to make him aware of his duties to the national community through strictly regulated work and strict discipline.' After a brief release, he was sent back again, even though the medical officer must have been aware of Hugo Daffner's mental illness from his time in Berlin. Only shortly before his death was an examination of his mental state ordered, and proceedings were initiated to revoke his medical licence. It is possible that he had learned of this, and as a doctor and patient he knew what the consequences would mean for him: his end as a composer and his placement in a 'mental hospital' for an indefinite period.
According to official records, Hugo Daffner died in the Dachau concentration camp on 9 October 1936. The exact circumstances and cause of death are not known because an autopsy, which was still required by law even then, was not performed and a corresponding report is not available.
What remains for us is his legacy, which we must remember: Never ever again must a totalitarian regime be allowed to degrade and destroy human beings!
Text by Dr. med. Ruppert Rentz

[Alan Howe]

There's a (somewhat crude) computer realisation of his Symphony No.2 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWwYCaBYoxE

[eschiss1]

Several of his works are at IMSLP, including that one. I haven't heard that recording/realization. Thanks!