Hermann Abert (; 25 March 1871 – 13 August 1927) was a German historian of music.

Life

Abert was born in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

, the son of Johann Josef Abert (1832–1915), the '' Hofkapellmeister'' of that city. From 1890 to 1896 he studied classical

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

at the Universities of

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

. While at Tübingen he joined the '' Akademische Gesellschaft Stuttgardia'', a student fraternity which shaped the political views of the liberalism in southern Germany. His philological studies ended in 1896 at Halle, where he had done work on

Ancient Greek music Music was almost universally present in ancient Greek society, from marriages, funerals, and religious ceremonies to theatre, folk music, and the ballad-like reciting of epic poetry. This played an integral role in the lives of ancient Greeks. ...

. For the next three years he studied

music theory Music theory is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the "Elements of music, ...

at Berlin. In 1902 he qualified as lecturer by presenting his thesis on music of the Middle Ages at the

University of Halle Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

. Abert stayed on at Halle as a lecturer, becoming a senior lecturer (or associate professor) in 1910 and a full professor in 1918. In this capacity he moved the next year to the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

. But after just one year, Abert took up a post at

and in 1920 he became the successor of the music theorist

Hugo Riemann Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann (18 July 1849 – 10 July 1919) was a German musicologist and composer who was among the founders of modern musicology. The leading European music scholar of his time, he was active and influential as both a mus ...

. In 1923 he was called to the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

, where he was seen as the most suitable successor to

Hermann Kretzschmar August Ferdinand Hermann Kretzschmar (19 January 1848 – 10 May 1924) was a German musicologist and writer, and is considered a founder of hermeneutics in musical interpretation and study. Life and career Born in Olbernhau, Kingdom of Sa ...

, also a music theorist. It was there that he worked with

Friedrich Blume Friedrich Blume (5 January 1893, in Schlüchtern, Hesse-Nassau – 22 November 1975, in Schlüchtern) was professor of musicology at the University of Kiel from 1938 to 1958. He was a student in Munich, Berlin and Leipzig, and taught in the last ...

, Rudolf Gerber, Hans Hoffmann and Theodor Schwartzkopff, on the illustrated ''Dictionary of Music'' which was discovered to contain plagiarisms of

Alfred Einstein Alfred Einstein (December 30, 1880February 13, 1952) was a German-American musicologist and music editor. He was born in Munich, and fled Nazi Germany after Adolf Hitler, Hitler's ''Machtergreifung'', arriving in the United States by 1939. He is b ...

's ''Neues Musiklexikon'' und Hugo '' Riemann Musiklexikon''.''Frankfurter Zeitung.'' 11 August 1928. In 1925 he was admitted to the

Prussian Academy of Sciences The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences () was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer. In the 18th century, when Frenc ...

, the first music theorist to be granted this honour. On 13 August 1927, Prof. Dr. Hermann Abert died at

, aged 56.

Works

*''Die Lehre vom Ethos in der griechischen Musik.'' (Dissertation, "The Teaching of Ethics in Greek music") (Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig, 1899). *''Die ästhetischen Grundsätze der mittelalterlichen Melodienbildung.'' ("The aesthetic foundations of medieval melody") (Univ. Habil., Halle/Saale, 1902). *''

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

'' (Schlesische Verlags-Anstalt, Berlin 1903, 3rd end. 1917). *''The Concept of Music in Mediaeval Times and its Principles'' (Niemeyer, Halle 1905). *''Dramatic Music at the Court of Duke Karl Eugen of Württemberg'' (1905). *'' Niccolò Jomelli as a Composer of Operas'' (Niemeyer, Halle 1908). *''History of the Robert Franz Academy of Music in Halle'' (1908). *a ''Gluck Annual'', (4 issues from 1914), and a ''Mozart Annual'' (Drei Masken Verlag, Munich 1923). *''Johann Josef Abert: sein Leben und seine Werke.'' ("J. J. Abert: his Life and Work") (Pfaehler, Bad Neustadt 1983). (Reprint of Leipzig (Breitkopf) ed., 1916.) *''Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: eine Biographie'' (largely re-written from the original work of

Otto Jahn Otto Jahn (; 16 June 1813, in Kiel – 9 September 1869, in Göttingen), was a German archaeologist, philologist, and writer on art and music. Biography After the completion of his university studies at Christian-Albrechts-Universität in Kiel, ...

) (Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1920). (Vol. 1, 1756–1782; Vol. 2, 1783–1791). *''Goethe and Music'' (J. Engelhorn, Stuttgart 1922). *''Illustriertes Musik-Lexikon.'' (J. Engelhorns Nachfahren, Stuttgart 1927). *''Gesammelte Schriften und Vorträge.'' ("Collected writings and lectures") Schneider, Tutzing 1968. (Reprint of Halle ed., 1929.)

English translations

* *

Notes

References

*Friedrich Blume. (ed.) ''Gedenkfeier für Hermann Abert.'' ("Tribute to Hermann Abert") Schneider, Tutzing 1974 (Reprint of Halle ed., 1928). *A. Eaglefield-Hull, ''A Dictionary of Modern Music and Musicians'' (Dent, London 1924). *Robert Schmitt Scheubel. ''Chronik einer Fälschung. Studie und Materialien zu Hermann Aberts Illustriertem Musiklexikon.'' ("Chronicle of a Forgery: Resources on Hermann Abert's ''Illustrated Dictionary of Music''") Berlin, 2005.

External links

* *
Abert's biography of Robert Schumann, unabridged German text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abert, Hermann 1871 births 1927 deaths German music theorists Academic staff of Heidelberg University Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Leipzig University alumni Academic staff of Leipzig University Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg alumni Academic staff of the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg Members of the Prussian Academy of Sciences Mozart scholars Opera scholarship Writers from Stuttgart People from the Kingdom of Württemberg University of Tübingen alumni 19th-century German musicologists