Asger Hamerik (Hammerich) (April 8, 1843 – July 13, 1923) was a Danish composer of the late romantic period. Aged 80 at time of death.

Life and career

Born in

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...

(near

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

), he studied music with J.P.E. Hartmann and

Niels Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day, in the period known as ...

, being related to the former through his mother, a cousin of Emma Hartmann. He wrote his first pieces in his teens, including an unperformed symphony. His family were friends with

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

, with whom Hamerik corresponded regularly. Later, he left Denmark in 1862 to study music 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 ...

, with

Hans von Bülow Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (; 8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for establishi ...

, and Paris where he was a protégé of

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

. In 1864 he began using the more unmistakably Danish version of his last name, rather than Hammerich, in the swell of Danish national feeling after the Danish-Prussian war. He left Paris in 1869 for Italy, and then Vienna. In 1871 he was offered the post of director of the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

, where his influence won praise from influential visitors including

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

and

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

.Tim Smith,
Danish Composer Raised Standards at the Peabody Conservatory
, ''The Baltimore Sun'' (December 27, 2009). He composed most of his large-scale concert works for the Institute's orchestra. His students at Peabody included Eliza Woods. He left his position as director of Peabody in 1898. He returned to Denmark in 1900 with his American pianist and composer wife, born Margaret Williams, but had essentially retired. He would sit on competition boards and conduct, including his own works. He composed 41 opus numbers, including seven symphonies,

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

, four operas, five orchestral suites and popular orchestral music, much of it based on

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n folk tunes. During his lifetime he was considered the best-known Danish composer after Gade, and one who was primarily influenced by Berlioz. His ''Requiem'' was his most successful work, and the one he considered his best. His son Ebbe Hamerik was a conductor and celebrated composer himself, and his daughter Valdis Hamerik an opera singer. His brother was the musicologist Angul Hammerich (1848-1931), professor at Copenhagen University and founder of Copenhagen’s Music Instruments Museum.

Musical style

Hamerik was an influential teacher in the US, as the director of Peabody in Baltimore for over a quarter of a century; and his works were performed in both the United States and Europe. The most obvious influence in his music is Berlioz, particularly given Hamerik's choice of rooting his music in French influences, the French subtitles to his symphonies, and the use of an ''idée fixe''. His music is often described as having a "Nordic" cast, and in letters he told friends that even though he was going to America he would always remain a Dane. His opera, ''La Vendetta'', was created in 1870 by the composer in La Scala in Milan and has a claim to be the first verismo opera in history. His later work incorporates influences from composers such as

Paul Dukas Paul Abraham Dukas ( 1 October 1865 – 17 May 1935) was a French composer, critic, scholar and teacher. A studious man of retiring personality, he was intensely self-critical, having abandoned and destroyed many of his compositions. His best-k ...

and

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

and the more roving harmony and extended tonality, including movements in different keys and expanded use of vagrant chords. His Seventh Symphony has been compared with Mahler's works from the same period, involving hundreds of musicians in its first performance in Baltimore, which was directed by fellow von Bülow student Joseph Pache.

Works

Orchestra

Symphonies

* 1860 Symphony in C minor, Op. 3 (lost) * 1879–1880 Symphony no. 1 "Symphonie poétique" in F major, Op. 29 *# Allegro moderato ed espressivo *# Allegro marcato *# Andante con moto *# Allegro giusto * 1882–1883 Symphony no. 2 "Symphonie tragique" in C minor, Op. 32 *# Grave – Allegro non troppo e patetico *# Andante penitente *# Allegro marcato *# Adagio – Allegro passionato – Allegro molto vivace * 1883–1884 Symphony no. 3 "Symphonie lyrique" in E major, Op. 33 *# Largo – Allegro molto vivace *# Allegro grazioso *# Andante sostenuto *# Allegro con spirito * 1884–1889 Symphony no. 4 "Symphonie majestueuse" in C major, Op. 35 *# Largo – Allegro impetuoso *# Adagio espressivo *# Allegro moderato *# Maestoso e solenne * 1889–1891 Symphony no. 5 "Symphonie sérieuse" in G minor, Op. 36 *# Largo – Allegro con fuoco *# Adagio non troppo *# Scherzo allegro *# Grave – Allegro * 1897 Symphony no. 6 "Symphonie spirituelle" in G major, for string orchestra, Op. 38 *# Allegro moderato *# Allegro molto vivace *# Andante sostenuto *# Allegro con spirito * 1897 rev. 1901–1906 Symphony no. 7 "Korsymfoni", for mezzo-soprano, mixed choir, and orchestra, Op. 40 *# Largo *# Andante sostenuto *# Grave

Other orchestral works

* 1871–1872 ''Northern Suite'' no. 1 in C major, Op. 22 * 1872 ''Northern Suite'' no. 2 in G minor, Op. 23 * 1873–1874 ''Northern Suite'' no. 3 in A minor, Op. 24 * 1875 ''Northern Suite'' no. 4 in D major, Op. 25 * 1876 ''Northern Suite'' no. 5 in A major, Op. 26 * 1879 ''Concert Romance in D Major for Cello and Orchestra'', Op. 27 * 1879 ''Jewish Trilogy'', Op. 19 * 1912 Variations on the Folk Song "Jeg gik mig ud en sommerdag", for string orchestra and harp, Op. 41

Harmony band

* 1867 ''Hymne à la paix'', for large band, mixed choir, two organs, and 12 harps

Operas

Vocal works

Spiritual

* 1882 ''Christian trilogy'', for baritone, mixed choir and organ, Op. 31 * 1886–1887 ''

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

'', for soloists, mixed choir, and orchestra, Op. 34 in C minor *# Requiem et Kyrie *# Dies irae *# Offertorium *# Sanctus *# Agnus Dei * 1900 ''Ave Maria'', for mezzo-soprano and organ, Op. 14

Profane

* Nocturne "Da giovine regina la luna maestosa", for mezzo-soprano and orchestra * ''Ballade Roland'' * ''Erntetanz'', for women's choir (four voices) and orchestra, Op. 37

Chamber music

* 1862 Piano Quintet in C minor, Op. 6 * 1878 ''Concert Romance'', for cello and piano (or orchestra), Op. 27

Organ

* 1905 Four Preludes, Op. 39a

References

*Alexander J. Morin (editor)
''Classical Music: The Listener's Companion.''
Hal Leonard Corporation, 2002. ; p. 377 *E. Douglas Bomberger (editor)
''Brainard's Biographies of American Musicians, Vol. 79.''
Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. ; pp. 129–132

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamerik, Asger 1843 births 1923 deaths 19th-century American composers 19th-century Danish classical composers 19th-century American male musicians 20th-century American composers 20th-century Danish classical composers 20th-century German male musicians Danish expatriates in the United States Danish music educators Danish male classical composers Danish Romantic composers Composers from Berlin Musicians from Baltimore Composers from Paris Composers from Vienna Peabody Institute faculty Composers from Copenhagen Musicians from Frederiksberg