Francis Hueffer (born Franz Carl Christoph Johann Hüffer; 22 May 1845 – 19 January 1889) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

- English writer on music,

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

, and

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

Biography

Hueffer was born in

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

, on 22 May 1845 to Johann Hermann Hüffer, a politician and editor and his second wife Maria Theresia Julia (Julia) Kaufmann, sister of Leopold Kaufmann, Chief Burgomaster (in German Oberbürgermeister) of

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

and of Alexander Kaufmann, poet and folklorist. He was the youngest of the ten children born to his parents' marriage. His father had had seven other children from his first marriage to Amalia Hosius. His paternal grandmother Maria Sophia Franziska Hüffer (née Aschendorff) was the daughter of Wilhelm Aschendorff, himself the son of the founder of Aschendorff Verlags (Aschendorff publishing house; now Aschendorff Group). He studied modern

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 ...

and music in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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 ...

, and earned a Ph.D. in 1869 from the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

for a critical edition of the works of Guillem de Cabestant, a 12th-century

troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

. Following his studies, he moved to London in 1869 as a writer on music, and from 1878 worked as chief music critic for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', succeeding

James William Davison James William Davison (5 October 1813 – 24 March 1885) was an English journalist, known as the music critic of ''The Times''. Life The son of James Davison, of a Northumberland family, and the actress Maria Duncan, he was born in London 5 Oct ...

. He wrote a number of books on music, especially on music history and biography; edited the ''Great Musicians'' series for

Novello & Co Wise Music Group is a global music publisher, with headquarters in Berners Street, London. In February 2020, Wise Music Group changed its name from The Music Sales Group. In 2014 Wise Music Group (as The Music Sales Group) acquired French cla ...

; and translated the correspondence of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

and

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

to English. He also wrote the

libretti A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major l ...

for several English

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s: Alexander Mackenzie's ''Colomba'' and ''The Troubadour'', and

Frederic Hymen Cowen Sir Frederic Hymen Cowen (29 January 1852 – 6 October 1935), was an English composer, conductor and pianist. Early years and musical education Cowen was born Hymen Frederick Cohen at 90 Duke Street, Kingston, Jamaica, the fifth and last ch ...

's ''Sleeping Beauty''. Also succeeding Davison, he became editor of the ''Musical World'' in 1886 and actuated a more musically progressive attitude. He fell ill in the summer of 1888 and died of cancer on 19 January 1889. Hueffer's wife, Catherine Madox Brown, was the daughter of

Ford Madox Brown Ford Madox Brown (16 April 1821 – 6 October 1893) was a British painter of moral and historical subjects, notable for his distinctively graphic and often William Hogarth, Hogarthian version of the Pre-Raphaelite style. Arguably, his mos ...

and the half-sister of

Lucy Madox Brown Lucy Madox Brown Rossetti (19 July 1843 – 12 April 1894) was a British artist, author, and model associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. She was married to the writer and art critic William Michael Rossetti. Early life Madox Brown was born in Pa ...

and an artist and model associated with the

Pre-Raphaelites The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB), later known as the Pre-Raphaelites, was a group of English painters, poets, and art critics, founded in 1848 by William Holman Hunt, John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti ...

. Their sons, Ford Madox Hueffer (better known as Ford Madox Ford) and Oliver Madox Hueffer, were writers and their daughter Juliet Catherine Emma Hueffer was the mother of

Frank Soskice Frank Soskice, Baron Stow Hill, (23 July 1902 – 1 January 1979) was a British lawyer and Labour Party politician. Background and education Soskice was born in Geneva on 23 July 1902. His father was the exiled Jewish-Russian revolutionary ...

Selected writings

* ''Richard Wagner and the Music of the Future'' (1874) (reissued by

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 2009;
(Internet Archive)
* ''The Troubadours: A History of Provençal Life and Literature in the Middle Ages'' (1878
(Internet Archive)
* ''Musical Studies: A Series of Contributions'', a collection of his articles from ''The Times'' and ''

Fortnightly Review ''The Fortnightly Review'' was one of the most prominent and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000 ...

'' (1880) (reissued by

, 2009;
(Internet Archive)
* ''Wagner'', in the ''Great Musicians'' series (1881) (reissued by

, 2009;
(Internet Archive)
* ''Italian and Other Studies'' (1883
(Google Books)
* ''Half a Century of Music in England: Essays Towards a History'' (1889; 2nd ed. 1898) (reissued by

, 2009;
(Internet Archive)
* ''Correspondence of Wagner and Liszt'' (1889; as translator) (reissued by

, 2009; ) (Project Gutenberg
vol. 1vol. 2

Notes

References

* *

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hueffer, Francis 1845 births 1889 deaths English music critics English music historians English music journalists English opera librettists Writers from Münster Emigrants from the Kingdom of Prussia University of Göttingen alumni 19th-century British journalists English male journalists English male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English male writers German music critics German music historians German music journalists German opera librettists German male journalists German male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German dramatists and playwrights 19th-century German male writers People from the Province of Westphalia Immigrants to the United Kingdom