Hans Sommer (born 20 July 1837 in Braunschweig (Brunswick) – 26 April 1922 in Braunschweig) was a German composer and mathematician. Sommer was born Hans Friedrich August Zincke in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

in 1837. Before going into music full-time, Sommer, who had studied mathematics and physics in Braunschweig and

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

, was also a noted mathematician. He served as the director of the

Braunschweig University of Technology TU Braunschweig (, unofficially ''University of Braunschweig – Institute of Technology'') is the oldest ' (comparable to an institute of technology in the American system) in Germany. It was founded in 1745 as Collegium Carolinum and is a membe ...

, where he taught mathematics, from 1875 to 1881. He was most successful as a composer for the theatre. Several of his operas used librettos based on fairy tales and were first produced at Brunswick: ''Der Nachtwächter'' (1865), ''Loreley'' (1891), ''

Rübezahl und der Sackpfeifer von Neisse ''Rübezahl und der Sackpfeifer von Neisse'' is a 1904 opera in 4 acts by Hans Sommer to a libretto by Eberhard König based on the Rübezahl fairy tale. The opera premiered at the Hoftheater in Braunschweig on 15 April 1904.Deutsche Rundschau ...

'' (1904), ''Riquet mit dem Schopf'' (1907) and ''Der Waldschratt ''(1912).''Saint Foix'', a one-act opera, was given at Munich in 1894 and ''Der Meermann at Weimar'' in 1896; ''Der Vetter aus Bremen'' (1865), ''Augustin'' (1898) and ''Münchhausen'' (1896–8) were not performed. His incidental music to

Hans von Wolzogen Baron Hans Paul von Wolzogen (13 November 1848 in Potsdam – 2 June 1938 in Bayreuth), was a Germans, German man of letters, editor in chief, editor and publisher. He is best known for his connection with Richard Wagner. Childhood Wolzogen's fa ...

's '' Das Schloss der Herzen'' (1891) was first performed in 1897 in Berlin, in

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

form. He placed great importance on the literary quality of his librettos, and corresponded with numerous librettists and composers. His many songs, at one time known in England, include the cycles ''Der Rattenfänger von Hameln'', ''Der wilde Jäger'' and ''Sapphos Gesänge''; he also wrote orchestral works and male-voice choruses. Sommer was active in initiating the institution of composer's performance rights and was instrumental in recruiting

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

to that cause.Charles Youmans -''The Cambridge Companion to Richard Strauss'' 2010 p252 1139828525 "Far too many authors misstate Strauss's role in the initial phases of this crusade by making him the instigator, when in fact Hans Sommer was the intellectual father of the cause.48 it was only after Sommer had published an article on the issue in early 1898 and then sent a copy to Strauss..."

Selected works

Lieder

* Fünf Lieder op. 1 (1872/1873), Litolff Braunschweig 1876 * Hunold Singuf (33 Rattenfängerlieder, J. Wolff) op. 4 (1882), Litolff Braunschweig 1884 * Sapphos Gesänge ( C. Sylva) op. 6 (1883/1884), Litolff Braunschweig 1884 uch orchestriert 1884/1885, Universal Edition 2010">Universal_Edition.html" ;"title="uch orchestriert 1884/1885, Universal Edition">uch orchestriert 1884/1885, J. Eichendorff) op. 9 (komp. etwa 1885), Litolff Braunschweig 1886 * Sieben Balladen und Romanzen op. 11 (1886), Litolff Braunschweig 1886 * Sieben Lieder ( G. Keller) op. 16 (1891), Leede Leipzig 1892 * Eliland (Karl Stieler">K. Stieler) op. 33 (1891/1892), Litolff Braunschweig 1900 * Fünf Brettl-Lieder op. 34 (1895/1901), Leede Leipzig 1901 * 21 Lieder ( J. W. Goethe), o. op. (1919–1922), in Teilen veröffentlicht, Litolff Braunschweig 1932/1937 Goethe">J. W. Goethe), o. op. (1919–1922), in Teilen veröffentlicht, Litolff Braunschweig 1932/1937 [20 Lieder orchestriert, in Teilen veröffentlicht 2003/2010 (Universal Edition)

Operas

* Der Nachtwächter (E. T. Neckniz/''Pseudonym des Komponisten'', nach Theodor Körner (author)">Theodor Körner), Operette 1 Akt, o. op., UA Braunschweig 1865, nicht gedruckt * Der Vetter aus Bremen (E. T. Neckniz/''Pseudonym des Komponisten'', nach Theodor Körner), Operette 1 Akt, o. op., nicht gedruckt * Lorelei (Gustav Gurski) Bühnenspiel 3 Akte, op. 13, UA Braunschweig 1891, Leede Leipzig 1889 * Saint Foix (

) heiteres Bühnenspiel 1 Akt, op. 20, UA München 1894, Leede Leipzig 1893 * Der Meermann (ders.) nordische Legende 1 Akt, op. 28, UA Weimar 1896, Leede Leipzig 1895 * Münchhausen (ders. mit Ferdinand Graf Sporck und Hans Sommer), Ein Schelmenstück 3 Akte, op. 31, Leede Leipzig 1897 * Augustin (Hans von Wolzogen), Fasnachtspiel 1 Akt, op. 32, Leede Leipzig 1899 *

( Eberhard König), Dichtung und Musik 4 Akte, op. 36, UA Braunschweig 1904, Leede Leipzig 1904 * Riquet mit dem Schopf (ders.), Märchenspiel 3 Akte, op. 38, UA Braunschweig 1907, Leede Leipzig 1907 * Der Waldschratt (ders.), Spiel 3 Akte, op. 42, UA Braunschweig 1912, Leede Leipzig 1910

Chamber music

* Klaviertrio d-Moll o. op. (komp. 1858) * Klavierquartett g-Moll o. op. (komp. 1870/2. Fass. 1884) * Klaviertrio Es-Dur o. op. (komp. 1884)

Sources

*J.A. Fuller Maitland/Bernd Wiechert. The ''

New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', edited by Stanley Sadie (1992), and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sommer, Hans 1837 births 1922 deaths German opera composers German male opera composers 19th-century German mathematicians Musicians from Braunschweig People from the Duchy of Brunswick TU Braunschweig alumni University of Göttingen alumni Academic staff of TU Braunschweig 19th-century German composers 19th-century German male musicians