Hugo Heermann (3 March 1844, in

Heilbronn Heilbronn () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, surrounded by Heilbronn (district), Heilbronn District. From the late Middle Ages on, it developed into an important trading centre. At the begi ...

– 6 November 1935, in

Meran Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its spa resorts, it is located within a basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to above sea level, at the entrance to the Passeier Va ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

) was a German

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist. He studied the violin with

Lambert Joseph Meerts Lambert may refer to People *Lambert (name), a given name and surname * Lambert, Bishop of Ostia (–1130), became Pope Honorius II *Lambert, Margrave of Tuscany (fl. 929–931), also count and duke of Lucca *Lambert (pianist), stage-name of Germ ...

at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, and later with

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian Violin, violinist, Conducting, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely ...

. From 1864 he lived in

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, where he taught violin from 1878 to 1904 at the

Hoch Conservatory Dr. Hoch's Konservatorium – Musikakademie was founded in Frankfurt am Main on 22 September 1878. Through the generosity of Frankfurter Joseph Hoch, who bequeathed the Conservatory one million German gold marks in his testament, a school for ...

. He played 1st violin with

Hugo Becker Hugo Becker (born Jean Otto Eric Hugo Becker, 13 February 1863, died 30 July 1941) was a prominent German cellist, cello teacher, and composer. He studied at a young age with Alfredo Piatti, and later Friedrich Grützmacher in Dresden. Biogr ...

, Fritz Bassermann and Adolf Rebner in the "Museums-Quartett" (also called the "Heermann-Quartett" and "Frankfurter Quartett"). Between 1906 and 1909 he taught at the

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, United States. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicag ...

, in 1911 at the

Stern Conservatory The Stern Conservatory (''Stern'sches Konservatorium'') was a private music school in Berlin with many distinguished tutors and alumni. The school is now part of Berlin University of the Arts. History It was founded in 1850 as the ''Berliner Mu ...

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 1912 at the Conservatoire de musique in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. In 1909 and 1910 he briefly was a member of The Dutch Trio, which transposed into the Heermann-

van Lier Van Lier is a surname first found in the Netherlands. Spelling variations of this family name include: Leer, Lier, Liere, Lierr, Lierre, Liers, Lieres, Lierrs, Lierres, de Lier, van Lier and many more. Some of the first settlers in the New World of ...

String Quartet. He served as

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

of the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

for a period beginning in 1909; he was succeeded in that post by his son Emil.Madison Symphony Orchestra – Historical Pages
, "Second Movement: A Tale of Two Maestros, 1947–1961" by Michael Allsen. He has the distinction of having been the first to have played

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

Violin Concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. After his retirement in 1922 he lived mostly in Meran, Italy.

References

Publications

Charles Auguste de Bériot Charles Auguste de Bériot (; 20 February 18028 April 1870) was a Belgian violinist, artist and composer. Biography Charles de Bériot was born in 1802 in Leuven, France (now part of Belgium) into a noble family but was orphaned at the age of n ...

s ''École transcendentale du violon''. Hugo Heermann, Ed., 1896. * Heermann, Hugo: ''Meine Lebenserinnerungen''. Leipzig: 1935

Literature

* Cahn, Peter. ''Das Hoch'sche Konservatorium in Frankfurt am Main (1878–1978)'', Frankfurt am Main: Kramer, 1979. * ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', (Nicolas Slonimsky, Ed.) New York: G. Schirmer, 1958. Academic staff of the Conservatoire de Musique de Genève German male classical violinists German music educators Concertmasters 1844 births 1935 deaths 19th-century classical violinists 19th-century German musicians 20th-century German classical violinists 20th-century German male musicians 19th-century German male musicians 20th-century German musicians {{violinist-stub