Bruno Hoffmann
Encyclopedia
Bruno Hoffmann was a German player of the glass harp
. Hoffmann is widely acknowledged as the virtuoso who reanimated contemporary interest in the glass harp and glass harmonica
.
Bruno Hoffmann was born in Stuttgart
, Germany
, the son of a church music director. He was trained in piano and organ playing, but on encountering the "musical glasses" at age 16, his lifelong devotion to resurrecting this unearthly beauty was begun. He discovered and mastered the old repertoire for glass harp by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
, Johann Friedrich Reichardt
, Karl Leopold Röllig, Johann Abraham Peter Schulz
, Johann Gottlieb Naumann
and others, and also inspired several modern composers to write new works for him.
He was the author of the Glasharmonika article in the German music encyclopedia Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
. He designed and built his own instrument beginning in 1929 (aged 16), consisting of a set of wine glasses mounted in a wooden box, whose rims were rubbed to produce the tone. He appeared all over Germany and the British Isles, performing solo and with various chamber and orchestral ensembles, and during his lifetime was featured on innumerable radio and television broadcasts and several recordings (including Federico Fellini
's Casanova
).
Hoffmann also appeared in several films, including a Benjamin Franklin
documentary. He died in Stuttgart in 1991, aged 77.
Glass harp
A glass harp is an instrument made of upright wine glasses....
. Hoffmann is widely acknowledged as the virtuoso who reanimated contemporary interest in the glass harp and glass harmonica
Glass harmonica
The glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica , is a type of musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls or goblets graduated in size to produce musical tones by means of friction The glass harmonica, also known as the glass...
.
Bruno Hoffmann was born in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, the son of a church music director. He was trained in piano and organ playing, but on encountering the "musical glasses" at age 16, his lifelong devotion to resurrecting this unearthly beauty was begun. He discovered and mastered the old repertoire for glass harp by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, Johann Friedrich Reichardt
Johann Friedrich Reichardt
Johann Friedrich Reichardt was a German composer, writer and music critic.-Early life:Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and Stadtmusiker Johann Reichardt . Johann Friedrich began his musical training, in violin, keyboard, and lute, as a child...
, Karl Leopold Röllig, Johann Abraham Peter Schulz
Johann Abraham Peter Schulz
Johann Abraham Peter Schulz was a German musician and composer. Today he is best known as the composer of the melody for Matthias Claudius's poem "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" and the Christmas carol "Ihr Kinderlein kommet".-Life:Schulz attended the Michaelis School from 1757 to 1759 and then the...
, Johann Gottlieb Naumann
Johann Gottlieb Naumann
Johann Gottlieb Naumann was a German composer, conductor, and Kapellmeister.- Life :...
and others, and also inspired several modern composers to write new works for him.
He was the author of the Glasharmonika article in the German music encyclopedia Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart
Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart is the largest and most comprehensive German music encyclopedia, and among Western music reference sources, only the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is comparable to it in size and scope...
. He designed and built his own instrument beginning in 1929 (aged 16), consisting of a set of wine glasses mounted in a wooden box, whose rims were rubbed to produce the tone. He appeared all over Germany and the British Isles, performing solo and with various chamber and orchestral ensembles, and during his lifetime was featured on innumerable radio and television broadcasts and several recordings (including Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
's Casanova
Fellini's Casanova
Fellini's Casanova is a 1976 Italian film by director Federico Fellini, adapted from the autobiography of Giacomo Casanova, the 18th century adventurer and writer....
).
Hoffmann also appeared in several films, including a Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
documentary. He died in Stuttgart in 1991, aged 77.
See also
- Glass harmonicaGlass harmonicaThe glass harmonica, also known as the glass armonica, bowl organ, hydrocrystalophone, or simply the armonica , is a type of musical instrument that uses a series of glass bowls or goblets graduated in size to produce musical tones by means of friction The glass harmonica, also known as the glass...
- Bruno Hoffman [sic] at the Internet Movie Database