Ernst Hermann Meyer
Encyclopedia
Ernst Hermann Ludimar Meyer (December 8, 1905 – October 8, 1988) was a German
composer
and musicologist
.
Meyer was a significant composer and musicologist, his works include numerous songs, as
well as chamber music, two sinfonies and other works for orchestra, an opera and an oratorio. He has written numerous musicological articles, and an important book on English chamber music. His pupils included Hanns Eisler
and Serge Hovey
.
. He received his first piano lessons at the age of six, and started composing at the age of eleven. After finishing school he worked as an apprentice at a bank, and in 1926 he started studying music at Heidelberg University, where in 1930, he completed his PhD on the 17th century chamber music of North German composers. He became a pupil of Hanns Eisler
. Being a Jew, to avoid detention by the Nazi Party he emigrated to the United Kingdom
in 1933, where he became a close friend of Alan Bush
one year later. In the UK he researched English chamber music of the 17th century and lectured for the
Workers Educational Association. In 1939 He started lecturing at Bedford College, London and in 1945 he was given a guest professorship at King's College, Cambridge.
He returned to East Germany (GDR) in 1948 and became one of the most influential figures of music culture in the GDR. He was also active politically as a communist and his works include choral, orchestral and chamber music in a style of passionate commitment to the ideals of Marx-Leninist ideals. In 1982 his book 'Early English Chamber music' was published. Meyer was head of the German Society of Composers and Musicologists, professor of musicology
at the Berlin Humboldt University, chairman of the German Handel Society and founder of the annual Handel Festival
, which is still celebrated in Halle
, 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...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
and musicologist
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
.
Meyer was a significant composer and musicologist, his works include numerous songs, as
well as chamber music, two sinfonies and other works for orchestra, an opera and an oratorio. He has written numerous musicological articles, and an important book on English chamber music. His pupils included Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
and Serge Hovey
Serge Hovey
-Life:Hovey was born in New York City in 1920. He studied piano with Edward Steuermann and composition with Hanns Eisler and Arnold Schoenberg. He was musical director for the first American production of Bertolt Brecht's Life of Galileo in Los Angeles in 1947...
.
Biography
Meyer was born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. He received his first piano lessons at the age of six, and started composing at the age of eleven. After finishing school he worked as an apprentice at a bank, and in 1926 he started studying music at Heidelberg University, where in 1930, he completed his PhD on the 17th century chamber music of North German composers. He became a pupil of Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler
Hanns Eisler was an Austrian composer.-Family background:Eisler was born in Leipzig where his Jewish father, Rudolf Eisler, was a professor of philosophy...
. Being a Jew, to avoid detention by the Nazi Party he emigrated to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1933, where he became a close friend of Alan Bush
Alan Bush
Alan Dudley Bush was a British composer and pianist. He was a committed socialist, and politics sometimes provided central themes in his music.-Personal life:...
one year later. In the UK he researched English chamber music of the 17th century and lectured for the
Workers Educational Association. In 1939 He started lecturing at Bedford College, London and in 1945 he was given a guest professorship at King's College, Cambridge.
He returned to East Germany (GDR) in 1948 and became one of the most influential figures of music culture in the GDR. He was also active politically as a communist and his works include choral, orchestral and chamber music in a style of passionate commitment to the ideals of Marx-Leninist ideals. In 1982 his book 'Early English Chamber music' was published. Meyer was head of the German Society of Composers and Musicologists, professor of musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
at the Berlin Humboldt University, chairman of the German Handel Society and founder of the annual Handel Festival
Handel Festival, Halle
The Handel Festival in Halle is an international music festival, concentrating on the music of George Frideric Handel, in the composer's birthplace in Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. The festival was founded in 1922 and grew into a center of Handel studies and performance in Europe...
, which is still celebrated in Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, Germany.
Music
In addition to over 300 songs, and other orchestral and vocal works:- Symphony for Strings (1947)
- Mansfeld Oratorio (1950)
- String Quartett in G Nr. 1 (1956)
- String Quartett Nr. 2 (1959)
- Poem for Viola and Orchestra (1961)
- Symphony in B flat (1967)
- String Quartett Nr. 3 (1967)
- Concerto for Harp and Chamber Orchestra (1968)
- Leinefelder Divertimento (1969)
- Toccata for Orchestra (1971)
- Reiter der Nacht (Opera, 1972)
- Concerto for Viola and Orchestra (1978)
- Sonata for Viola and Piano (1979)
- Essay for Viola Solo (1983)
Books
In addition to a large amount of papers and essays:- "Die mehrstimmigie Spielmusik des 17. Jahrhunderts in Nord- und Mitteleuropa", Heidelberg 1930
- "English Chamber Music", London 1951