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Born: July 18, 1849 - Grossmehlra, near Sondershausen, Germany
Died: July 10, 1919 |
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The German musicologist, Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann, is sometimes referred to simply as "Riemann" in material on music theory and musicology. He was educated in law and other subjects at Berlin and Tübingen. After going through the Franco-German war he decided to devote his life to music, and studied accordingly at the Leipzig Conservatory.
Hugo Riemann then went to Bielefeld for some years as a teacher, but subsequently returned to Leipzig as "Privatdozent" at the University. Riemann went to Bromberg in 1880, but from 1881 to 1890 he was a teacher of piano and theory at Hamburg Conservatory. He held a post at Wiesbaden from 1890 to 1895, but eventually returned to Leipzig University as lecturer. In 1901 he was appointed professor.
In addition to his work as a teacher, lecturer and composer of pedagogical pieces, Hugo Riemann had a world-wide reputation as a writer upon musical subjects. His best known works are the famous Musiklexikon, a complete dictionary of music and musicians, the Handbuch der Harmonielehre, a work on the study of harmony, and the Lehrbuch des Contrapunkts, a similar work on counterpoint, all of which have been translated into English. One of his inventions, the Tonnetz, is the predecessor of the modern idea of pitch spaces. He has written many other works which indicate an encyclopaedic knowledge of music in all its branches. He is held in the highest possible esteem by German musical authorities. |
