Salomon Jadassohn (1831-1902)

Salomon Jadassohn

was born on 13th August 1831 in Breslau and died on 1st February 1902 in Leipzig. He became his first musical tuition in Breslau. Later he studied by Hesse, Brosig, Liszt and Hauptmann. From 1867 until 1869 he was the conductor of the “Euterpe Concerts” in Leipzig. From 1871 on he was a lecturer for Theory and Composition at the Academy of Music in Leipzig.

He represented a stricter form of music, was an outstanding Bach expert and had a conservative point of view. This is apparent in his finely composed piano pieces and vocal duets in the form of a canon. The University of Leipzig honoured him with the Title “Doctor h.c.”.

Works:

Four symphonies, orchestra serenades, overtures, chamber music, piano concert, music for the pianoforte, spiritual and popular music for choirs, songs etc. Furthermore he wrote a number of well-known books e.g. “Die Formen in den Werken der Tonkunst” ( Forms in Works of Musical Art), “Instrumentationslehre” (The Theory of Instrumentation), “Harmonielehre” (The Theory of Harmony), “Contrapunkt” (Counterpoint), “Kanon und Fuge” (Canon and Fugue) etc.