Jadassohn, Salomon
Jadassohn, Salomon
Jadassohn, Salomon, German pedagogue, conductor, and composer; b. Breslau, Aug. 13, 1831; d. Leipzig, Feb. 1, 1902. He studied with Brosig, Hesse, and Lüstner in Breslau, at the Leipzig Cons. (1848–49), and with Liszt in Weimar. He then studied with Hauptmann in Leipzig, where he settled. He founded a choral society, Psalterion (1866), and conducted the concerts of the Euterpe Soc. (1867–69). In 1871 he was appointed instructor at the Leipzig Cons., being made Ph.D. (honoris causa, 1887) and Royal Prof. (1893). A scholar of the highest integrity and of great industry, he codified the traditional views of harmony, counterpoint, and form in his celebrated manuals. He was a firm believer in the immutability of harmonic laws, and became the Rock of Gibraltar of conservatism in musical teaching. Through his many students, who in turn became influential teachers in Germany and other European countries, the cause of orthodox music theory was propagated far and wide. He composed four syms., two piano concertos, chamber music, choral works, piano pieces, and songs. Although he was a master of contrapuntal forms, his music is totally forgotten.
Writings
Harmonielehre (Leipzig, 1883; 7th ed., 1903; Eng. tr. by T. Baker, 1893, as A Manual of Harmony); Kontrapunkt (1884; 5th ed., 1909); Kanon und Fuge (1884; 3rd ed., 1909); Die Formen in den Werken der Tonkunst (1889; 4th ed., 1910); Lehrbuch der Instrumentation (1889; 2nd ed., 1907); Die Kunst zu Modulieren und Präludieren (1890); Allgemeine Musiklehre (1892); Elementar-Harmonielehre (1895); Methodik des musiktheoretischen Unterrichts (1898); Das Wesen der Melodie in der Tonkunst (1899); Das Tonbewusstsein; die Lehre vom musikalischen Hören (1899); Erläuterung der in Bachs “Kunst der Fuge” enthaltenen Fugen und Kanons (1899); Der Generalbass (1901).
Bibliography
B. Hiltner, S. J.: Komponist, Musiktheoretiker, Pianist, Pädagoge: Eine Dokumentation über einen vergessenen Leipziger Musiker des 19. Jahrhunderts (Leipzig, 1995).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire