| Information: |
Salomon Jadassohn (13 August 1831 - 1 February 1902) was a German composer and a renowned teacher of piano and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory.
Jadassohn was born to a Jewish family living in Breslau, the capital of the Prussian province of Silesia. This was a generation after the emancipation of the Jews in Central European German-speaking lands and during a time of relative tolerance. First educated locally, Jadassohn enrolled at the Leipzig Conservatory in 1848, just a few years after it had been founded by Felix Mendelssohn. There he studied composition with Moritz Hauptmann, Ernst Richter and Julius Rietz, as well as piano with Ignaz Moscheles. At the same time, he studied privately with Franz Liszt in Weimar.
Because he was Jewish, Jadassohn could not qualify for the many church jobs as music directors or organists which were usually available to Christian graduates of a conservatory such as Leipzig, as they required deep knowledge of Christian liturgy and practice. Instead he worked for a Leipzig synagogue and a few local choral societies as well as teaching privately. Eventually, he was able to qualify for a position at the Leipzig Conservatory, teaching piano and composition.
Jadassohn composed more than 140 works in virtually every genre, including four symphonies, two piano concertos, lieder, sonatas, opera and a considerable amount of chamber music, including a string quartet, four piano trios, three piano quartets, three piano quintets and a serenade for flute and string quintet. These chamber works rank among his finest compositions. Considered a master of counterpoint and harmony, he was also a gifted melodist, following in the tradition of Mendelssohn. His works also show the influence of Wagner and Liszt, whose music deeply impressed him. In addition, he wrote several important books on composition and music theory.
|