Ernst Richter

Ernst Friedrich Eduard Richter (October 24, 1808–April 9, 1879), was a German musical theorist, born at Grosschönau in Saxony.

He first studied music at Zittau, and afterwards at Leipzig, where be attained so high a reputation that in 1843 he was appointed professor of harmony and counterpoint at the conservatorium of music, then newly founded by Felix Mendelssohn. On the death of Hauptmann on the 3rd of January 1868, he was elected cantor of Thomasschule zu Leipzig, which office he retained until his death.

He is best known by three theoretical works: "Lehrbuch der Harmonie", "Lehre vom Contra punct" and "Lehre von der Fuge", valuable textbooks known to English students through the excellent translation by Franklin Taylor.

Richter's method of instruction- and the academy approach to harmonic education overall- was criticized by Arnold Schoenberg in his 1911 text, "Harmonielehre", or "Theory of Harmony". Schoenberg denounced the respective isolation of harmonic theory, counterpoint, and form in compositional education as productive only of an "artless and primitive" approach to composition.

References

*1911