- Asger Hamerik
Asger Hamerik (Hammerich) (
April 8 ,1843 –July 13 ,1923 ), was a Danishcomposer ofclassical music .Born in
Frederiksberg (nr.Copenhagen ), he studied music with J.P.E. Hartmann andNiels Gade . He wrote his first pieces in his teens, including an unperformed symphony. His family was friends withHans Christian Andersen , with whom Hamerik would correspond regularly.Later, he left Denmark in 1862 to study music in
Germany , withHans von Bülow , andFrance where he was a protégé ofHector Berlioz . It was in 1864 where he began using the more unmistakably Danish version of his last name, rather than Hammerich, because of the Danish-Prussian war.He left Paris in 1869 for Italy, and then Vienna, where he was offered the post of director of the Peabody Institute, which he accepted in 1871. While the director of the
Peabody Institute inBaltimore, Maryland , he composed most of his large scale concert works for the Institute's Orchestra. He left his position as director of the Peabody in 1898. He eventually returned to Denmark in 1900, with his American pianist wife, born Margaret Williams, but had essentially retired. He would sit on competition boards and conduct, including his own works.He has 41 opus numbers, including seven symphonies,
chamber music , four operas, five orchestral suites and popular orchestral music based on Scandinavian folk tunes. During his lifetime he was considered the best-known Danish composer after Gade, and one that was primarily influenced by Berlioz. His "Requiem" was his most successful work, and the one he considered his best.His son
Ebbe Hamerik was a conductor and composer, and his daughter Valdis Hamerik an opera singer.Musical Style
While relatively obscure today, Hamerik was an influential teacher in the US, as the director of the Peabody in Baltimore for over a quarter of a century, and his works were performed in both the United States and Europe. The most obvious influence in his music is Berlioz - particularly his conscious choice of rooting his music in French influences, the French subtitles to his symphonies and the use of an "ideé fixe". His music is often described as having a "nordic" cast, and in letters he told friends that even though he was going to America he would always remain a Dane.
His later work incorporates influences from composers such as
Paul Dukas andCésar Franck and the more roving harmony and extended tonality, including movements in different keys, expanded use of vagrant chords. His "Seventh Symphony" has been compared with Mahler's works from the same period.Works List
Symphonies
*Unnumbered Symphony (1862)
*Symphony No. 1, in F major, Op. 29, "Symphonie poétique" (1881)
*Symphony No. 2, in C minor, Op. 32 "Symphonie tragique" (1882)
*Symphony No. 3, in E major, Op. 33 "Symphonie lyrique" (1885)
*Symphony No. 4, in C major, Op. 35 "Symphonie majestueuse" (1889)
*Symphony No. 5, in G minor, Op. 36 "Symphonie sérieuse" (1891)
*Symphony No. 6, in G major, Op. 38 "Symphonie spirtuelle", forString orchestra (1897)
*Symphony No. 7, Op. 40 "Choral" (1906) (including an unpublished version from 1898)References
*Alexander J. Morin (editor). [http://books.google.com/books?id=wgoOxgWl6roC&pg=PA377&dq=%22Asger+Hamerik%22&lr=&num=50&as_brr=3&ei=h83iSODVCIf0sQP14Z2TBA&sig=ACfU3U2ovdfpCAnCz7_fRYp6WFA6nwfRVg "Classical Music: The Listener's Companion."] Hal Leonard Corporation, 2002. ISBN-13: 9780879306380; p. 377
*E. Douglas Bomberger (editor). [http://books.google.com/books?id=Hx3fH94Z7HcC&pg=PA131&dq=%22Asger+Hamerik%22&lr=&num=50&as_brr=0&ei=Ws_iSJunN5CEswOttJC4Dw&sig=ACfU3U1S1KMCXlK3-S7bbkLL9kYdcOoeyQ#PPA129,M1 "Brainard's Biographies of American Musicians, Vol. 79."] Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. ISBN-13: 9780313307829; pp. 129–132
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