Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann
1805 — 1900
Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann was, together with his son-in-law Niels W. Gade, the leading Danish composer of the 19th century, a period known as the Danish Golden Age. According to Alfred Einstein, he was “the real founder of the Romantic movement in Denmark and even in all Scandinavia”. J.P.E. Hartmann was the third generation of composers in the Danish musical Hartmann family.
Adapted from the Wikipedia article on Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann.
From the period sources
Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, a celebrated Danish dramatic composer, was born in Copenhagen in 1805, though his family was of German descent; his grandfather served as royal chamber-musician in Copenhagen until 1791 (A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1905). Despite being destined for and studying law, Hartmann received early musical instruction from his father, who was an organist in Copenhagen from 1800 to 1850. The young Hartmann held a public position while also serving as assistant organist to his father and teaching at the Copenhagen Conservatory. His abilities were notably encouraged by the composer Weyse (A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1900).
Hartmann’s influence extended beyond his own compositions; Edvard Grieg, for instance, studied in Copenhagen under Gade and came under Hartmann’s influence in 1863, a period Grieg described as a “crusade… against the effeminate Mendelssohnian-Gade Scandinavianism” (Grove’s Dictionary, 1922). Hartmann’s operas, including Ravnen eller Broderproven (1832), The golden Horns (1834), The Corsairs (1835), and Liden Kirsten (1846), were all performed with success (Biographie universelle des musiciens, 1883). His career was marked by significant appointments, becoming director of the Copenhagen Conservatory in 1840 and Royal Capelmester in 1849. In 1874, his fiftieth musical anniversary was celebrated with a grand concert, the founding of a scholarship in his name, and the bestowal of the “Danebrog” order, followed by an honorary Ph.D. from Copenhagen University (A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 1905).