HILLER, JOHANN ADAM (17281804)

This article appears in Volume V13, Page 469 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: HIG-HOR

HILLER, JOHANN ADAM (17281804) , German musical composer, was born at Wendisch-Ossig near

Gorlitz

GORLITZ

in Silesia on the 25th of December 1728. By the death of his father in 1734 he was left dependent to a large extent on the charity of friends. Entering in 1747 the Kreuzschule in Dresden, the school attended many years afterwards by Richard Wagner, he subsequently went to the university of

Leipzig

LEIPZIG

, where he studied jurisprudence, supporting himself by giving music lessons, and also by per-forming at concerts both on the

flute

FLUTE

and as a vocalist. Gradually he adopted music as his sole profession, and devoted himself more especially to the permanent

establishment

ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement,
late
- LATE
Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

of a concert institute at

Leipzig

LEIPZIG

. It was he who in 1781 originated the celebrated Gewandhaus concerts which still flourish at Leipzig. In 1789 he became ".cantor " of the

Thomas

school there, a position previously held by John Sebastian Bach. He died in Leipzig on the 16th of June 1804. Two of his pupils placed a monument to his memory in front of the

Thomas

school. Hiller's compositions comprise almost every kind of church music, from the cantata to the simple chorale. But much more important are his operettas; 14 in number, which for a long time retained their place on the boards, and had considerable influence on the development of light dramatic music in Germany. The Jolly Cobbler, Love in the Country and the

Village

VILLAGE

Barber were amongst the most popular of his works. Hiller also excelled in sentimental songs and ballads. With

great

GREAT

simplicity of structure his music combines a consider-able amount,of genuine melodic invention. Although an admirer and imitator of the Italian school, Hiller fully appreciated the greatness of Handel, and did much for the appreciation of his music in Germany. It was under his direction that the Messiah
was for the first time given at Berlin, more than

forty

FORTY

years after the composition of that

great

GREAT

work

WORK

. Hiller, was also a writer on music, and for some years (1766177o) edited a musical weekly periodical named Wochentliche Nachrichten and Anmerkungen die Alusik betreftend.

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