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Does anybody have some information about a composer named C.F.D. Hoffmann?

I have found some music by him on the Danish Royal Library website - some quartets for harp, flute, violin and cello (Op.1). The appearance of the score suggests he probably belongs to the Classical period.

I am trying to find him on Google, Wikipedia and various composer websites, but so far I have come up with nothing.

Can anybody shed some more light on this mystery?

aldona

Can you provide any more info. on this composer than what you've already stated? Any portions of the first name? I'm having a hard time coming up with anything on my end.

That's all the information I have, too.

Here's the link:

https://rex.kb.dk/F/5TNE5PS6UXLYB9AE6DP ... format=999

...and click on the "URL" link to view the score.

(see folks, you don't have to wait until IMSLP is back online!)

The name of the composer is only listed as "C.F.D. Hoffmann", and this is the only work in the Danish Royal Library website by someone of that name. There is another (manuscript) scan of some sonatas for two flutes by "Sigr. Hoffmann", but in that case only the surname is mentioned.

The search continues.

(thank you for your help)
- if anyone reading this has access to a university library with some nice big fat encyclopaedias on music, please have a look, as I don't at present!

aldona

nothing on grove nor jstor (that I could find)

This is a tough one. I can't even find it in my Grove dictionary and some online websites that lists out classical music composers like www.classical.net

Could it have been a typo for E. T. A. Hoffmann?


-Lala-

You mean E.T.A Hoffmann as in "the Tales of Hoffmann"? That's an interesting theory but I doubt it - if you look at the score, the "C.F.D." is very clear.

And I'm not sure how they would get "C.F.D" out of "E.T.A." - if one letter was in error it would be understandable, but all three?

Thank you anyway - that is one more line of investigation.

aldona

A clue?

Here is a German website that has a piece of music for sale by a composer named "Carl Hoffmann". ('Leichtes Trio für Piano, Violine und Cello').

http://www.notenfundus.de/showad.php?sectio=43&an=3253

It was published ca.1920, so maybe not the same composer, unless it is a re-issue of an earlier work.

So far I have not been able to find any more information. (I would spend 24 hours a day on the internet if I could, but there's this boring thing called "work" that keeps getting in my way.)

aldona

...and other sources mention a "Philipp Carl Hoffmann", 1789-1842.
e.g.

http://books.google.com.au/books?id=Ezo ... #PPA312,M1

Anyone else have any further clues?

Aldona

Hoffmann, Carl Frederik, sergent, militærmusiker [1809-], komponist. (Christensen (1915-16: 378))

C.F. Hoffmann, sergeant, military musician and composer is listed on http://www.earthdevelopment.org/musik-full.htm. Could this be the guy? This list seems pretty complete (even lists my old piano teacher along with guys like Buxtehude and even his dad), so if that's not him then chances are that he's not a Danish composer, or the name is wrong.

The last bit refers to the book Stadsmusikanten, Historiske Meddelelser om København. 5. Bind (The Town Musician: Historical Messages About Copenhagen, 5th volume page 378) by Villads Christensen. This book is no longer to be found in any Danish libraries.


Is there any particular reason why you want to know more about this composer? You could contact the Royal Library and ask them what they know about the origins of the score and you could ask the guy maintaining the list linked to above for his source. And of course once his identity is established, you could look up the composer's descendants who may know more. I'm Danish and living in Denmark, so (assuming he is a Danish composer) if there's something I can do to help, let me know. But it seems that apart from the above, there's not much to do. This guy is not just "unknown". He is pretty much non-existant, it seems.

BTW. your link didn't work for me. I think what you are refering to is this:

Royal Danish Library search results

PDF file here

PS. Is the music any good?

Hi,
there is "Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann" (1776-1822) who for some reason changed his last name (I'm sure just to mislay us!) into Amadeus, and so, today, it is E. T. A. Hoffmann. he was the novellist (Hoffmann's tales) from whom Offenbach took his libretto. But he was playing violin and composing too, and I seem to remember that he also did some conducting.

I have somewhere with all my music some studies from him written for violin (nice ones too, in double stops) but he also wrote a dozen operas (mostly lost), some incidental music for diverse theater plays (Goethe...), a Requiem, 2 symph...

Quite a guy!