SACDs - Hoffmann, H A

Heinrich Anton Hoffmann (1770-1842) was chamber musician at the Court of the Prince-Elector, the Archbishop of Mainz, and later violinist at the Stadttheater in Frankfurt. From 1801 until 1819, he rose from the rank of Corepetitor and Concert Master to Vice Director of Music and finally Director of Music and Co-director of Theatre. In 1821, Hoffmann took the titles of Vice Music Director and First Violinist. He retired in 1835. Among Hoffmann’s published works are six String Quartets, two Violin Concertos, a Concertante for two Violins, 12 Lieder with piano accompaniment and Duos for Violin and Violoncello which constitute one of the main focuses of his oeuvre.

Hoffmann’s compositions all date from between around 1800 and 1832 and thus belong stylistically to the high Classical and early Romantic periods. Indeed, their position in the transition from one epoch to the next often gives the works a special individuality and tension. Further tension is created by the fact that Hoffmann’s earlier pieces are influenced by Viennese Classicism, especially Mozart and Beethoven, whereas the middle and late compositions increasingly adopt and rework features of the French violin school around Pierre Rode (1774–1830).