Ernst Hoffmann (conductor)
Encyclopedia
Ernst Heinrich Hoffmann was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...

 who served as the music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...

 of the Houston Symphony for eleven years.

Hoffmann was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His father was a violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

ist in the Boston Symphony Orchestra
Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...

. Although Ernst was an accomplished musician in his youth, during which he studied piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

 with the noted Harold Bauer
Harold Bauer
Harold Bauer was a noted pianist who began his musical career as a violinist.Harold Bauer was born in London; his father was a German violinist and his mother was English. He took up the study of the violin under the direction of his father and Adolf Pollitzer. He made his debut as a violinist in...

, he enrolled in the anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...

 program at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. Hoffmann was graduated cum laude in that discipline, whereupon he was offered a position on the Harvard anthropology faculty. He chose instead to go to Germany in 1920 to study music at the conservatory in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. During this time he met Annemarie Clara ("Mini") Hoffmann (her maiden name), a native German teacher of mathematics and languages, whom he married in 1922, and with whom he had one child, a son, Clifford (born in 1927).

Following his Berlin studies, Hoffmann performed as a violinist in Berlin theatre orchestras, often under the baton of the eminent Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...

. In 1924 he was appointed conductor-in-chief of the Breslau Opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

 and Philharmonic, a position he held for ten years until, under the advent of Hitler's regime, he was declared unacceptable for the position because of his American citizenship.

Hoffmann returned to the United States in 1934. In Boston, he founded the Commonwealth Symphony Orchestra and became its music director. There he came to the attention of leaders of the Houston Symphony, and he was engaged as that orchestra's music director in 1936. Hoffmann was a popular figure in Houston, and his tenure on the podium there was the longest of any music director to that point.

In 1947 Hoffmann left Houston and soon afterward accepted a position as director of orchestral music at Indiana University
Jacobs School of Music
The Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music...

, a position he held until his death.

En route to Indiana following a Christmas 1955 visit to their son in Houston, Ernst and Annemarie Hoffmann died in an automobile accident in rural Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

on January 3, 1956.
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