Wilhelm Brambach was a German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 classical scholar

Classical philology

Classical philology is the study of ancient Greek and classical Latin. Classical philology has been defined as "the careful study of the literary and philosophical texts of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds." Greek and Latin literature and civilization have traditionally been considered...

, music historian

Music history

Music history, sometimes called historical musicology, is the highly diverse subfield of the broader discipline of musicology that studies the composition, performance, reception, and criticism of music over time...

, and librarian

Librarian

A librarian is an information professional trained in library and information science, which is the organization and management of information services or materials for those with information needs...

. He was the son of organ builder Franz Jacob Brachmann and the brother of composer and choral conductor Caspar Joseph Brambach

Caspar Joseph Brambach

Caspar Joseph Brambach , born 14 July 1833 in Oberdollendorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, died 20 June 1902 in Bonn, Westphalia, was a famous 19th century German musician, pedagog, composer whose reputation extended beyond Germany to America, and a renowned conductor of the leading choirs in Bonn.He...

. He studied classical philology with Friedrich Ritschl and musicology

Musicology

Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...

 with Heinrich Breidenstein at the University of Bonn

University of Bonn

The University of Bonn is a public research university located in Bonn, Germany. Founded in its present form in 1818, as the linear successor of earlier academic institutions, the University of Bonn is today one of the leading universities in Germany. The University of Bonn offers a large number...

. He worked as a librarian at Bonn University from 1862–1866, after which he was appointed Chief Librarian at the University Library Freiburg

University Library Freiburg

The University Library Freiburg is the library of the University of Freiburg. As an academic and research library, the University Library caters to students and staff of the University of Freiburg, the University of Education Freiburg, the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, and the...

 in 1866, a position he held for the next 38 years. He also con-currently served as a full professor of philology

Philology

Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...

 at the University of Freiburg

University of Freiburg

The University of Freiburg , sometimes referred to in English as the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg, is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.The university was founded in 1457 by the Habsburg dynasty as the...

 from 1868 until his retirement in 1904.