A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Hanslick, Eduard

HANSLICK, Eduard, musical critic and writer on æsthetics, born at Prague Sept. 11, 1825, son of a well-known bibliographer, studied law and philosophy in Prague and in Vienna, where he took the degree of Doctor. In 1856 he was appointed tutor of æsthetics and musical history at the university; in 61 professor extraordinary, and in 70 regular professor. His love of music had been fostered at home, and under Tomaschek he became an excellent pianist. In Vienna he had ample opportunities of becoming a critic of no ordinary merit, and his keen insight and cogent logic, and the elegance and versatility of his style, make his literary productions of lasting value. As a juror for the musical department of the Exhibitions of Paris (1867), Vienna (1873), and Paris (1878), he did everything in his power to further the interests of the musical instrument makers of Austria. In 1876 he was appointed a member of the Imperial Council, having some time before received the order of the Iron Crown. During the years 1859–63 he gave public lectures on the history of music in Vienna, and occasionally in Prague, Cologne, etc. He has been musical critic successively to the 'Wiener Zeitung,' 1848–49, the 'Presse,' 1855–64, and the 'Neue freie Presse.' Hanslick has published the following books:—'Vom musikalisch-Schönen' (Leipzig, 1854, 5th ed. 1876, also translated into French), a work which marks an epoch; 'Geschichte des Concertwesens in Wien' (Vienna, 1869); 'Aus dem^[1] Concertsaal' (Vienna, 1870); 'Die moderne Oper' (Berlin, 1875, 2nd ed. 1876, sequel 1877); and has written the text for the 'Galerie deutscher Tondichter' (Munich, 1873), and the 'Galerie franz. und ital. Tondichter ' (Berlin, 1874). In music Hanslick is a Conservative. His resistance to the Liszt-Wagner movement is well known. On the other hand he was an early supporter of Schumann and is a strong adherent of Brahms.

[ C. F. P. ]

1. Two exhaustive and accurate works indispensable to the student of musical history.