Books › Musical biographies / 2 The American history and encyclopedia of music / W.L. Hubbard, ed, 1908 › scan 72
Scan 72
Musical biographies / 2 The American history and encyclopedia of music / W.L. Hubbard, ed, 1908
18 lines. Read by computer on 8 September 2026. Printed page 50. See the scan on archive.org.
1Mertens
2he became first violin at the opera, and teacher of violin at the local conservatory. Between 1878 and 1879 he conducted the Flemish Opera in Brussels. Some of his one-act operas which proved popular are De zwarte Capitan; Les trois étudiants; L’égoliste; De Vergissings and De Vriger. Besides these he wrote some instrumental music, some romances and sacred choruses.
4Mertke (měrt'-kě), Eduard. 1833-1895.
5Pianist, teacher and composer; was born at Riga. He studied theory under Agthe and piano under S. von Lützau, and is said to have played before the public at the age of ten. In 1850 he played in concert in St. Petersburg and Moscow. His versatility is shown by the fact that from 1853 until 1859 he was first violinist at the Gewandhaus at Leipzig. He made a piano concert tour in 1859, then taught in Wesselung, Lucerne, Freiburg and Mannheim until 1869, when he became teacher of piano at Cologne Conservatory. He has written an opera, Lisa, oder die Sprache des Herzens; a cantata called Des Liedes Verklärung; some piano arrangements of Mendelssohn’s, Weber’s and Hummel’s concerted pieces; and some Russian folk-songs beside editing Chopin’s works.
7Merulo (mā-roo'-lō), Claudio da Correggio. 1533-1604.
8Born at Correggio, Italy. He received a good musical education, probably at Venice or at Brescia, and at the age of twenty-four he became second organist at St. Mark’s, defeating nine other candidates for the post, and succeeding Annibale Padovano as first organist in 1566. The same year he became a publisher, but was not successful and soon abandoned this venture. In 1579 he began to write motets and madrigals, but this, too, failed him. He was associated with such men as Willaert, Zarlino, A. Gabrielli, Padovano and Costanzo Porta, and the greatness of his organ playing made him well known to the musicians of Italy, Germany and Northern Europe. In 1584 he went to Mantua, then to Parma in 1586, where he became organist to Duke Ranuccio Farnese at La Steccata. He was knighted by the Duke and filled his position as organist until he died at the age of seventy-one.
10Messager
11His work is valuable historically, particularly his organ pieces, which compare favorably with the compositions of German organists of that period. Of his compositions which exist today, six vocal pieces are in Torch’s L’Arte Musical in Italia, in volume one, and four organ toccatas in volume three.
13Merz (märts), Karl. 1834-1890.
14Teacher and writer on musical subjects; born at Bensheim, near Frankfurt-on-the-Main. He received some lessons from his father who was organist at Bensheim and from F. Kunkel, and when only eight or nine years old played the violin in a quartet club at the home of Baron Rodenstein. When eleven years old he took his father’s place as organist, continuing to fill it until he left Bensheim to go to school. After graduating from college in 1853 he taught school near Bingen-on-the-Rhine until 1854, when he came to America. Through J. H. Bonawitz he obtained a position in an orchestra in Philadelphia, and later became organist in the Sixth Presbyterian Church, also serving in the capacity of critic on a German musical journal headed by Wolsieffer. In 1856 he went to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to teach in a seminary, and in 1859 he went south, remaining until 1861, when he settled at Oxford, Ohio, and became professor of music at the Oxford Female College. In 1868 he began his literary career, contributing musical hints to Brainard’s Musical World, and in 1873 becoming editor of that magazine. In 1882 he moved to Wooster, Ohio, becoming professor of music in Wooster University. His works consist of operettas, sacred pieces, choruses and songs, also dance music, and pieces for violin and violoncello. His instructive works are Modern Method for Reed Organ, Karl Merz Piano Method, and Harmony and Musical Composition.
16Messager (měs-să-zhā), André Charles Prosper. 1853-
17Contemporary French composer and operatic conductor of distinguished ability; born at Montluçon, Allier. After studying for some time at the Niedermeyer School in Paris, he went to the School of Religious Music to take composition and harmony lessons of Camille Saint-Saëns. In
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