Hamerik, Asger (EN)

Hamerik, (Hammerik), Asger, *8 April 1843 Frederiksberg near Copenhagen), †13 July 1923 Frederiksberg, Danish composer, conductor and teacher. He was introduced to music and the most distinguished Danish musicians of the time in his family home. Between 1859 and 1862, he studied music theory in Copenhagen with G. Matthison-Hansen, composition with N. Gade, and piano with E. Haberbier. It was during this period that he composed his first major works, which were performed in Copenhagen shortly after they were written. From 1862, he studied conducting and piano with H. von Bülow and theory with R. Wuerst in Berlin. In 1864 he moved to Paris; there he studied under Berlioz, with whom he became close friends. Thanks to Berlioz, he was elected in 1867 as a member of the music jury at the World’s Fair in Paris, where he received a gold medal for Hymne de la paix. It was also in Paris that he composed, among other works, his first opera, Tovelille, excerpts of which were performed at the Salle Pleyel. Following Berlioz’s death (1869), A. Hamerik travelled to Italy, where he composed the opera La vendetta. Between 1871 and 1898, he lived in the United States as director of the conservatoire at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. It was during this period that most of his major orchestral and vocal-instrumental works were composed. Summoned by Gade, Hamerik returned briefly to Copenhagen in 1890 to take up the directorship of the Musikforeningen (Music Society). However, following Gade’s death, he did not receive this post and therefore returned to Baltimore. Between 1898 and 1900, he undertook a concert tour of Germany, Austria, Italy and France; in May 1900, he settled in Copenhagen. After his return to Denmark, he composed little; he was a member of the management of the Dansk Koncertforening and the Samfundet til Udgivelse af Dansk Musik.

A. Hamerik’s oeuvre is dominated by large-scale orchestral and vocal-instrumental works; these are clearly influenced by Berlioz, evident primarily in the use of an expanded orchestral line-up (e.g. Hymne de la paix — a symphony orchestra with 14 harps, organ and 4 sets of bells) and the idée fixe technique in his symphonies. A. Hamerik’s compositions are distinguished by a national character, mainly due to the use of folk melodies and motifs (e.g. the 5 Nordic Suites). Of A. Hamerik’s works, the Symphonie spirituelle, the Requiem and, above all, the Korsymfoni have remained in the repertoire to this day. Although A. Hamerik’s works were performed in America, Germany, France and Italy, they were not very popular in Denmark and only appeared on concert stages there relatively late (his first major work — the 5th Nordic Suite — was not performed in Copenhagen until 1882), yet in the history of Danish music they occupy an important place between the works of N. Gade and C. Nielsen. A. Hamerik contributed to the popularisation of European music in the United States, introducing many new works into the repertoire (including Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor).

Literature: E. Abrahamsen Asger Hamerik, in: Dansk biografisk leksikon, Copenhagen 1933; F. Nygaard Den virkelige Marie Grubbe, Copenhagen 1940; J. Hye-Knudsen Ebbe Hamerik, “Dansk Musiktidskrift” 1951; K.A. Brunn Dansk musik historie, vol. 2, Copenhagen 1969.