Jadassohn Salomon, *13 August 1831 Wrocław, †1 February 1902 Leipzig, German music theorist, teacher, composer, and conductor. He studied in Wrocław with A.F. Hesse (piano), I.P. Lüstner (violin), and M. Brosig (harmony), and later spent a year (1848) at the Leipzig Conservatory. From 1849 to 1851 he studied piano with Liszt in Weimar, and in 1852 continued his education in Leipzig under M. Hauptmann (theory, harmony, and orchestration). During this period, he began publishing his first compositions. In 1865 Jadassohn became director of a synagogue choir in Leipzig. In 1866 he was appointed conductor of the choral society Psalterion, and from 1867 to 1869 he directed the concerts of the Euterpe Musical Society. Beginning in 1871 he taught harmony, counterpoint, composition, orchestration, and piano at the Leipzig Conservatory. In 1887 he received an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Leipzig; in 1893 he was awarded the title of Royal Professor and elected a corresponding member of the Royal Academy in Florence. His extensive teaching experience formed the basis of numerous pedagogical publications, which he began issuing from 1883 onward. Jadassohn occasionally wrote under the pseudonyms H. Olivier and L. Lübenau. His compositional output comprises more than 140 opus numbers, including four symphonies, two piano concertos, Flute Concerto, chamber music, piano works, and vocal compositions.
Jadassohn’s writings are primarily pedagogical in character and are directed more toward practical composition than theoretical speculation. They achieved wide circulation in Germany and abroad. His textbook Musikalische Kompositionslehre contains numerous references to music history and presents works by J.S. Bach, Beethoven, and Romantic composers as compositional models. Jadassohn approached the teaching of composition from a normative perspective grounded in the principles of Classical music, emphasizing, among other things, the importance of melody and a preference for string instruments. In Lehrbuch der Instrumentation, he focused chiefly on writing for individual instruments (piano, organ, harp, and others) and on their technical and expressive possibilities. His own compositions are generally regarded as being of secondary significance.
Literature: J. Levi Zum 100. Geburtstag von S. Jadassohn, “Zentralverein-Zeitung Deutscher Staatsbürger Jüdischen Glaubens” X, Berlin 1931.
Musikalische Kompositionslehre, pt. 1 Die Lehre vom reinen Satz in 3 vols.: vol. 1 Lehrbuch der Harmonie, Leipzig 1883, 23rd ed. 1923, French ed. 1893, English ed. 1893, 8th ed. 1908, Italian ed. 1898, 2nd ed. 1911, Dutch ed. 1898, vol. 2 Lehrbuch des einfachen, doppelten, drei- und vierfachen Kontrapunkts, 1884, 7th ed. 1926, French ed. 1896, Italian ed. 1898, 2nd ed. 1925, Swedish ed. 1901, vol. 3 Die Lehre vom Kanon und von der Fuge, 1884, 4th ed. 1928, (also in English), English ed. 1888, pt. 2 Die Lehre von der freien Komposition in 2 vols.: vol. 4 Die Formen in den Werken der Tonkunst, 1889, 6th ed. 1923, French ed. 1900, Italian ed. 1906, 2nd ed. 1925, vol. 5 Lehrbuch der Instrumentation, 1889, 3rd ed. 1924 (also in English)
Die Kunst zu moduliren und zu präludiren. Ein praktischer Beitrag zur Harmonielehre in stufenweise geordnetem Lehrgange dargestellt, Leipzig 1890, 2nd ed. 1902
Aufgaben und Beispielen für die Harmonielehre, in German and English, Leipzig 1891, 8th ed. 1918, in French and Dutch, 1901
Aufgaben und Beispielen für die Studium im Kontrapunkt mit Bezugnahme auf des Verfasser Lehrbuch des Kontrapunkts, in German and English, Leipzig 1892, 2nd ed. 1910
Allgemeine Musiklehre, Leipzig 1892
Elementar-Harmonie – lehre für den Schul- und Selbstunterricht, Leipzig 1895, English ed. 1895
Schlüssel zu den Aufgaben der Elementar-Harmonielehre, in German and English, Leipzig 1895
Methodik des musiktheoretischen Unterrichts, Leipzig 1898
Das Wesen der Melodie in der Tonkunst, Leipzig 1899
Ratschläge und Hinweise für Instrumentationsstudium der Anfänger, Leipzig 1899
Das Tonbewusstsein. Die Lehre vom musikalischen Hören, Leipizg 1899, English ed. 1899, 2nd ed. 1905
Zur Einführung in J.S. Bachs Passions-Musik nach dem Evangelisten Matthaeus, Berlin 1899
Melodik und Harmonik bei R. Wagner, Berlin 1899
Der Generalbass. Eine Anleitung jur die Ausführung der Continuo-Stimme in den Werken der alten Meister, in German, French and English, Leipzig 1901
