Paul Hofhaimer
Paul Hofhaimer (* January 25, 1459 Radstadt Salzburg (state ); † 1537 in Salzburg) was an Austrian composer and organist.
Life and work
Hofhaimer came from a respected family of musicians, which has produced several organists of local importance. He was educated at the court of the Emperor Frederick III. ( HRR ) (r. 1452-1493 ), which in 1485 awarded him a coat of arms. In 1478, his work for the first time at the court of Archduke Siegmund ( Austria - Tyrol ) ( 1427-1496 ) is proved, in 1480, he joined the office as chamber organist in succession to Nicholas Kronsdorfer to. In the same year he married. After his participation in the Diet of Nuremberg in 1481, he traveled with the Dukes Ernest and Albert to Dresden, and remained there in their services. 1486 he traveled at the behest of Sigismund to Frankfurt for the election of a king Maximilian ( later Emperor Maximilian I ( HRR ) from 1493 to 1519 ), and married a second time. His fame beyond southern Germany testify to the vain attempts of the Hungarian queen Beatrix of Aragon, the second wife of King Matthias Corvinus, to recruit him in 1489. Since 1490 as court organist at the court of Maximilian I, he traveled with his master to whose diets among other things to Linz, Wels, Vienna, Augsburg, Ulm, Constance, Fussen and Freiburg. The close contacts with the court of Saxony remained, Elector Frederick III. (Saxony ) the Wise ( 1486-1525 ) sent him several organ students. Even before 1504 he moved to Passau, in 1507, he settled in Augsburg, the ' secret capital ' of the emperor, where he was working freelance under his favor. He also worked with the organ builder January Behaim of Dubrau. The highlight of his career made the knighting ceremony and a coat of arms at the famous double wedding on July 22, 1515 at Vienna's St. Stephen's Cathedral. By no later than 1522 he was organist at the Salzburg Cathedral in the service of Prince Archbishop Cardinal Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg who have worked a long time as a consultant Maximilian.
Hofhaimer was renowned as an excellent organist, organ teacher and as Odenkomponist. His compositions were very popular also in music lessons at the Latin schools. Of his instrumental works, not too many have survived.