Born in Germany, where he studied music and philology, Francis Hueffer (1845 89) moved to London in 1869 to pursue a career as a critic and writer on music. He edited a series of biographies of notable musicians, served as music critic for The Times, contributed articles to Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, and was an early advocate and interpreter to the British of Wagner. In 1872 he married Catherine, the younger daughter of the painter Ford Madox Brown. Their son was the writer Ford Maddox Ford. Provencal studies were an abiding interest of Hueffer's and he intended this work, first published in 1878, to be an approachable English-language study of medieval Provencal literary and musical culture. It won him membership of the Felibrige, the association of Provencal writers, and he gave lectures on the topic at the Royal Institution in 1880.

This collection of essays by the music critic Francis Hueffer (1843 1889) is a lively, contemporary account of musical life in Victorian England. First published in 1889, it records the influence of leading foreign composers on English music. Ranging from the music of Handel, Gluck and Haydn to Weber, Rossini, and Mendelssohn, composers who have had a lasting influence on the British musical world, Hueffer, who did not live to see the publication of his book, offers a panoramic view of the rapid development of musical culture in England during the nineteenth century. Starting with a historical introduction to the roles played by the Royal Academy and the Royal College of Music, and moving on to the specific contributions of 'new' composers including Berlioz, Wagner and Liszt, this book is a valuable guide to the history and criticism of music in Victorian England as it was understood at the time.

Francis Hueffer (1843-1889) was music critic for The Times from 1878 to 1889 and was also secretary of the Wagner Society founded in 1873. This 1874 book, much of it originally published in the Fortnightly Review, considers Wagner's role in the musical developments of the nineteenth century that followed the watershed of Beethoven's ninth symphony. It is one of the first works in English to explore the nature of Wagner's genius, and builds on an essay published by the author in The Academy about Wagner's own pamphlet on Beethoven. Hueffer's analysis of the formation of Wagner's artistic values and musical philosophy as embodied in his writings and music dramas is complemented by discussion of the songs of Schubert, Schumann and Liszt. The appendix provides an account of the performance of Beethoven's ninth which Wagner conducted at Bayreuth in 1872, and the laying of the foundation stone of the Festspielhaus.

Francis Hueffer (1845 89) was born and studied music in Germany, but moved to London in 1869 to pursue a career as a critic and writer on music. He edited the series 'The Great Musicians' for Novello and Co., was music critic of The Times, and was an early advocate and interpreter to the British of Wagner. His Musical Studies of 1880 is a collection of essays on Beethoven, Chopin, French opera, Schopenhauer ('among the numerous German metaphysicians, the only one who has said anything worth listening to about music'), and of course Wagner: an article on the Ring written before the first performance of the complete cycle, and an account of that performance at Bayreuth. The collection finishes with the provocative essay 'The chances of English opera' (1879), which contrasts the lively opera scene in the rest of Europe with the lack of a tradition of English opera.

Francis Hueffer (1845 89) was born and studied music in Germany, but moved to London in 1869 to pursue a career as a critic and writer on music. He edited the series 'The Great Musicians' for Novello and Co., was music critic of The Times, wrote libretti for some now-forgotten operas, and was an early advocate and interpreter to the British of Wagner. Between his Richard Wagner and the Music of the Future (1874) and his translation of the correspondence of Wagner and Liszt (1888), he wrote Wagner in his own 'Great Musicians' series in 1881 (two years before the composer's death). The book surveys Wagner's life and his musical writings, and a separate chapter is devoted to each of the operas (except Parsifal, which was not performed until 1882). This is a fascinating contemporary assessment of the standard-bearer of the 'music of the future'.

Francis Hueffer (1845-89) was born and studied music in Germany, but moved to London in 1869 to pursue a career as a critic and writer on music. He edited the series 'The Great Musicians' for Novello and Co., was music critic of The Times, wrote libretti for some now-forgotten operas, and was an early advocate and interpreter to the British of Wagner. As well as writing Wagner in his own 'Great Musicians' series (1881), and Richard Wagner and the Music of the Future (1874), he translated the correspondence of Wagner and Liszt. This fascinating two-volume selection, published in 1888, covers the period 1841-61. Hueffer signals in his preface the importance to Wagner of the encouragement of Liszt - an established performer when Wagner was barely known and widely ridiculed, a musical mentor, an enthusiastic critic and eventually a father-in-law.

Francis Hueffer (1845-89) was born and studied music in Germany, but moved to London in 1869 to pursue a career as a critic and writer on music. He edited the series 'The Great Musicians' for Novello and Co., was music critic of The Times, wrote libretti for some now-forgotten operas, and was an early advocate and interpreter to the British of Wagner. As well as writing Wagner in his own 'Great Musicians' series (1881), and Richard Wagner and the Music of the Future (1874), he translated the correspondence of Wagner and Liszt. This fascinating two-volume selection, published in 1888, covers the period 1841-61. Hueffer signals in his preface the importance to Wagner of the encouragement of Liszt - an established performer when Wagner was barely known and widely ridiculed, a musical mentor, an enthusiastic critic and eventually a father-in-law.