Florian Hermann

Florian Hermann
Title page of the Hommage Valse
Born1822
Vilnius
Died1892
Vilnius
WorksHommage Valse, used in Dark Eyes

Florian Hermann (1822 – 1892[citation needed], Russian: Флориан Герман, name is also spelled as Florian Herman, Florian German, Florjan Herman)[1] was a composer of German-Polish origin active in the Russian Empire.[2] Although he authored many works, Hermann is primarily notable as an author of the melody used in the music for the well-known Russian song "Dark eyes" (the composer wrote his opus as "Valse hommage", Op. 21).[3] Very little is known about Hermann,[3] Russian publications occasionally describe him as a French[4][5] or Austrian composer.

Hermann's work as a composer spans 1870s – 1890s,[2] according to the list available in a catalog by A. Gutheil (his company was later acquired by Éditions Russes de Musique), the earliest known publications are from A. Büttner in St. Petersburg.[6] Hermann's other best-known composition is "Rêverie russe, Op. 2".[3] "Valse hommage" became famous as "Dark Eyes" after an arrangement in the Gypsy style by S. Gerdal (1884); the popular rendition belongs to Adalgiso Ferraris (ca. 1910).

  1. ^ "Category:Hermann, Florian – IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download". Imslp.org.
  2. ^ a b "Florian Hermann's time and place". Dmitry Pruss: tango links & lists. 2015-06-02.
  3. ^ a b c Fuld 2000, p. 684.
  4. ^ Корчагина, Н. В.; Сергиенко, И. Н. (2017). "Фортепианные ансамбли расширенного состава (в 6 и 8 рук) в профессиональной подготовке бакалавров-музыкантов". Педагогика и психология образования (in Russian) (2): 86–95.
  5. ^ The details provided ("Hermann wrote a march for the Napoleon's army") make this connection improbable, as Hermann was active well into 1890s.
  6. ^ Fuld 2000, p. 417.