Gerber, Ernest Ludwig

1746-1819

Musical lexicographer, son of Heinrich Nicolaus Gerber, was born at Sondershausen. At first his father's pupil, he afterwards studied law, the organ and the violoncello in Leipsic, 1765 to 1769, and on his return assisted his father, and at his death succeeded him as organist and Court secretary. The work for which he is celebrated is a biographical dictionary of musicians, which grew out of a collection of portraits of musicians, with brief biographical sketches attached, gathered by way of recreation in his visits to Leipsic, Weimar, and other German cities. When the plan of making a comprehensive dictionary suggested itself his means and resources were alike limited. About the only authority of the kind extant was Walther's lexicon, published some forty or fifty years previous, and with material sent in by Gerber's publishers, for the small place where he lived was almost destitute of information on the subject, the result was the Historisch-biographisches Lexikon der Tonkünstler, in two volumes, published at Leipsic in 1790 to 1792, by Breitkopf. Information and corrections were thereafter volunteered from many sources, necessitating a second edition, which appeared as Neues historisch-biographisches Lexikon der Tonkünstler, in four volumes, 1812 to 1814. Its excellence over all previous works of the kind made it a standard authority in Europe for many years, especially on German musicians. His large collection of books and music was sold to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, four years before Gerber's death, with the understanding that he was to retain possession during his life, thus giving him the opportunity to make further additions. The fame of his book obscures his compositions, which include organ preludes, sonatas for piano, and music for wind-instruments.

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