Germany 8.1.2026
The German writer, composer, conductor, music critic, and painter Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann was born on January 24, 1776, in Königsberg. He died on June 25, 1822, in Berlin. January 2026 will mark the 250th anniversary of his birth.
Hoffmann, who changed his third given name, Wilhelm, to Amadeus in 1805 out of admiration for Mozart, is considered a driving force of Romanticism.
Hoffmann, who changed his third given name, Wilhelm, to Amadeus in 1805 out of admiration for Mozart, is considered a driving force of Romanticism.
In 1812, he went to Dresden as a theater conductor. There, in 1814, he completed his opera “Undine,” which premiered in Berlin in 1816.
From 1815 onward, with the collection of stories “Fantasiestücke in Callot’s Manier” (Fantasy Pieces in Callot’s Manner), he finally achieved literary success. When E.T.A. Hoffmann died in Berlin in 1822, he left behind more than 50 novels and short stories, a dozen plays, and 20 instrumental and vocal works. Many of his works have been adapted for other operas, ballets, films, and literary works. The most famous musical works based on his texts are Offenbach’s opera “The Tales of Hoffmann” and Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker.”
From 1815 onward, with the collection of stories “Fantasiestücke in Callot’s Manier” (Fantasy Pieces in Callot’s Manner), he finally achieved literary success. When E.T.A. Hoffmann died in Berlin in 1822, he left behind more than 50 novels and short stories, a dozen plays, and 20 instrumental and vocal works. Many of his works have been adapted for other operas, ballets, films, and literary works. The most famous musical works based on his texts are Offenbach’s opera “The Tales of Hoffmann” and Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Nutcracker.”
Cuba 15.6.1967
The video shows excerpts from the ballet “The Nutcracker” from a current production
by the Grand Classic Ballet.
