Wilhelm Mayer (10 June 1831 – 22 January 1898) was an Austro-Bohemian composer who published his works under the nameW. A. Rémy. He was also a noted teacher, whose pupils includedFerruccio Busoni andFelix Weingartner.[1][2] His name sometimes appears asWilhelm Mayer-Rémy.[3]
Wilhelm Mayer (some sources say his full name wasBenjamin Wilhelm Mayer[4][5]) was born inPrague, the son of a lawyer. He studied at the Prague Organ School in 1846.[6] His overture toEugène Sue's dramaJean Cavalier was written when he was 17, but his parents required him to enter the legal profession. He graduated as a doctor of law in 1856, when he was 25.[1] He then occupied various posts in the Austro-Hungarian civil service.[7]
In 1862 he took up music once again, becoming conductor of theSteiermärkischer Musikverein inGraz.[1] During his eight-year stay in that post, he introduced a number of his own compositions, such as the overtureSardanapalus, the symphonic poemHelena, and a Symphony in F major. These three works were also presented inLeipzig.[1]
After resigning as conductor in 1870, he devoted himself to composition and private teaching. He published his works under the nameW. A. Rémy, ananagram of "W. Mayer". It has also been noted that the initials W. A. of his pseudonym are the same as those ofWolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his musical idol.[7] Mayer focused on the music of Mozart andJohann Sebastian Bach, but greatly dislikedJohannes Brahms andRichard Wagner.[1][8] For him, the first four preludes and fugues from Book I of Bach'sThe Well-Tempered Clavier represented water, fire, earth and air respectively, and he conceived many others in a poetical light.[7] He taughtLuigi Cherubini's methods for counterpoint, and usedHector Berlioz's orchestral treatise.[3]
Through his former pupilWilhelm Kienzl's intercession withFerruccio Busoni's father,[7] Busoni studied harmony, counterpoint, orchestration and composition with Mayer from November 1879 to April 1881, being just 15 when he completed his formal studies with honours.[3][9] Mayer taught Busoni that "the widest possible culture makes the artist", a motto Busoni wrote on his 430-page treatise on composition he had written out in longhand during his studies with Mayer[10] and later transmitted to his own pupils.[7] Busoni wrote a "Fugue in F major on a theme of W. A. Rémy" (BV 154), and dedicated his Praeludium (Basso ostinato) und Fuge (Doppelfuge zum Choral) Op. 7 (Op. 76), for organ (BV 157) to his teacher.
Mayer's other notable students includedFelix Weingartner,[11]Richard Heuberger,Emil von Reznicek,[1][8][12]Richard Sahla,Marie Baumayer[13]Josef Gauby andFriedrich von Hausegger.[7]
As a teacher, Mayer was exacting, but also inspiring.[12] His reputation extended throughout Europe.[7]Emperor Franz Josef I awarded him the Knight's Cross of theOrder of Franz Joseph, the only private music teacher ever so honoured.[7]
Mayer married and had a daughter, Melanie.[7] He died in Graz in 1898, aged 66. His former student Ferruccio Busoni wrote a tribute to him in theAllgemeine musikalische Zeitung.[7]
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