Hans Sommer (composer)

[1] Before going into music full-time, Sommer, who had studied mathematics and physics in Braunschweig and Göttingen, was also a noted mathematician.

His incidental music to Hans von Wolzogen's Das Schloss der Herzen (1891) was first performed in 1897 in Berlin, in concert form.

He placed great importance on the literary quality of his librettos, and corresponded with numerous librettists and composers.

His many songs, at one time known in England, include the cycles Der Rattenfänger von Hameln, Der wilde Jäger and Sapphos Gesänge; he also wrote orchestral works and male-voice choruses.

Sommer was active in initiating the institution of composer's performance rights and was instrumental in recruiting Richard Strauss to that cause.