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Franz Xaver Hammer

German gambist, cellist and composer

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 28, 2024
Entity authorityQ1449639 ↗
Source-derived summary

Franz Xaver Hammer called Marteau (1741 – 11 October 1817) was a German gambist, cellist and composer.

Hammer was born in Oettingen in Bayern. From 1771 to 1778, he worked under Joseph Haydn as cellist of the Esterhazy's court ensemble in Eisenstadt and at the Eszterháza palace. It is thought that Haydn composed three cello concertos for him. His salary rose from already high—100 ducats and 30 kreuzers—a few times suggesting his extraordinary qualities as an instrumentalist. At the premiere of Haydn's oratorio Il Ritorno di Tobia, Hammer played his own cello concerto. During 1776–1813, he was member of the Viennese musicians' society.

From his works have survived sonatas for viola da gamba, viola d'amore and violoncello with basso continuo and also manuscript collections of instructive pieces and solo concertos for violoncello or viola da gamba and orchestra.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Franz Xaver Hammer” as german gambist, cellist and composer. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA productive starting point for separating a subject’s documented career from later reputation and commemoration. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1741, 1817, 1771, 1778—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1741-01-01. The account is most persuasive where Franz, Xaver and Hammer can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as german gambist, cellist and composer. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q1449639. VIAF identifies the subject as 72248360. The Library of Congress control number is no99011008. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1741, 1817, 1771 and 1778.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

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  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Franz Xaver Hammer”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Franz Xaver Hammer primary sources, Franz Xaver Hammer archive and Franz research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Franz Xaver Hammer”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Franz Xaver Hammer” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.