Nageli, Johann (or Hans) Georg

Composer

b Wetzikon, nr Zürich, Switzerland 1773, d Wetzikon 1836. Taught first by his minister father, from 1790 he studied further in Zürich, notably the music of J S Bach. He founded a music shop and publishing business, re-issuing many musical classics, and the first lending library in Switzerland. By these and other enterprises he became a pioneer music educator who strongly influenced Lowell Mason, qv. In 1805 he established the Zurich Singinstitut, a college near his home which came to grief in 1824 while he was away lecturing in Germany, incidentally causing offence by his criticisms of Mozart. He then formed (or re-organised it as) the Swiss Association for the Cultivation of Music. A specially gifted conductor, he was awarded an Hon DMus by Bonn Univ in 1833. His publications included editions of Bach, Handel and other classical composers, and his own musical education theory in a major work in 1810. No.587.