A lithograph of Neumann by Franz Eybl.

Johann Philipp Neumann (27 December 1774 – 3 October 1849) was an Austrian physicist, librarian and poet.

Born in Trebitsch in Moravia, he completed his studies at the University of Vienna. In 1803, he was appointed as a professor of physics at his local lyceum. He was transferred to the University of Graz in 1806, where he became a rector in 1811.

In 1815, he was appointed as a professor at the Polytechnic Institute in Vienna (now the Vienna University of Technology). He founded a library here in 1816, which he directed until 1845.

Neumann was a friend of the composer Franz Schubert.[1] Neumann adapted Georg Forster's translation of Shakuntala as a libretto for an opera, which Schubert commenced in 1820 but never competed.[2] Neumann, a liberal-minded churchman, was interested in simple music designed to appeal to "the widest possible congregation".[2] To this end, he wrote the text of 8 hymns and a translation of the Lord's Prayer, and commissioned the Deutsche Messe from his friend in 1826.

He retired in 1844, and died in Vienna in 1849.

References

  1. ^ Glover, Raymond F., ed. (1990). The Hymnal 1981 Companion. Church Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 9780898691436.
  2. ^ a b Newbould, Brian (1999). Schubert: The Music and the Man. University of California Press. p. 140. ISBN 9780520219571.
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