Leonhard Wilhelm Johann Neuman
Leonhard Wilhelm Johann Neuman was an Estonian musician, choir director, singer, and diplomat.
Early life and education
Leonhard Wilhelm Johann Neuman was born in Tartu, Estonia, the son of the innkeeper Jakob Neumann and Leena Neumann. In 1912, Neuman graduated from the School of Law of the University of Tartu. He studied singing in Tartu with Georg Stahlberg from 1908 to 1912, and in Milan and Berlin from 1912 to 1914. He also studied harmony with Rudolf Tobias at the Royal Music Institute of Berlin. From 1915 to 1916, Neuman studied at the Moscow Conservatory; later he studied music in Rome, Leipzig and Berlin, and Vienna. He was a founding member of Fraternitas Estica in 1907.Career
Neuman was a music teacher in schools in Pärnu and Tartu in from 1914 to 1915 and from 1916 to 1918, the head of the press agency of the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1919, a teacher in Tallinn and Tartu music colleges from 1919 to 1921, and Estonia's diplomatic representative to Rome from 1921 to 1922. From 1927 to 1933, he worked as a teacher at the Tartu College of Music, and he also led several choirs, including the from 1924 to 1933. He was the general director of the Ninth Estonian Song Festival in 1928. Neuman also performed as a vocal soloist and wrote choral music.Research and publications
Neuman published articles about Estonian music and its interpretation and about composers in Looming and, as well as in foreign music journals. He contributed to reference works, including the collection Viron-Kirja and Estonia.- K. A. Hermann eesti muusika ajaloos. Looming 1923, p. 5
- Veerud eesti muusika ajaloost. Looming 1924, pp. 2–6
- Kus ja kuidas laulu õppida. Muusikaleht 1924, pp. 2–3
- 20 aastat Eesti sümfoonia-orkestrit. Muusikaleht 1927, p. 11
- Mis on häälekultuur. Muusikaleht 1929, p. 1
- Häälekultuur ühtlustatud koorilaulu alusena. Muusikaleht 1929, p. 2
- Ooperetilauljate ettevalmistamisest. Muusikaleht 1930, p. 3
- Meie muusikaelu sajandi algul. Looming 1930, p. 1