(1815–16 The Devil’s Elixir), and Lebens-Ansichten des Katers Murr nebst fragmentarischer Biographie des Kapellmeisters Johannes Kreisler, 2 vol. He was appointed in 1814 to the court of appeal in Berlin, becoming councillor in 1816.Īlthough Hoffmann wrote two novels, Die Elixiere des Teufels, 2 vol. (1814–15 Fantasy Pieces in Callot’s Manner), that established his reputation as a writer. He composed the ballet Arlequin (1811) and the opera Undine (performed in 1816) and wrote the stories in Phantasiestücke in Callots Manier, 4 vol.

About 1813 he changed his third baptismal name, Wilhelm, to Amadeus in homage to the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Hoffmann then turned to his chief interest, music, and held several positions as conductor, critic, and theatrical musical director in Bamberg and Dresden until 1814. He was educated in law and became a Prussian law officer in the Polish provinces in 1800, serving until the bureaucracy was dissolved following the defeat of Prussia by Napoleon in 1806. The product of a broken home, Hoffmann was reared by an uncle. Hoffmann, in full Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann, original name Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann, (born January 24, 1776, Königsberg, Prussia -died June 25, 1822, Berlin, Germany), German writer, composer, and painter known for his stories in which supernatural and sinister characters move in and out of men’s lives, ironically revealing tragic or grotesque sides of human nature.

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