He was born in Germany, into a family interested and involved in classical music. His mother, Johanna Nathan was a professional soprano, and performed for noted composers such as Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Busoni and Julius Stockhausen. He studied music under Eduard Jung and left Nazi Germany for South Africa in 1933. There he was employed by a hardware Wholesaler Corporation, and frequently performed keyboard works on air with the South African Broadcasting Corporation.
Contact and interaction with the musical scene in Southern Africa
His passion for classical music grew as he matured, and fed his desire to offer South African music lovers the highest quality of international concert presence. He was Chairman of the Johannesburg Music Society from 1954 through till 1969, when he became honorary chairman. The Society was among the first to invite many international artists and groups to perform in South Africa, and quickly expanded. Johannesburg soon became the centre of performers' broad African tours, that included the large cities of South Africa as well as visits to Kenya, the former Northern and Southern Rhodesia, Mozambique, the Islands of Mauritius and Reunion, the former South West Africa, Angola and sometimes the former Belgian Congo. Consequently, the quality and variety of concert life and classical music appreciation in Southern Africa improved vastly. For this achievement and the musical museum he had built up, a PhD degree from the University of the Witwatersrand was conferred on him in 1978.
The collection and museum
This passion for, and love of music consumed most of his spare time, and after World War II, he began expanding on the small library inherited from his father with classical music dictionaries, encyclopaedias, manuscripts, complete composer compendiums, etc. in many languages, and volumes of music scores. In addition, he acquired ancient and early keyboard instruments -a 1589 Clavicytherium, Clavichords, a Glasschord, Spinettino, Harpsichords, a Hammerklavier and early pianos - depicting the development of the piano; the collection also included a Viola d'Amore. His library grew very comprehensive, especially in keyboard compositions and productions, and, together with the instrument collection, evolved into a museum housed in his Johannesburg home. Tours for University students were sometimes conducted, and the SABC periodically aired early composers' works which he would perform there, on authentic Harpsichord or a Clavichord or Hammerklavier. Most of the musicians and groups touring Southern Africa through his invitation, between 1954 and 1978 were invited to browse in the Library and or try out the instruments. A number discovered interesting or little-known works. The Fine Arts Departments of South African Universities were very interested in the Museum, and it was eventually willed to the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, who opened a "Hans Adler Memorial Museum" in their Arts Building in 1980.
Examples of unusual works referenced
At one time he donated to the British Museum, who did not possess this, one of his two rare copies of Frontispice by Ravel, music which was unknown, as Ravel had violated his publisher's sole publishing rights when it appeared in the popular Paris magazine "Feuillets d'art" in 1919
Are there just 5 Beethoven piano concertos? H.A. has collection evidence of a 6th piano concerto of Beethoven's, and two other piano concertos that may be regarded as Beethoven's works
A violin & piano sonata with two movements by Robert Schumann, one by Brahms and one by Albert Dietrich, in honour of Joachim
A Schumann quartet for 4 horns and piano
A Schumann andante and variations for two pianos, two cellos and French Horn long out of print, as Schumann rearranged it for two pianos alone
A signed, numbered copy of Karlheinz Stockhausen's "Skizzen und Manuskripte" and one of Detlef Kieffer's "3 Pieces Breves" donated to him when they toured S.A.
A composition for him by John Ogdon and another by Julian Dawson-Lyell.
Information and some photographs of the above examples can be seen on the H.A. "showcase of rare and unusual works" site.
He also donated, to South African Composer/Conductor/SABC Head of Music Gideon Fagan, a rare copy of Vol 1 of "The Edwin Fleischer Music Collection" for which Mr. Fagan had been searching for a decade.
Discoveries of unusual Cello Works by local cello enthusiast/journalist, Joe Sack, which he passed on to other professionals, works such as:
