Abraham Nordheimer (February 24, 1816 – January 18, 1862) was a

German Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (''circa'' 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish ...

-Canadian musician, merchant and music publisher who established Canada's first publishing house specializing in music. The son of Meier Nordheimer, a cattle dealer, and Esther Nathan, he was born in

Memmelsdorf Memmelsdorf is a community in the Upper Franconian district of Bamberg bordering in the west directly on the city of Bamberg. History As with most places in the Bamberg district, this community's exact founding time cannot be established. Howev ...

and came to

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in 1839 with his brother

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...

. Nordheimer moved to

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in 1842, becoming the first Jew living there and began advertising his services as a music teacher. He also opened a store which sold sheet music and musical instruments. It has been said that Nordheimer gave music lessons to the children of Canadian Governor-General Sir

Charles Bagot Sir Charles Bagot GCB (23 September 1781 – 19 May 1843) was a British politician, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as ambassador to the United States, Russia, and the Netherlands. He served as the second Governor General of ...

. In 1844, he opened a music store in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

with his brother Samuel. Besides selling reprints of European music, the brothers also published Canadian compositions. The firm sold instruments manufactured in the United States; it later became involved in the manufacturing of pianos. Branches of the store were opened in

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and

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. The firm invited famous performers of the day to come to Canada and established a concert hall in Montreal. Nordheimer played the piano and sang; he also played second violin for the Toronto Philharmonic Society. In 1849, with Judah George Joseph, he purchased land to establish a Jewish cemetery in Toronto. Nordheimer married Fanny Rosenthal. He died in

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

at the age of 45 during a visit to Germany. In 1927, Heintzman & Co. took over the operation of the Nordheimer Piano & Music Company Ltd. factory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nordheimer, Abraham 1816 births 1862 deaths People from Bamberg (district) Canadian merchants Jewish Canadian musicians German emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada Canadian publishers (people)

See also

References