Hans Koessler, born on 1 January 1853 in Waldeck studied from 1874 to 1877 organ by Joseph Rheinberger and attended the class choir by Franz Wüllner in Munich. He then taught theory and choral singing at the Dresden Conservatory and conducted the Dresden Liedertafel.
From 1882 to 1908, he taught organ and choir singing at the Academy in Budapest, later he became professor of composition. Among his pupils were the most important Hungarian composers of the time: Zoltán Kodály, Béla Bartók, Emmerich Kalman, Ernst von Dohnányi and Leo Weiner.
After his retirement in 1908, he returned to Germany, but was employed again in Budapest on the initiative of Kálmán and Dohnányi to secure him a modest income. Koessler died on 23 May 1926 in Ansbach.
The Hungarian literary magazine Nyugat name him as the teacher of composition for 48 pupils, such as Albert Siklos, composer Árpád Szendy and the operetta composer JenÅ‘ Huszka and Victor Jacobi.
Koessler composed over one hundred and thirty works, including an opera, two symphonies, symphonic variations for orchestra, a violin concerto, a mess for female choir and organ, psalms, and chamber music works.
This first edition of the four songs for voice (soprano or tenor), oboe, horn and string quartet are kept by the Berlin State Library - Prussian Cultural Heritage, Music Department with Mendelssohn-Archiv. The four titles are "Traurig Scheiden – sad departure" (Wilhelm Osterwald), "Auf dem Wasser – on the water" (Emanuel Geibel), "Herbst – autumn/fall" (Nikolaus Lenau) and "Liebesklage der Elaine – love lament of Elaine" (Alfred Tennyson).
