Haym was born in
Halle. He was educated at the universities of
Jena and
Tübingen, where he studied philosophy and classical philology. After graduating, he studied music in Munich, including classes in composition, the piano, organ and singing. Haym succeeded
Julius Buths as conductor of the Concert Society, or Elberfelder Concertgesellchaft, in 1890. On 17 December 1892 he programmed works of Beethoven, the
Kantate auf den Tod Kaiser Josephs II (cantata in memory of
Joseph II), his
Piano Concerto No. 5 and his
Ninth Symphony, with soloists Julia Uzielli, Jenny Hahn,
Franz Naval and
Anton Sistermans. Despite the conservative tastes of his audiences he programmed new music when he could, including early performances of
Richard Strauss's ''
Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks'' in 1895 and
Delius's
Over the hills and far away (under its German title
Über die Berge in die Ferne) in 1897 and his
Paris: The Song of a Great City in 1899. He introduced Delius's music to Buths, who had gone from Elberfeld to the more important musical directorship of
Düsseldorf. Buths, who was later an early exponent of
Elgar's music, also became an admirer of Delius's work. Haym also introduced Delius's music to
Fritz Cassirer, musical director of the Stadttheater, Elberfeld, where Delius's opera
Koanga was premiered in 1904. At about this time, Haym fell ill and was obliged to convalesce in the
Tirol. Haym hoped to be appointed to the more prestigious musical directorship of
Strasbourg, but was unsuccessful. At Elberfeld, Haym and his orchestra attracted leading musicians to appear with them, including
Raoul Pugno,
Eugène Ysaÿe,
Pablo Casals,
Ferruccio Busoni and
Artur Schnabel. He retired from the musical directorship in 1920 and died in Elberfeld at the age of 60 on 15 February 1921. ==Notes==