Un portal on escoltar i gaudir de l'art musical dels segles XVI, XVII, XVIII i XIX. Compartir la bellesa de la música és l'objectiu d'aquest espai i fer-ho donant a conèixer obres de compositors molt o poc coneguts és el mètode.
Bohemian cellist and composer. He was the son of Franz Kraft, a brewer
and amateur musician who was his first teacher. He later was sent to
Eisenstadt to study under Gregor Joseph Werner. Probably through
Werner's connections as former cellist to the court of Count Morzin, he
was engaged as principal cellist in the Kapelle of Prince Nikolaus
Esterházy in 1778, a post he retained until the orchestra was dissolved
in 1790, and where he studied composition with Joseph Haydn. After 1790
he also served with the orchestras of Count Anton Grassalkovich and
Prince Lobkowitz. From 1793 he performed with other prominent Viennese
musicians at Prince Lichnowsky's Friday morning chamber music recitals,
which led to the establishment of the famous 'Schuppanzigh string
quartet' with Kraft as cellist. He became a favourite in performances of
early chamber works by Beethoven. He was appointed cello teacher at the
conservatory of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in 1819, but died the
following year. As a composer, he wrote a cello concerto, six cello
sonatas, seven duos for strings, a notturno, and a number of trios
featuring the baryton. He married Maria Anna Schevitzka and had at least
five children, among them, Mikuláš (Nikolaus) Kraft (1778-1853), also
cellist and composer.
Jakub Šimon Jan Ryba (1765-1815)
- Missa Pastoralis in C 'Missa In Nativitate Domine In Nocte' a
Canto, Alto, Tenore, Basso, Violini 2ae, Flauto et Fagotto Solo, Clarino
Principale, Tympani con Organo
Performers: Daniel Straková (soprano); Tatána Kopalová (contralto);
Stefаn Mаrgitа (tenor); Peter Mikulás (bass);
The New Czech Chamber Orchestra; Coro di Praga; Jiri Belohlavek
(1946-2017, conductor)
Bohemian composer and teacher. Son of Jakub Ryba (1732-1792), a cantor
(schoolmaster) and organist who worked at Rožmitál, Přeštice and
Nepomuk, and probably also a composer, he studying with his father at
Nepomuk. In 1780 he settled in Prague where he studied at the Priarist
Gymnasium. On 11 February 1788 he was appointed assistant teacher and on
23 May 1788 cantor and church choirmaster at Rožmitál in a post he held
the rest of his life. He was a dedicated promoter of Enlightened
education policies promulgated by Imperial legates such as Ferdinand
Kindermann, but the struggle may have proved too much for he committed
suicide in 1815. Although known only locally, he was one of the most
prominent 18th-century Bohemian cantors; though he devoted himself
assiduously to his teaching duties, he wrote a large number of
compositions. These include 90 Masses, seven responsories, 100 motets,
six operas, 31 Bohemian sacred songs and 30 secular songs, 50 sacred
arias, 50 pastorellas, 87 symphonies, seven quintets, 72 quartets, 48
trios, 56 duos, 38 sonatas, and 35 miscellaneous secular works, as well
as over 650 dances. He also wrote hymn texts, didactic poetry and prose,
occasional and gratulatory poems, and translated Latin and Greek works
into Czech.
Elizabeth Weichsell (1765-1818)
- Lessons (I & II) for the Harpsichord from 'Three lessons [D,
Es, A] for the harpsichord or piano forte ... by Elizabeth Weichsell, a
child eight years of age. [London, Welcker]' (1773)
Performers: Pau NG on Sibelius with samples of a German harpsichord
(18th Century)
English singer and composer. Daughter of the singer Frederika Wierman
(c.1745-1786) and the oboist Carl Weichsell, she received early music
lessons from her parents. She made her debut as a child in 1775 and
studied under Johann Christian Bach and Johann Friedrich Schroeter. On
13 October 1783 she was married under her mother's maiden name, Wierman,
at Lambeth Church to James Billington, a double-bass player in the
Drury Lane orchestra, from whom she had had lessons in singing.
Immediately after their marriage the Billingtons went to Dublin, where
she made her first appearance on the stage in the part of 'Eurydice'. In
1785 she settled in Paris where she received lessons from the Antonio
Sacchini, whose last pupil she was. She returned to London for the
season of 1786-87, and continued to sing there, at Covent Garden, the
Concerts of Ancient Music, the so-called Oratorios, and the Handel
Commemorations, until the end of 1793. In 1792 there appeared an
anonymous publication, which professed to contain her private
correspondence with her mother. This work was of so disgraceful and
scurrilous a description that Mrs. Billington was forced to take legal
proceedings against the publishers. An answer to the 'Memoirs' appeared
in due course ; but it seems probable that the scandal induced Mrs.
Billington to abandon her profession and retire to the Continent.
Accompanied by her brother and her husband, she left England early in
1794, and travelled by way of Germany to Italy. At Naples she was
induced by Sir William Hamilton, the English ambassador, to sing in
private before the royal family.
This led to her singing at the San Carlo, where she appeared in a new
opera, 'Inez di Castro,' written expressly for her by Francesco Bianchi,
on 30 May 1794. Her singing created an extraordinary impression, but
her triumph was cut short by the sudden death of her husband, which took
place the day after her first appearance, as he was preparing to
accompany his wife to the theatre, after dining with the Bishop of
Winchester. She stayed at Naples sixteen months, and then sang at
Florence, Leghorn, Milan, Venice, and Trieste. In 1797, when singing at
Venice, she was prostrated with a severe illness for six weeks. At Milan
she was received with much favour by the Joséphine de Beauharnais, and
here she met a young Frenchman, M. Felissent, to whom she was married in
1799. After her second marriage she went to live at St. Artien, an
estate she had bought between Venice and Treviso; but her life was
rendered so insupportable by the ill-treatment she received from her
husband that in 1801 she left him and returned to England. Felissent,
who, it was said, had been publicly flogged as an impostor at Milan,
followed her to London, but he was arrested and expelled the country as
an alien. Her return to London caused a great stir in the musical world.
From this time until her retirement in 1811 she continued to sing in
Italian opera. After her retirement she lived in princely style at a
villa at Fulham. In 1817 she returned with her husband to Italy and
there were rumours that he was responsible for her death. As a composer,
she wrote a few songs and two sets of keyboard pieces. Her brother
Charles Weichsell (1767-1850) was a violinist and composer, mainly
active in Dublin and London.
Moravian composer and organist. Following training from a local organist
at Königgrätz (now Hradec Kráslové, Czech Republic), he obtained a post
in Pressburg in 1770 as organist and town Kapellmeister and where his
Singspiel Narcisse et Pierre is reported to have been performed in 1772
(as documented by the Pressburger Zeitung). In 1773 he also composed
works for the St Cecilia festivities there. Early in 1776 he was
appointed Kapellmeister and court composer to Count Joseph Batthyány,
the Archbishop (cardinal from 1778) of Hungary. He developed the
orchestra into an outstanding ensemble of over 20 musicians (including
the double bass virtuoso Johannes Matthias Sperger), in which wind
instruments seem to have been prominent; he conducted from the first
violinist’s chair and remained the head of the orchestra until his
death. As a composer, he was widely known for his good sense of thematic
contrast in his instrumental music, as well as his progressive chamber
music. His works include five operas, 10 Masses, an oratorio, 12
graduals, six motets, two hymns, 16 Marian antiphons, 18 symphonies, 12
concertos, 15 divertimentos, a serenade, four partitas, 30 string
quartets, six sextets, 20 quintets, four duets, and a large number of
dances. Some works attributed to Zimmermann may be spurious, as he has
often been confused with like-named contemporaries.
German composer, impresario, and viola da gamba player. The son of the
gambist at the court of Anhalt-Cöthen, Christian Ferdinand Abel
(c.1683-1737), grandson of Clamor Heinrich Abel (1634-1696) and brother
of Leopold August Abel (1718-1794), he received his early training from
his father. Upon the recommendation of Johann Sebastian Bach, he
obtained his first post in the Saxon Kapelle in 1748, but a decade later
he immigrated to England to become the chamber composer for Queen
Charlotte. On 29 February 1764 he performed his first joint concert with
Johann Christian Bach at the Carlisle House on Soho Square. Its success
began a collaborative series of 10 to 15 annual subscriptions concerts
there and later at Hannover Square known as the Bach-Abel Concerts.
Although competition began to weaken their appeal beginning with a
series of concerts at the Pantheon in 1774, it was the death of his
partner, Bach, in 1782 that caused these popular events to cease. At
this time, Abel toured Paris and Germany, briefly staying in Potsdam at
the court of Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, ultimately
returning to London in 1785. He remained active as a performer on an
instrument long out of fashion up until his death. He had a reputation
as a generous and likeable person, who offered aid in establishing
younger musicians. He also had a penchant for living well. As a soloist,
he was particularly praised for his sensitive and lyrical playing,
particularly in the slow movements. Charles Burney noted that “the most
pleasing, yet learned modulations, the richest harmony and the model
elegant and polished melody were all expressed with feeling, taste, and
science.” He is also known to have played the keyboard and French horn.
His 233 works were almost entirely concentrated on instrumental genres;
only a couple of arias and a song exist of his vocal compositions. These
include 44 sonatas for viola da gamba and keyboard, 42 symphonies, 39
trio sonatas (two violins, two flutes, and violin/cello with keyboard),
28 miscellaneous pieces for viola da gamba, 24 violin sonatas, 12 piano
trios, 12 string quartets, 10 flute quartets, seven flute sonatas, six
keyboard concertos, three sinfonia concertantes (including one for two
clarinets), two flute concertos, two cello concertos, and a number of
miscellaneous keyboard works.
Bohemian composer and violinist. Son of a bureaucrat, he was sent to
Regensburg as a youth to study under Joseph Riepel. In 1750 he obtained a
post as violinist at the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein, and in 1753 he
was given leave to further his studies in Mannheim, where his teachers
included Johann Stamitz, Franz Xaver Richter, and Ignaz Holzbauer.
Returning to Wallerstein he was also employed at the Thurn und Taxis
court in Regensburg, commuting back and forth for several years before
being offered a permanent position in the latter city in 1769. He was
appointed as court chamber composer, though his relationship with the
Kapellmeister, Baron Theodor von Schacht was not smooth, resulting in
much of his music being deliberately misattributed to others after (and
possibly before) his death in 1794. As a composer, he was one of the
most prolific symphonists of the period, noted for his particular use of
the orchestra. His works in this genre are mostly four movement, and in
his numerous concertos he was able to exploit the technical
capabilities of the instrumental solos. His works include at least 145
symphonies (with as many as another 100 still of possible attribution),
65 concertos (including 45 for keyboard), numerous
serenades/divertimentos, three quartets, a piano quintet, three string
trios, and five trio sonatas. Much of his music remains to be explored,
primarily due to von Schacht’s intervention.
Spanish composer. Born into a family of actors, his mother was the comic
actress Águeda de la Calle and his father the actor Juan Ángel
Valledor. He probably received music lessons in his childhood. Together
with his wife, Gabriela Santos, a talented actress and singer, he
performed in various provincial theaters, including Murcia, Cádiz, and
Valencia, before settling more permanently in Barcelona. In 1783, he
sought a position as a company musician in Madrid, aiming to fill the
vacancy left by Manuel Martínez. However, his return to Madrid was
delayed until 1785, when he joined Eusebio Ribera's company. During this
period, he frequently substituted for the renowned composer of
'Tonadillas' Pau Esteve i Grimau, alongside with the composer Antonio
Rosales. He was also considered for positions at the prestigious 'Reales
Sitios' theaters. Around the turn of the 19th century, he resumed his
role as a company musician in Madrid. Despite his initial success, his
fortunes took a dramatic turn. As he aged, he faced severe financial
hardship, relying on a meager pension of 10 reales per day. Ultimately,
he was reduced to begging on the streets. Valledor's significant
contribution to Spanish music lies in his mastery of the tonadilla
genre. Alongside with Blas de Laserna and the mentioned Pau Esteve i
Grimau, he is considered one of the most influential composers of
'Tonadillas'.
German pianist and composer. Daughter of the banker Meyer Wulff Riess,
she was a child prodigy who began performing in public before the age of
13. She soon received music lessons from Wilhelm Schneider, Franz
Lauska and Joseph Augustin Gürrlich. In 1813, she converted to
Christianity and married the merchant John Joseph Liebmann. The young
couple moved to London in April 1814, where she took lessons from
Ferdinand Ries. No further information extant about whether she
continued to compose after 1819. The next trace of her life is in Clara
Wieck's diary, stating that Liebmann was present at a Hamburg concert of
Clara's in 1835. As a composer, her output was mainly secular and
instrumental. Among her published works, two sets of songs, several
sonatas, variations and miscellaneous piano works, two violin sonatas,
two piano trios and one piano quartet. They are mostly dedicated to
teachers and family members. Her music showcases a talent for melody and
a deep understanding of classical forms. Despite she was a great
performer with early success, her public performances were much less
frequent after her marriage.
Portuguese composer. Little is known about his early years. It is
believed that he may have received lessons from or at least been
influenced by David Pérez, a Neapolitan composer of Spanish descent,
Master of the Royal Palatine Chapel of Palermo, who lived in Portugal
for several years as Master of the Imperial Chapel of Lisbon. Pérez
developed significant pedagogical activities in Portugal. An influential
composer of opera seria, David Pérez directed all the musical life of
José I court until the end of his life, influencing all Portuguese
composers of his time. It is unknown whether André da Silva Gomes had
already moved to Brazil or if he came specifically to take up the
position of Master of Chapel at the cathedral of the city of São Paulo
in 1774 under the bishop Frei Manuel da Ressurreição. Among his duties,
he was in charge of reorganizing the choir and repertoire of the
cathedral to avoid the hybridization of sacred music and operatic music,
a practice that the governor of the captaincy of São Paulo, Luís
Antônio Botelho de Sousa Mourão, had banned. In addition to the tendency
to purify the profane sounds of sacred music (mainly coming from opera
or theatrical music), encouraged by the governor of the Captaincy of São
Paulo, but probably resulting from the Encyclical Annus qui hunc (1749)
of Pope Benedict XIV, André da Silva Gomes found himself, in São Paulo,
in an urban environment and a cathedral lacking resources, initially
counting, in this church, almost exclusively on the organist Inácio
Xavier de Carvalho. Was then he founded a free music school and gathered
an orchestra. In 1775 he married to Maria Garcia de Jesus with whom he
had no children, but the couple adopted 16 children and provide them,
besides the surname, formal and musical education. In 1789, he joined
the military career where he conducted the musical corporation. In 1797
he was appointed as a teacher in Latin Grammar. With the coronation of
Pedro I of Brazil in São Paulo in 1822, he directed his Te Deum in the
cathedral in honor of the future emperor. The same year, when the
independence of Brazil was proclaimed he was in charge of the musical
solemnities in São Paulo. As a composer, his extant output is over than
130 works, mainly sacred.
Franz Xaver Schnitzer (1740-1785)
- Sonata 'Pastorella' (VI, G-Dur) per il Organo aus 'SEI SONATE |
per il Cembalo ed Organo ... L'Autore P. Francesco Schnizer Capitolare
dell'istesso Monastero | OPERA I.' (1773)
German organist and composer. He entered the monastery of Ottobeuren in
1760 and studied music under Placidus Christadler and Benedikt Kraus. In
1766, he had the honor of performing on Karl Joseph Riepp's newly
constructed organ during the consecration of the monastery's
Dreifaltigkeitskirche, marking a significant moment in both his career
and the abbey's musical history. From 1769 onward, he assumed the roles
of regens chori, organist, and music teacher, further solidifying his
position as a central figure in the abbey's musical life. As a composer,
his output primarily consisted of sacred music composed in the
prevailing Italian style of his time. His compositions are preserved in
various libraries and archives, including those in Vienna, Freiburg,
Munich and Ottobeuren. Additionally, he wrote at least 17 school dramas,
now lost, which were performed at Ottobeuren and in Freising in 1776.
He also published a set of 'Sei sonate per il Cembalo ed Organo' (1773)
and his 'Cantus ottoburani monasterii' (1784), offers a glimpse into the
rich choral tradition of the Ottobeuren monastery.
Guatemalan composer. He honed his musical skills within the traditional
guild system, later benefiting from the tutelage of Manuel Mendilla
Retalhuleu. In 1813, he joined the choir of Guatemala Cathedral as the
third tenor. On July 2, 1813, he founded the Sociedad Filarmónica del
Sagrado Corazón de Jesús. From its inception, this society included the
annual celebration of the 'Día del Músico' (Music Day), dedicated to the
Sagrado Corazón de Jesús as atonement for any musical errors committed
during liturgical services. Music Day was marked by a Mass and public
concerts, which significantly stimulated the local musical scene.
Certain restrictions imposed by the Ecclesiastical Chapter, prohibiting
the performance of dawn carols, compelled Samayoa to explore the realm
of absolute music, a previously neglected genre in Guatemala. To replace
these carols or instrumental pieces by the likes of Joseph Haydn or
Antonio Vivaldi, he composed instrumental works such as 'Tocatas' for
strings and horns, as well as 'Piezas para tocarse en la iglesia' for
larger orchestras. Music scholar Dieter Lehnhoff notes that "the
necessity of delving into larger musical forms (initially limited to
small, two-part forms leading to the sonata-allegro form) spurred his
experimentation, making him one of the first American musicians to
venture into the symphony genre." The earliest surviving example is his
'Sinfonía No.7' (1834), dedicated to 'al triunfo de las Armas Federales
en la batalla de Jiquilisco (El Salvador).' Among his other extant
works, the 'Sinfonía Cívica' and the 'Sinfonía Histórica', the mentioned 'Tocatas' and 'Piezas para tocarse en la iglesia', and eight masses, a
Requiem, psalms, vespers et al,. In 1842 he wrote the history of the
Sociedad Filarmónica del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús, with an extended
historical appendix on the development of Music in Guatemala since the
earliest days of the Spanish missions, thus becoming the first music
historian in Central America and perhaps all of Latin America.
German conductor and composer. Son of a tenor active at the court of the
Bishop-Elector of Trier, as a small child accompanied the court into
exile in Augsburg after the French secularization of Trier. In 1806 he
settled in Munich to study composition with Peter Winter. There he wrote
the first opera, 'Demophoon' (1811), successfully performed in Munich.
The following year he became music director at the Isartortheater, and
over the next six years produced another eight operas, of which the most
successful were 'Der blinde Gärtner' (c.1813), 'Die Sternkönigin'
(1815), 'Pervonte' (1816) and 'Die Rosenmädchen' (1818). After his opera
success he resumed the study of composition with the contrapuntist
Joseph Graetz. In 1819 he took over the post of Kapellmeister in
Stuttgart, in a position he held for the rest of his life. He was
praised as one of the finest German conductors and continued to compose
assiduously for the stage. He also enjoyed a reputation as a composer of
lieder, sacred music and instrumental works. His songs, particularly
'Die Fahenwacht' and 'Roland', were widely popular; among his sacred
music, which included cantatas, masses and psalms, the oratorio 'Der
Jüngling von Nain' held a high place. His concertos and concertinos were
notably successful, especially the two concertante symphonies for five
wind instruments and orchestra. His achievements were acknowledged by
the bestowal of the aristocratic ‘von’ in 1844, but in his later years
his reputation as a composer declined. In 1854 Hans von Bülow castigated
‘the supreme impropriety of the pretensions with which Kapellmeister
Lindpaintner now represents himself as the old master of the departing
epoch, forgetting that Spohr alone can bear this honour’.
Ambrosius Reiner (1604-1672)
- Missa IV aus MISSAE | QVINQVE VOCVM | ET TRIVM INSTRUMENTO-|rum
necessariorum cum alijs | tribus ad libitum ... Anno 1655
German composer and organist. Son of Jacob Reiner (c.1560-1606), he
embarked on his musical journey with a trial appointment as organist at
the Archducal Chapel in Innsbruck on July 15, 1630. His talent was soon
recognized, securing him the position of second court organist and
choirmaster in 1631. A mere four years later, in 1635, he ascended to
the prestigious role of first court organist. In 1642, his life took a
personal turn as he married Maria Katharina Stadlmayr, daughter of his
predecessor. This familial connection further solidified his position
within the musical establishment. On July 1, 1648, he succeeded Johann
Stadlmayr as court Kapellmeister, a testament to his exceptional
abilities. Following the dissolution of the Archducal Chapel in 1665, he
was appointed Imperial Director of Music in Innsbruck, a position he
held until his demise. As a composer, his legacy is primarily composed
of sacred vocal works, which, while not extensively studied, are
believed to bear the stylistic influence of his mentor and
father-in-law, Johann Stadlmayr.
English priest, organist and composer. He was the son of George Felton, a
clerk, and was educated at Manchester Grammar School and St John's
College, Cambridge. On 11 August 1742 he was ordained priest by the
Bishop of Hereford, became a vicar-choral and sub-chanter of the
cathedral on 3 February 1743, and minor canon in 1760. From 1744 he also
held various parochial appointments in Herefordshire. Felton was a
steward at the Three Choirs Festival in Hereford in 1744 and in
Gloucester in 1745; and his name is on the list of subscribers to Thomas
Chilcot's Twelve English Songs (1744). He seems to have enjoyed wide
popularity as a performer on the harpsichord and organ. Charles Burney,
who considered Felton a better performer than composer, recollected
hearing in his youth ‘the celebrated Mr Felton’ play at Shrewsbury, and
wrote in his History of his ‘neat finger for common divisions and the
rapid multiplication of notes’. As a composer, he wrote several
concertos both for harpsichord or organ which were modelled on those of
George Frideric Handel. His concertos were widely acquired by music
society libraries and private collectors, and his music frequently
appeared in 18th-century domestic manuscript anthologies.
German-Baltic clarinettist and composer. He was also active as an
inventor: in 1808 he produced an 18-key basset-horn, and in 1809 a
prototype clarinet of the class now known as ‘simple system’. The
clarinet had 13 keys, seven of which were new, and gave much better
intonation through more carefully placed holes. He was the first to use
stuffed pads over counter-sunk tone holes, and in 1817 he invented the
metal ligature. Early in his career he added three keys to the bassoon,
which he played at that time, and later claimed the invention of the
alto clarinet. He was no less energetic as a performer; his ‘carrière
agitée’, as Fétis called it, took him to all major European cities.
Wherever he went he advertised his new clarinet, and his success as an
artist inspired composers to write specifically for it. His style was
brilliant and expressive, though impetuous and somewhat lacking in
polish. From 1800 he was in St Petersburg, where he became an imperial
chamber musician. He left in 1807 and travelled through Austria and
Germany to Paris, where he spent considerable periods throughout his
life, though without any fixed appointment. He lived in England from
1815 to 1820 and during 1829; he dedicated his tutor of 1825 to George
IV. In later years he made several extremely successful Italian tours,
and he ended his days as court musician to the Prince of
Schaumburg-Lippe. As a composer, he mainly wrote instrumental music,
among them, over than 10 clarinet concertos, six flute concertos,
orchestral works and chamber music. Despite his studies were very
popular, his major works fell into oblivion after his death.
Moravian composer, theorist and singer. His earliest education was at
the Jesuit school in Uherské Hradištĕ (Ungarisch Hradisch), following
which in 1727 he traveled to Italy and Vienna, where he probably
received some musical instruction from Johann Joseph Fux. From around
1735 to 1740 he was employed in a variety of small positions, probably
in Bavaria or the Tirol before obtaining the post of vice Kapellmeister
for Prince-Abbot Anselm von Reichlin-Meldeg in Kempten. Here he composed
one of his earliest works, a multi-movement Te Deum and several
symphonies for strings, 12 of which were published in two sets in Paris
(Grande Symphonies) as some of the earliest popular works in the genre.
In 1747 he arrived in Mannheim as a singer (bass), where he performed in
various operas and by 1768 had become known both as a teacher and as a
composer of chamber music. During this period he often traveled to Paris
and was on loan at the court of Oettingen-Wallerstein; his students
included Joseph Martin Kraus, as well as most likely Carl Stamitz and
Ignaz Fränzl. In 1769 he succeeded Joseph Garnier as Kapellmeister of
the cathedral in Strasbourg, where he remained the rest of his life,
save for a brief visit to Munich in 1787 to see his old colleagues from
Mannheim. Although he was an active composer of sacred music during this
time, his duties required him to hire an assistant in 1783, Ignaz
Pleyel, who also became his successor following Richter’s death. His
extant works include about 80 symphonies, overtures, 6 harpsichord
concertos, 8 flute concertos, an Oboe Concerto, dozens of sonatas for
several instruments, various keyboard pieces and much sacred music. He
was one of the most notable composers of the Classical period and
particulary in the instrumental field.
Spanish composer and scholar. Born into a prominent family of musicians,
the first of them was the organist Esteve Sanxo (16th Century). Joan
Baptista Sanxo i Lliteres was the son of Pere Josep Sanxo i Nicolau
(c.1740-1815) and Margarida Lliteres Llinàs. He moved to Palma as a
young teen where he took Holy Orders on 9 February 1791 as a Franciscan
monk and rose in prominence to assume the post of Music Director in the
late 1790s at the prestigious Convent de Sant Francesc. In 1803 he left
Mallorca with his friend Pere Cabot. The two arrived in Mexico on 20
June 1803. After a brief training session in Mexico City at the Mother
House of their Franciscan Missionary Order, the Colegio Apostólico de
San Fernando, they embarked for California, where they landed in
Monterey on 15 August 1804. Sanxo immediately made his way down to
Mission San Antonio, where he then was involved in nearly every aspect
of this thriving culture, including its agricultural production,
architectural construction, and musical performance. Soon, he had
established a choir and orchestra capable of playing music of the
difficulty one would hear in Rome or Paris. As a composer, his 'Misa en
Sol' and 'Missa de los Angeles à 4 voces' (1796) are among his best
works. He also brought to California some of the first samples of
18th-century European music, including sacred plainchant, sacred
polyphony, as well as opera excerpts and instrumental arrangements with
basso continuo. Among the musicians of his family, his greatgrandfather
Pere Sanxo i Sard (c.1684-1755) active in Palma, Antonio Sanxo Sacrer
(fl. 1776-1781) and Jaume Sanxo Melis (1743-1829), violinist and
composer and the most accomplished member of his family.
Austrian composer. Nothing is known about his early years. From 1839 to
1847 he was Kapellmeister at Viennese suburban theaters writing a large
number of scores for Possen (farces) and Singspiele, most of which did
no more than satisfy the expectations of the audiences of his day. He
later did achieve a few major successes with the scores to seven of
Johann Nepomuk Nestroy’s plays written between 1851 and 1859, and in his
instrumentation of Offenbach’s operettas which reached Vienna in the
late 1850s. He was elected an honorary member of the Dom-Musik-Verein in
Salzburg on 10 April 1854. Of approximately 80 works written by Binder
between 1849 and 1860, those most frequently performed at the
Carltheater (formerly the Theater in der Leopoldstadt) included the
scores to Nestroy’s Kampl (1852) and Umsonst (1857), Kaiser’s Verrechnet
(1851) and the ‘Charakterbild’ Die Frau Wirtin (1856), and Kalisch’s
Ein gebildeter Hausknecht (1858). His best-known work though was the
overture on various motifs of the Jacques Offenbach operetta 'Orpheus in
der Unterwelt', stage work originally composed by Offenbach with a
short instrumental prelude but with no overture itself. The overture was
arranged by Carl Binder for the first operetta performance in Vienna
(1860) achiving a great success. His son Karl Binder (1843-1870) was a
promising musician ended by an early death.
Italian violinist and composer. Trained under Giovanni Battista Somis
and Giuseppe Tartini, at the age of ten he began his career as a second
violinist in the orchestra at the Teatro Regio, Turin, though his
official appointment was delayed until 19 April 1748. Two years later he
made his debut at the Concerts spirituels in Paris. Was then when 'The
Mercure de France' wrote: ‘the connoisseurs insist that they have never
heard a violinist superior to this virtuoso’. From 1767 to 1769 he
served as conductor at the King’s Theatre in London, where his first
opera, 'Nanetta e Lubino' (1769), met with success. He also appeared in
concerts with Johann Christian Bach and other prominent musicians. In
1770 he became first violinist of the king’s music in Turin, a post his
teacher Somis had held and which included the leadership of the Teatro
Regio orchestra. His most famous pupil was Giovanni Battista Viotti,
with whom he toured Europe as far as Russia in the 1780s and 1790s,
thereby becoming the direct link between the early violin styles of
Tartini and the later international style represented by Viotti. His
last foreign journey took him to Vienna, where on 22 March 1796 he
conducted his orchestral suite based on Goethe’s Werther. As a composer,
he was known for his dramatic and harmonically adventurous works. These
include eight operas, the mentioned 'Werther', six concert arias, an
oratorio, three cantatas, 19 symphonies, eight quintets, five violin
concertos, six string quartets, 45 trios, 18 duets, 20 violin sonatas
and numerous dances.
French composer and harpist. He was the first member of a family of
musicians. He settled in Paris in 1745, four years before Georg Adam
Goepfert introduced the pedal harp there. Jean Baur was among the first
one on using the pedal harp in his chamber works, and his sonatas with
clavecin or fortepiano accompaniment mark him as the earliest known
composer to differentiate between the harp and keyboard instruments.
Among his works, dozens of sonates for several instruments compiled in
collections printed and published in Paris. His daughter
Marie-Marguerite Baur (1748-after 1790) was also an harpist active in
Paris, where she made her début at the Concert Spirituel in 1762. His
son Barthélemy Baur (1751-1823) was an harpist and composer active in
Tours, and his grandson Charles-Alexis Baur (1789-after 1820) was an
harpist, pianist, teacher and composer active in London.
Slovak composer and organist. Almost nothing is known about his life and
career. He came from the German evangelical environment of Spiš where
he was born into a family of priests and teachers. It was mentioned as a
senator of the Podhradie city council from 1637 until his death in 1657
and as organist in Spišské Podhradie. As a composer, he mainly wrote
sacred music the most of them currently preserved in three tablature
books which contains almost the whole of his extant output.
German critic, journalist, theorist and composer. Although little is
known about his musical training, he was resident in Paris in 1746,
where he became friends with François Marie Arouet 'Voltaire' and Jean
le Rond d'Alembert, among others. Shortly after his return to Germany,
he published his first work, 'Der critische Musicus an der Spree', which
was followed in 1754 by his most famous and widely distributed journal,
'Historisch-kritische Beyträge zur Aufnahme der Musik'. In 1752 he
wrote an extended preface for Johann Sebastian Bach’s Kunst der Fuge
under the auspices of publisher Breitkopf. Economic difficulties were
overcome in 1763 when he was given a post at the Prussian Lottery, three
years later becoming its director. His final major work, the 'Kritische
Briefe über die Tonkunst', published between 1760 and 1764, was equally
significant in establishing his reputation as a critic and theorist. As
a composer, he showed that he was one of the significant figures in the
Berlin School. He composed 185 Lieder (many of which were published in
anthologies he edited), six sonatas for harpsichord (c.1755), a
collection of fugues (1777) and two collections of chorale preludes.
Bohemian composer, pianist, music teacher and publisher. His earliest
musical education was under Antonín Kubík and his cousin Jan Antonín
Koželuh in his hometown. By 1771 he had moved to Prague, where he
studied briefly under František Xaver Dusek and wrote ballets for the
National Theatre. By 1774 he had Germanized his name to prevent
confusion with his cousin Jan Antonín Koželuh (1738-1814), arriving in
Vienna in 1778 to study under Johann Georg Albrechtsberger. In 1781 he
was given the post as teacher of Archduchess Elisabeth, Georg Christoph
Wagenseil’s old position. By 1781 he was so well established there that
he could refuse an offer to succeed Mozart as court organist to the
Archbishop of Salzburg. He remained active in Viennese musical and
social circles the remainder of his life, although in 1792 he was named
as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s successor as Kapellmeister in Prague, a
position that did not require residence. Although he is best known for
his disparaging remarks on the music of Mozart, Joseph Haydn, and Ludwig
van Beethoven, as a composer he had a reputation for works that
demonstrated good orchestration and solid formal structures. His 400 or
so compositions include six operas, 25 ballets, five Masses, numerous
smaller church works, two oratorios, 30 symphonies, 22 piano concertos
(plus others for clarinet and bassoon), two sinfonia concertantes, 24
violin sonatas, six string quartets, 63 keyboard trios, 10 parthies, two
serenades, eight divertimentos, 61 dances, 87 keyboard sonatas, nine
secular cantatas, and six vocal notturnos. His daughter Katharina
Koželuh-Cibbini (1785-1858) was a well-known pianist and composer of
piano music during the early 19th century in Vienna.
Austrian organist and composer. He was born in Spital am Pyhrn as the
son of a collegiate conductor and received his first music lessons from
his father. From 1734 to 1737 he served as organist at the Benedictine
monastery in Seitenstetten and later was appointed organist and
choirmaster at the Augustinian canons in St. Pölten, which was later
repealed under Joseph II. Occasionally, he also was commissioned by the
Piarists. As a composer, he wrote at least 22 masses, three requiems,
numerous smaller church pieces, ballets, symphonies, divertimenti as
well as several concertos and keyboard parthien.
Maltese composer and teacher. Born into a musical family, his
grandfather, who was French, settled in Malta in 1661. Girolamo Abos was
sent to Naples at the age of 14 to study at the Conservatorio dei
Poveri di Gesù under Gaetano Greco, Francesco Durante and Gerolimo
Ferrara. His first opera for Naples was 'Le due zingare simili', an
opera buffa staged at the Teatro Nuovo in 1742. The same year he was
appointed deputy to maestro di cappella Ignazio Prota at the
Conservatorio di Sant’Onofrio a Porta Capuana in a post he held until
his death. On 29 May 1752 he married Angela Maria Gauttier, by whom he
had two children. In 1754 he also became secondo maestro at the
conservatory Pietà dei Turchini, but retired from the post on 11 July
1759 and was succeeded by Pasquale Cafaro. He also occasionally served
as maestro di cappella at several important Neapolitan churches. As a
composer, he wrote at least 16 operas (mostly seria), many of which were
performed internationally. In addition he composed at least one
symphony (1735) and numerous sacred works, among which the Stabat mater
(1758) is the best known. He was not related to the composer active in
Naples, Giuseppe Avossa (1708-1796), despite some mistaken attributions
exist among manuscript copies.
Slovakian-Austrian composer, teacher and pianist. He was son of Johannes
Hummel (1754-1828), director of the Imperial School of Military Music
in Vienna, and Margarethe Sommer (1751-1837). Recognized as a child
prodigy, he began musical instruction from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in
1786 when his family moved to Vienna. Making his debut a year later, he
was so proficient that in 1788 Mozart recommended that he be taken on
tour of Germany and Denmark. By 1790 he and his family were in
Edinburgh, Scotland, where he took on pupils for a short time, and in
1792 he made his debut at the Hannover Square Rooms in London. He
returned to Vienna in 1795, where he studied organ under Joseph Haydn,
composition under Antonio Salieri, and counterpoint under Johann Georg
Albrechtsberger. During this period he began a long and often stormy
friendship with Ludwig van Beethoven, whom Hummel considered a superior
performer and composer, often lending him an inferiority complex. In
1804, he became Konzertmeister at the Esterházy estate in Eisenstadt, a
position that was problematic enough that in 1811 he resigned and turned
to private teaching. In 1816 he obtained the position as court
Kapellmeister in Stuttgart but left after only a year to take up a
similar post in Weimar. In 1832, at the age of 54 and in failing health,
he began to devote less energy to his duties as music director at
Weimar. He was in partial retirement until his death in 1837. As a
composer, although his music displays redolent Classical form and
structure, the advanced harmonies and expanded forms more properly
belong to the Romantic period, with the bulk of his music being written
after 1800. His output embraced virtually all the genres and performing
media common at the turn of the century: operas, Singspiele, symphonic
masses and other sacred works, occasional pieces, chamber music, songs
and concertos and solo piano music, as well as many arrangements. He was
considered in his time to be one of Europe's greatest composers and
perhaps its greatest pianist. Despite his great success, he seems to
have remained fundamentally a warm and simple person. His son Eduard
Hummel (1814-c.1875) was also a composer active in Augsburg.
German violinist and composer. Following early musical training,
probably at Regensburg, he was appointed as Kapellmeister at Bartelstein
in 1784, five years later moving to Bruchsal. Intermittent temporary
appointments in Karlsruhe and Stuttgart occurred until 1805, when he
moved to Karlsruhe as Kapellmeister and director of the town theatre
along with Franz Danzi. He remained there until his death in 1837. As a
composer, he was concerned with the infusion of drama into musical
settings. His monodrama 'Hero und Leander' attempts to provide a lush
orchestral setting for the Greek tale. His other works include five
operas, over 50 Lieder, 60 Masses, numerous smaller church works (hymns
and litanies), nine symphonies, 20 string quintets (and several others
with winds), five concertos, three sextets, and two serenades, as well
as six string quartets and numerous concert arias.
José Avelino Canongia (1784-1842)
- Troisixième Concerto (Mib majeur) pour la clarinette avec Orchestre ou Quatuor dédié à S. M. Dom Fernando second (c.1840)
Portuguese clarinetist and composer. He was born into a family of
Catalan origin. His father, Ignacio Canongia, the principal clarinettist
of the Teatro São Carlos, had emigrated from Catalonia in the 1780s. He
pursued his son to study at the music school of the Confraria do
Apóstolo Paulo, where Canongia learned to sing, play the piano and the
violin. He later studied clarinet with Johann Anton Wisse, a German
musician active in Lisbon. Few time later he was promoted first as
musician of the Teatro de São Carlos orchestra and then of the Teatro do
Salitre orchestra. From 1806 to 1808, he settled in Paris and then in
Nantes. Following solo performances in Paris and London, and upon his
return to Portugal, he was appointed principal clarinettist at the
Portuguese Royal Court. He embarked on numerous tours throughout Europe:
in 1818, he gave recitals in Genoa and Bologna; in 1819 in Saint
Petersburg; in 1820 in Turin, Zurich, Dresden, Weimar, Frankfurt, and
Berlin. His appearance at the Concerts Spirituels in 1820 was greatly
appreciated by the Parisian public. In 1821, after concerts in Munich,
he returned to Lisbon via Paris, where he became a soloist of the Teatro
de São Carlos orchestra in a post he held until his death in 1842. As a
composer, and along with João Domingos Bomtempo, he is considered one
of the greatest virtuoso musicians in Portugal during the early 19th
century. He possessed a brilliant technique, and during his tour of
Germany, his playing was compared to that of Heinrich Joseph Bärmann and
Johann Simon Hermstedt. His compositions include four concertos,
variations, fantasies, and other works for clarinet.
