Benjamin Carr (1768-1831)

• Born September 11, 1768 in London, England
• Studies music with Charles Wesley Jr. and Samuel Arnold
• 1793 immigrates to the new United States of America, settling in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Establishes a music publishing business as well as being a founding member of the Musical Fund Society and an organist at the St. Augustine Episcopal Church
• Publishes the journal Carr’s Musical Miscellany
• Dies on May 24, 1831 in Philadelphia

Carr was a composer and singer (tenor) at the Chestnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia after his arrival, winning praise for his stage pieces, as well as songs.

Listening

Example 12.10

Federal Overture (orchestrated by Bertil van Boer)

Carr Federal Overture

Further Reading

• Steven Siek, “Benjamin Carr’s Theatrical Career,” in American Music 11 (1993): 158-184
• Bertil van Boer, “Federalists, Immigrants, and Wild Irish Savages: The Development and Influence on National Identity of the Eighteenth Century,” in Haydn and His Contemporaries, ed. Sterling Murray, 179-201. Ann Arbor: Steglein, 2011.

Rafael Castellanos (ca1728-1791)

• Born about 1728, most likely in Antigua, Guatemala
• 1745 becomes assistant organist for Manuel José de Quiroz in Antigua, Guatemala
• 1765 appointed as maestro di capilla at the main cathedral in Guatemala City
• 1766 teaches music at the Colegio de Seises
• 1784 begins to experience ill health, with reduced activity
• 1791 dies in Guatemala City

Castellanos was one of the most active composers of New Spain/Viceroyalty of Mexico during the Classical Period. He composed Masses, motets, and over 160 villancicos. His music is sometimes characterized by native Quiche Mayan rhythms. No portrait of Castellanos exists.

Further Reading

• Robert Stevenson, “Guatemala Cathedral to 1803,” Interamerican Music Review 2 (1980): 27-73.

Louis-Nicholas Clérambault (1676-1749)

• Born on December 16, 1679 in Paris, France
• Studies violin, organ, and harpsichord with André Raison at the Abbey of St. Genevieve
• 1704 Appointed organist at the Church of the Grand Augustinians in Paris
• 1710 Louis XIV appoints him chamber musician at Versailles
• 1714 Succeeds Guillaume Nivers as organist at St. Supplice
• 1719 Succeeds Raison at the Church of the Grand Jacobins
• 1749 Dies on October 26, 1749 in Paris

Although associated mainly with the Baroque Period, Clérambault nonetheless adapted his style in his chamber music to conform to the French galant.

Michel Corrette (1707-1795)

• Born on April 10, 11707 in Rouen, France
• Studies music with his father, organist at the Church of Ste. Herbland
• 1737 Obtains the post of organist at the Jesuit College in Paris
• 1780 Appointed as organist at the court of the Duke of Angeolême in Paris
• Dies in Paris on January 21, 1795

Corrette can be seen as one of the most proficient and active composers in Paris during the reign of Louis XIV, though his main focus was on keyboard music. He wrote numerous treatises on orchestral instruments, including flute, recorder (flûte a bec), oboe, bassoon, violin, mandolin, harp, keyboard, organ, violoncello, and contrabass, in addition to voice. His music has largely been neglected, as the style of the pedagogical works is simple and refined, but he was active as a composer of concertos as well as ballets.

Further Reading

• Mary Cyr, “Basses and Basse Continue in the Orchestra of the Paris Opéra 1700-1764,” Early Music 10 (1982): 155-170.

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799)

• Born on November 2, 1739 in Leihgrube outside of Vienna, Austria
• Original name August Carl Ditters
• 1748 educated at the Jesuit School in Vienna as a violinist
• 1751 begins to perform as a violin soloist with Viennese court orchestras
• 1763 Christoph Willibald von Gluck takes him to Italy, where he excels as a soloist
• 1765 Appointed as Michael Haydn’s successor at Großwardein (Oradea, Romania)
• 1769 Appointed as administrative functionary at Schoss Johannesberg (Janský vrch, Poland)
• 1773 Received the noble title von Dittersdorf as required for his position as chief forester in Javornik
• 1784 Spends most of his time in Vienna as a bureaucrat and musician
• 1790 Becomes Kapellmeister to Duke Carl Christian Erdmann zu Württemberg-Oels
• 1796 Retires to the town of Neuhof in Bohemia
• 1799 Dies on October 24 a few days after dictating his autobiography

Carl Dittersdorf was one of the most prolific composers of the Classical Period, writing in all genres, including over 127 symphonies, 40 concertos, 136 solo keyboard works, 16 Masses, and 170 smaller sacred works. His autobiography is a view on the musical life at the Imperial court in Vienna during the reign of Joseph II.

Listening

Example 4.5

Symphony in A major “Les paysans changés en grenouilles [The Peasants Changed into Frogs]”

Example 7.2

Aria from the Finale of Act I of Doktor und Apotheker, “Nun mag der Herr kommen”

Further Reading

• Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, The Autobiography of Karl von Dittersdorf. New York: Da Capo Press, 1970.

Anton Fils (Filz) (1733-1760)

• Born on September 23, 1733 in Eichstätt, Bavaria
• Receives his education at the Jesuit School and the University of Ingolstadt
• 1754 Appointed as cellist in the Mannheim Orchestra
• 1760 Dies in Mannheim on March 14, allegedly of eating poisonous spiders according to theorist Christian Daniel Friedrich Schubart

Anton Fils was one of the most prolific composers, though he died at an early age. His style incorporates the Mannheim musical devices, and consists of 44 symphonies and 30 concertos.

Listening

Example 4.8

Symphony in A major

Yevstigney Fomin (1761-1800)

• Born August 16, 1761 in St. Petersburg, Russia
• Studies architecture at the St. Petersburg Academy of the Arts
• 1776 Begins keyboard lessons with Hermann Raupach and Blasius Sartori
• 1782 Travels to Bologna to study with Padre Martini and Stanislao Mattei
• 1785 Returns to St. Petersburg to compose Russian operas for Catherine the Great
• 1798 Composes the music to Yarolpolk i Olega that exploits Russian folk songs
• 1800 Dies in St. Petersburg on April 27

Fomin was one of the foremost composers to use the Russian folk idioms in his theatre music, eventually writing some 30 operas and choral concertos in Old Church Slavonic. He is one of the forerunners of the 19th century Russian nationalists.

Listening

Example 7.5

Duet “Kyut’li, Filjushka” from the opera Yamshchiki na Podstave [The Coachmen at the Relay Station]

Further Reading

• Gerald R. Seaman, Russian Opera before Glinka. Leiden: Brill, 1972.

Baldassare Galuppi (1706-1785)

• Born on October 18, 1706 in Burano, Italy near Venice
• Self-trained in music
• 1722 His opera Gli amici rivali fails forcing him to obtain formal training under Benedetto Marcello
• 1738 Appointed as maestro di cappella at the Ospedale dei Mendicante in Venice
• 1745 Begins a career as a composer of comic operas in collaboration with poet Carlo Goldoni
• 1762 Appointed as maestro di coro at St. Mark’s and director at the Ospedale degli Incurabili
• 1764 Travels to St. Petersburg to write Italian opera for Catherine the Great
• 1768 Returns to Venice
• 1785 Dies in Venice on Januar 3

Galuppi was one of the earliest proponents of the opera buffa. He was also a prolific composer of keyboard sonatas (over 90), and during his lifetime he wrote 106 operas, both seria and buffa. His music has been catalogued according to Rossi numbers.

Further Reading

• Denis Arnold, “Galuppi’s Religious Music,” Musical Times 126 (1985):45-50.

Christoph Willibald von Gluck (1714-1787)

• Born on July 2, 1714 in Weidenwang, a small village in the bishopric of Eichstätt
• 1727 he may have attended the Jesuit School in Komotau, Bohemia, but moved to Prague
• 1731 he attended Prague University in mathematics and logic
• 1737 Gluck arrives in Milan to study under Giovanni Battista Sammartini
• Gluck’s first opera Artaserse was premiered in Milan on December 26, 1741
• 1745 Gluck becomes in-house composer at the King’s Theater in London, a rival to Handel
• 1747 he is the composer in residence and leader of the travelling Mingotti troupe
• 1750 Gluck abandons Mingotti to take on a position with a troupe created by Giovanni Battista Locatelli in Prague
• 1754 he becomes the Kapellmeister to Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildeburghausen in Vienna
• 1756 he is awarded a Knight of the Golden Spur by Pope Benedict XIV
• 1761 collaborates with Gasparo Angiolini on the ballet Don Juan and the following year with Raniero Calzabigi on the opera Orfeo ed Euridice, both starting the operatic reforms.
• The premiere of the opera Iphigenie en Aulide in Paris on April 19, 1774 sparks the infamous Gluck-Piccini feud and in October is appointed Kapellmeister to the Holy Roman court in Vienna
• Suffers a stroke and passes away in Vienna on November 15, 1787

Christoph Willibald von Gluck can be considered, along with Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, as one of the two major figures of music in the eighteenth century. His operas sparked reforms both in Italian and French opera, becoming models of dramatic works throughout Europe. His music has been catalogued, like that of Bach, under Wotquenne (Wq) numbers.

Listening

Example 7.1

Final chorus “Partons, volons” from Iphigénie en Aulide

Complete Works

• Sämtliche Werke (Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1957- on-going), to encompass about 60 volumes.

Further Reading

• Bruce A. Brown, Gluck and the French Theatre in Vienna. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1991.
• Alfred Einstein, Gluck. London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1964. Old but basic biography.

François-Joseph Gossec (1734-1829)

• Born on January 17, 1734 in Vergines, France
• Receives musical training from Jean Vanderbelen in Antwerp, Belgium
• 1751 Moves to Paris to study with Jean-Philippe Rameau
• 1760 Succeeds Rameau as the conductor of the orchestra of Le Riche de Poupelinière
• 1769 Helps to establish the Concerts des Amateurs in Paris
• 1773 Reorganizes the Concerts Spirituels
• 1784 Becomes an instructor at the École de Chant
• 1795 Appointed as composition teacher at the Conservatoire
• 1817 Retires from teaching
• 1829 Dies in Passy, near Paris on February 16, 1829

Gossec can be considered one of the chief architects of French music of the last royalist period, as well as during the Revolution. He was both composer and entrepreneur, with a reputation for memorable melodies and powerful orchestrations. His music includes 48 symphonies, 22 operas, and numerous paeans to the French Revolution.

Further Reading

• Jean-Louis Jam, “Marie-Joseph Chénier and François-Joseph Gossec: Two Artists in the Service of Revolutionary Propaganda,” in Music and the French Revolution, ed. Malcolm Boyd, 221-235. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992/2008.

Carl Heinrich Graun (1704-1759)

• Born on May 7, 1704 in Wahrenbrück, Brandenburg, Germany
• 1714 Enters the Kreuzschule in Dresden as a choirboy
• Studies composition with Christian Petzold, organist at the St. Sophie Church
• 1724 Moves to Braunschweig as a singer in the court opera
• 1735 Obtains a position as a singer and in-house composer at the court of the Prussian Crown Prince Friedrich (later Frederick the Great) in Braunschweig
• 1740 Moves to Berlin as Kapellmeister to Frederick the Great
• 1755 Composes his opera Montezuma to a text by the King and publishes his oratorio Der Tod Jesu
• Dies in Berlin on August 9, 1759

Carl Heinrich Graun, along with his brother violinist Johann Gottlieb Graun, can be considered one of the most important north German composers who wrote in the Empfindsamkeit style. He composed 32 operas, all of them for either Braunschweig or Berlin, where he was considered the chief member of the vibrant musical establishment of Frederick the Great. As a singer, he was noted for his florid yet singable arias, though he concentrated mainly on the opera seria

Further Reading

• E. Eugene Helm, Music at the Court of Frederick the Great. Ann Arbor: UMI Microfilms, 1985.

André-Ernest-Modest Grétry (1741-1813)

• Born in Liège, Belgium on February 10, 1741
• Earliest education as a choirboy at the church of Saint-Denis there
• 1753 studies music under Henri Moreau
• Travels to Italy in March of 1759 to further his musical education under Giovanni Casali
• 1767 moves to Paris under the patronage of Swedish ambassador Gustav Philipp Creutz
• 1768 receives instant success with his opera Les Hurons
• International successes come in 1771 with Zémire et Azor and 1784 with Richard Coeur de Lion
• During the Revolution he wrote for the Directorate patriotic music, despite being Music Master to the French Queen previously
• 1797 writes his own memoirs
• 1803 is awarded the Legion of Honor by Napoleon for his long service to the state
• Dies on September 24, 1813 in Montmorency, outside of Paris

Grétry was considered along with François Gossec as one of the major composers of the French comic opera, whose music was noted for its colorful orchestration and memorable tunes. He was able to navigate the often-precarious political situation in France, becoming an icon during his own lifetime.

Complete Works

• Collection complete des oeuvres de Grétry (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1884-1936)

Further Reading

• David Charlton, Grétry and the Growth of Opéra-Comique. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986.

Johann Ernst Hartmann (1726-1793)

• Born on December 24, 1726 in Groß-Golgau, Silesia (now Poland)
• 1754 Obtains a post as violinist at the court of Count Schaffgotsch in Breslau
• 1756 Moves to Rudolstadt and Plön as a musician for Duke Friedrich Carl of Schleswig-Holstein
• 1762 Orchestra is subsumed into the Kongelige Kapel of Danish King Frederik V
• 1779 Produces operas in Danish, as well as performing at the Harmoniske Selskab
• 1793 Dies in Copenhagen on October 21

Although he was German, Hartmann became the most significant nationalist composer in Denmark, composing works that reflected royalist sentiments. Although a prolific composer, most of his music is lost, having been consumed in a fire in 1794. What survives includes cantatas, a few symphonies, and his operas.

Listening

Example 12.8

Nationalist Hymn “Kong Christian stod ved højen mast” from the opera Fiskerne [The Fishers]

Further Reading

• John Horton, Scandinavian Music. New York: Norton, 1963. Has only a short couple of pages on Hartmann and his music.

Johann Adolph Hasse (1699-1783)

• Born March 25, 1699 in Bergdorf, outside of Hamburg, Germany
• 1718 joins the Hamburg opera as a tenor and the next year obtains a position as a singer at the court in Braunschweig
• 1722 travels to Naples to study music and compose opera, becomes a friend of Alessandro Scarlatti
• 1725 achieves success with the opera Antonio e Cleopatra with the castrato Farinelli
• 1730 marries soprano Faustina Bordoni and is appointed Kapellmeister in Dresden
• Over the next two decades divides his time between the Saxon court and Italy, where he is considered Handel’s successor as “Il caro Sassone [The Dear Saxon]”
• 1764 travels to Vienna for the coronation of Joseph II and is commissioned for operas in the Imperial capital thereafter
• 1771 composes his final opera, Ruggiero
• Dies on December 16, 1783 in Venice, Italy

Johann Adolph Hasse was regarded, along with Christoph Willibald von Gluck, as one of the main composers of the Italian opera seria during the Classical Period. He and his wife formed a “power couple” in Dresden, where his work was considered as the model for the final stage of this style of opera. He often used librettos by Pietro Mestastasio.

Listening

Example 2.2

“Se tutto il mondo” from L’amor prigioniero

Further Reading

• Frederick L. Millner: The Operas of Johann Adolf Hasse. Ann Arbor MI: UMI Research Press, 1979

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809)

Biographical information is found in Chapter 11. Haydn’s music is catalogued by Hoboken (Hob) numbers, arranged systematically.

Listening

Complete Works

• Joseph Haydn Werke. Munich: G. Henle, 1958-present. Publication by the Joseph Haydn Institut in Cologne. Planned as 108 volumes.

Michael Haydn (1737-1806)

• Born in Rohrau, Austria on September 14, 1737
• 1735 moves to Vienna to be a choirboy at St. Stephen’s cathedral under Johann Georg von Reutter
• 1753 dismissed from the choir due to his voice changing and becomes a street musician
• 1760 is appointed as Kapellmeister at Großwardein (now Oradea, Romania) at the court of the Prince-Archbishop
• 1762 receives the appointment as concertmaster in Salzburg at the court of the Prince-Archbishop there
• Educates musicians at St. Peters Benedictine monastery, as well as private students such as Carl Maria von Weber and Anton Diabelli
• 1802 offered honorary positions at the Esterházy court
• Dies in Salzburg on August 10, 1806

Joseph Haydn often considered his younger brother Michael as a superior composer, though this is not how either history or other people during the Classical period viewed it. Like his brother, Michael Haydn was a versatile and inventive composer, whose concentration on sacred music resulted in a significant repertory that was well-known throughout central Europe in the Catholic regions. His music was catalogued by Perger in 1907 (P numbers) and Klafsky (K numbers) un 1925, but these have been superseded by the definitive catalogue with MH (Michael Haydn) numbers by Charles Sherman and T. Donley Thomas in 1993.

Further Reading

• Charles H. Sherman and T. Donley Thomas. Johann Michael Haydn (1737–1806), a chrono-logical thematic catalogue of his works. Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1993.

Roman Hoffstettter OSB (Pater Romanus Hoffstetter) (1742-1815)

• Born April 24, 1742 in Laudenbach, near Bad Mergentheim in central Germany
• 1763 takes vows at the Benedictine monastery in Amorbach on June 5
• 1766 is ordained a priest, serving the towns of Amorbach, Miltenberg, and Buchen
• 1782 becomes regens chori and prioris culinaris (chief chef) at the Amorbach monastery
• 1803 moves to Miltenberg am Main when the monastery is dissolved
• Dies on May 21, 1815 in Miltenberg

Little is known about Pater Roman (or Romanus) Hoffstetter, not even his real first name. His musical education must have been considerable, and he apparently had a twin brother, Johann Urban Alois, who was also a composer (though had a career as a bureaucrat). His main fame is associated with Joseph Haydn, and his third set of string quartets were published under Haydn’s name as the Op. 3. Hoffstetter was closely associated with German-Swedish composer Joseph Martin Kraus. No picture of Hoffstetter has survived, if any was ever done.

Joseph Martin Kraus (1756-1792)

• Born on June 20, 1756 in Miltenberg am Main, central Germany
• Receives his earliest education in Buchen from a local rector
• 1758 enrolls at the Jesuit Gymnasium and Music Seminar in Mannheim where he studies under members of the Mannheim orchestra and Franz Xaver Richter
• 1773 matriculates in philosophy at the University of Mainz
• 1774 transfers to the University of Erfurt in law, studies music with Johann Kittel
• 1775 spends a year in Buchen due to family difficulties, publishes a tragedy Tolon
• 1776 matriculates at the University of Göttingen in law, but decides to devote his life to music
• 1778 publishes his treatise Etwas von und über Musik förs Jahr 1777 [Something on and about Music for the Year 1777] and travels to Sweden to seek employment
• 1781 is appointed Vice-kapellmästare at the court of Gustav III of Sweden
• 1783-1786 undertakes a grand tour of Europe to meet with various composers
• 1788 appointed Kapellmästare to the Swedish court as well as chief educational administrator of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music
• Dies on December 15, 1792 in Stockholm, Sweden

Kraus was considered by Joseph Haydn as one of only two geniuses of the Classical Period (the other was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose lifespan was similarly short). As a theorist, he published one of the few actual Sturm und Drang musical treatises, and his music is known for its passionate and forward-looking style. His music has been catalogued by van Boer (VB) numbers.

Listening

Example 4.6

Symphony in C-sharp minor VB 140

Further Reading

• Bertil van Boer, The Musical Life of Joseph Martin Kraus. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2014

Lambert Kraus OSB (Pater Lambert Kraus) (1728-1790)

• Born on September 17, 1728 in Pfreimd, near Mannheim in Germany
• 1747 enters the Benedictine monastery in Metten, Bavaria
• 1760 publishes his set of Masses (Op. 1) in Augsburg
• 1770 becomes abbot at the Metten monastery
• Dies on November 27, 1790 in Metten

Although his sets of published sacred works and easy keyboard works were well-regarded and popular in central Germany during the Classical Period, almost nothing is known about his life. As a Benedictine monk, no portrait of him exists, and although his actual first name is known (Philipp Joseph Anton), little else of his career has come to light. He was known for his symphonies, serenades, and didactic Singspiels, as well has his works on German poetry and physics, and his experiments in electricity.

Étienne-Nicholas Méhul (1763-1817)

• Born June 22, 1763 in the town of Givet in the Ardennes, France
• 1778 arrives in Paris to study with Jean-Frédéric Edelmann
• 1783 publishes his first compositions, a book of simple keyboard pieces
• 1787 premieres his opera Cora at the Académie Royale de Musique
• Becomes known for his patriotic operas during the French Revolution
• 1795 appointed inspector at the new Conservatoire
• 1802 receives the Grand Legion of Honor from Napoleon
• 1811 his final opera Les Amazones fails
• Dies on October 18, 1817 of tuberculosis

Like his contemporaries François Gossec and Luigi Cherubini, Méhul was considered one of the early proponents of French Romantic opera, despite his political work both for the Revolution and the Napoleonic and Restoration periods that followed. He achieve an international success for his colorful music.

Listening

Example 12.12

Le Chant du depart

Further Reading

• Elizabeth Bartlett, Étienne-Nicholas Méhul and Opera: Source and Archival Studies of Lyric Theatre during the French Revolution, Consulate, and Empire. Heilbronn: Galland, 1999.

Leopold Mozart (1719-1787)

• Born in Augsburg, German on November 14, 1719
• Receives his education at the local Jesuit school
• 1735 graduates magna cum laude from the St. Salvatore Gymnasium in philosophy and theology
• 1737 enrolls in the University of Salzburg in philosophy and law
• 1738 receives a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy
• 1740 becomes valet and musician at the court of Johann Baptist of Thurn und Taxis in Salzburg
• 1743 is employed as a violinist at the court of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg
• 1756 publishes his Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule [Treatise of a Fundamental School of Violin Playing]
• 1763 becomes Deputy Kapellmeister at the Prince-Archbishop’s court
• Dies in Salzburg on May 28, 1787

Leopold Mozart has been overlooked or regarded principally as the father of a more famous iconic son, and his reputation is largely linked to that relationship. During his lifetime, however, he received considerable fame for his violin treatise, and like his colleague Michael Haydn, was a versatile and active composer in virtually all genres. His music has been catalogued according to Eisen numbers.

Listening

Example 4.4

Sinfonia da caccia in G major

Further Reading

• Ruth Halliwell. The Mozart Family: Four Lives in a Social Context. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Biographical Information is found in Chapter 11. Mozart’s music is catalogued according to Köchel numbers (K or KV).

Listening

Complete Works

Neue Mozart Ausgabe Kassel: Bärenreiter, 127 volumes in ten Series. These are available on line for research and study. Please note: the following link prohibits any other downloading or use. Please follow the directions at this webpage.

Further Reading

The literature on Mozart, his life and his works, is vast. These are, however, some of the more accessible sources of information.

• Alfred Einstein, Mozart, His Character, His Work. New York: Oxford University Press, 1945 and further editions. An old but useful overview work.
• Konrad Küster. Mozart: A Musical Biography. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996.
• H. C. Robbins Landon. The Mozart Compendium. London: Thames and Hudson, 1990.

Johann Gottlieb Naumann (1741-1801)

• Born in Blasewitz, Germany on April 17, 1741
• Studies music at the Kreuzschule in Dresden under Johann Gottfried Homilius
• 1757 travels to Italy with Swedish violinist Anders Wesström to study music
• 1762 debuts as an opera composer in Venice with Il Tesoro insidiato
• 1764 appointed in Dresden as second church composer
• 1776 receives the post of Kapellmeister in Dresden
• 1777 is commissioned by Gustav III for several operas in Sweden
• 1785 receives commissions from Denmark for Danish operas and the Dresden appointment as Oberkapellmeister
• Dies in Dresden on October 23, 1801

Johann Gottlieb Naumann was one of the most successful composers of opera in Germany in the Classical Period, who was also a major contributor to the operatic establishments in Stockholm and Copenhagen. For the former, he composed the patriotic opera Gustaf Wasa

Listening

Example 12.9

Nationalist Hymn “Ädla skuggor, vördade fader” from the opera Gustaf Wasa

Further Reading

• Hans Åstrand. “Gustaf Wasa as Music Drama,” 281-292 and Birgitta Schyberg, “Gustaf Wasa as Theatre Propaganda,” 293-322 in Gustavian Opera: Swedish Opea, Dance and Theatre 1771-1809. Stockholm: Royal Academy of Music,1991.

Giovanni Pergolesi (1710-1736)

• Born in Jesi, outside of Ancona, Italy on January 4, 1710
• 1725 Enrolls in the Conservatorio dei Poveri di Gesú in Naples to study under Gaetano Greco and Francesco Feo
• 1731 Achieves his first success as a composer with an oratorio, followed the next year by the opera Salustia, which wins him the position of maestro di cappella to Prince Ferdinando Colonna
• 1734 Appointed composer at the court of the Duke of Maddaloni
• 1736 confined to the Capuchin monastery in Pozzuoli, were he dies on March 16

Giovanni Pergolesi’s meteoric career was seen as a benchmark in the development of the Classical style, particularly through his operas. Although he intermezzo La serva padrona was meant as a bagatelle, it became an instant success, sparking the development of French comic opera, while the Stabat mater was imitated throughout Europe. Numerous works were falsely attributed to him after his death due to his reputation as a prodigy.

Listening

Further Reading

• Richard Will, “Pergolesi’s Stabat mater and the Politics of Feminine Virtue,” Musical Quarterly 87 (2004): 570-614.

Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831)

• Born in Rupperstal, Lower Austria on June 18, 1757
• 1772 becomes a pupil of Joseph Haydn in Eisenstadt
• 1777 is appointed as Kapellmeister to Count Erdődy
• 1783 moves to Strasbourg as the successor to Franz Xaver Richter as Assistant Maître de chapelle
• 1791 travels to London, where he is a rival to Joseph Haydn at the public concerts
• 1793 arrested on suspicion of royalist sentiments but manages to remain free during the French Revolution
• 1797 establishes a music publishing business
• 1807 expands his business by becoming a manufacturer of pianos
• 1824 retires to an estate outside Paris
• Dies on November 14, 1831 in Paris

Ignaz Pleyel is one of the more prolific composers of the Classical Period whose own entrepreneurial spirit carried him beyond the field into publishing and manufacturing. Although Haydn and Mozart both had great hopes that he would be their successor, his own musical style was superseded as the nineteenth century dawned, and he became known for pleasant if non-progressive music. His works have been catalogued according to Benton (Ben) numbers.

Listening

Example 5.3

Duet for Violin and Viola Op. 69 No. 1

Further Reading

• Lawrence Bernstein, “Pleyel’s Emulation of Haydn: ‘Easy’ Symphonies and the Intended Audience,” in Musical implications: Essays in honor of Eugene Narmour, 1-24. Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 2013.

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)

• Born in Dijon, France on September 25, 1683
• Received his early education at the Jesuit college in Godrans, France
• 1706 publishes a set of keyboard works
• 1709 replaces his father as organist in Dijon and then moves to Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand for the same posts
• 1722 moves to Paris where he publishes his Traité de Harmonie
• 1731 Becomes director of the private orchestra of Alexandre Le Riche de La Poupelinière
• 1733 revises his own reputation as a composer of opera with Hippolyte et Aricie
• 1745 enters into a dispute with rival Jean-Jacques Rousseau
• Dies in Paris on September 12, 1764

As a music theorist, Jean-Philippe Rameau can be considered one of the most significant figures in music history. Although he began his career as a composer of the Baroque Period, his later works, particularly for the theatre, mark his as a major galant figure who facilitated the transition of musical style into the Classical Period. His music has been catalogued by RTC numbers by Sylvie Bouissou and Denis Herlin.

Listening

Example 2.3

“Air des Sauvages” from Les Indies galantes

Complete Works

• Oeuvres Complètes. Paris: Durand, 1894-1924. Reprint New York: Broude Brothers. A new edition is underway (Opera Omnia. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2003-present).

Johann Friedrich Reichardt (1752-1814)

• Born On November 25, 1752 in Königsberg, East Prussia (now Kalingrad, Russia)
• 1768 Attends Königsberg University in philosophy.
• 1771 Begins to tour Germany to augment his musical education
• 1775 Obtains the post of Kapellmeister to Frederick the Great
• 1785 Travels to Vienna, France, and England to broaden his education
• 1791 Retires due to illness to Giebichenstein, Germany, but denounced as a revolutionary
• 1798 Offered the position of musical director in Kassel
• 1814 Dies in Giebichenstein, near Halle in Germany

Johann Friedrich Reichardt must be considered the foremost composer of the Lied or Song during the Classical Period, eventually writing over 1,500. A polymath, he wrote on politics, music theory, opera, and philosophy, in addition to publishing his own musical magazine.

Further Reading

• Thomas Baumann, North German Opera in the Age of Goethe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Franz Xaver Richter (1709-1789)

• Born on December 1, 1709 in Holleschau, Moravia (now Czech Republic)
• 1720 Studies at the Jesuit School in Uherské Hradiště
• 1727 Travels to Italy and Vienna to continue his musical studies
• 1735 Occupies several posts in the Tirol
• 1740 Appointed as Kapellmeister to the Prince-Abbot Anselm von Reichlin-Meldeg in Kempten
• 1747 Employed as a bass singer in Mannheim
• 1768 Receives title of chamber composer to Elector Carl Theodor
• 1769 Becomes Kapellmeister at the cathedral in Strasbourg
• 1789 Dies in Strasbourg on September 12

Franz Xaver Richter was considered one of the early pioneers in the development of the symphony as a genre, composer at least 87. He was also active as one of the developers of the string quartet and during the last 20 years of his life composed numerous sacred works, including 39 Masses. The sacred music is known by Reutter numbers, the symphonies by Boer numbers.

Listening

Further Reading

• David Wyn Jones, “The Origins of the Quartet,” in The Cambridge Companion to the String Quartet, 177-184. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Govanni Battista Sammartini (1700-1775)

• Born in either 1700 or 1701 in Milan to a musical family
• 1725 Publishes a set of vocal works that win him the post of maestro di cappella at the church of Sant’ Ambrogio in Milan
• 1732 Begins to write copiously in the new genre of the symphony, as well as presenting operas in the city of Lodi
• 1737 Accepts students to augment his salary at the Duomo in Milan
• Dies on January 15, 1775 in Milan

Giovanni Battista Sammartini was one of the most prolific composers of the early symphony, eventually writing over 68. These exhibit a steady evolution in style, including instrumentation and structure. In addition, we composed over 200 string trios and 50 sonatas, mainly for the violin and keyboard. His music has been catalogued according to Jenkins-Churgin (JC) numbers.

Listening

Example 2.6

Symphony in C major JC 7

Further Reading

• Anna Cattoretti, Giovanni Battista Sammartini and His Musical Environment. Turnhout: Brepols, 2013.

Johann Schobert (1735-1767)

• Born about 1735, probably in Silesia, Germany (now Poland)
• 1760 First appears in Paris as a keyboard virtuoso, settling in the French capital
• 1765 Fails to be considered as a composer of French opéra comique with the failure of his comedy, but is appointed chamber musician at the court of Louis François, Prince of Condé
• Dies in Paris along with his family and four friends on Aubust 28, 1767 from eating poisonous mushrooms

Johann Schobert attained a reputation for his dramatic and sensitive keyboard music, almost all of which was meant for publication and amateur performance. His style is close to that of Mannheim composers, but his compositional output is relative small for the time.

Further Reading

• Herbert Turrentine “Johann Schobert: A Reappraisal of his Musical Style and Historical Significance,” American Music Teacher 19 (1970): 20-22.

Johann Abraham Peter Schulz (1747-1800)

• Born in Lüneburg, Germany on March 31, 1747
• Studies music with Johann Christian Schmügel, though he intends to be a theologian
• 1762 Travels to Berlin to study with Johann Kirnberger
• 1768 Appointed as teacher to Princess Spieha Wolwodin of Smolensk, Russia
• 1776 Receives the post of Kapellmeister at the French Theatre in Berlin
• 1780 Becomes the teacher to Prince Heinrich of Rheinsburg
• 1787 Moves to Copenhagen to become Royal kapelmestere
• 1795 Tuberculosis forces him to retire to Norway
• 1800 Dies on June 10, 1800 in Schedt an der Oder, Germany

Johann P. A. Schulz was one of the forerunners of Danish national music after Johann Ernst Hartmann, with whom he was friendly. His main compositional focus, however, was on the Lied, of which he wrote over 100.

Listening

Example 12.2

Lied/Song “Der Mond ist aufgegangen”

Further Reading

• Wilhelm Schulte, “J. A. P. Schulz, a Protagonist of the Musical Enlightenment: Lieder im Volkston,” Music Research Forum 3 (1988): 23-34.

Johann Stamitz (1717-1757)

• Born in Némecký brod, Bohemia on June 18, 1717
• Receives his training in music at the Jesuit Gymnasium in Jihlava
• 1734 Enrolls in Prague University in law but begins life as a violin virtuoso
• 1741 Offered the position as concertmaster in Mannheim
• 1750 Further receives the post of Director of Instrumental Music
• 1754 Creates a sensation with his symphonies in Paris at the Concerts Spirituels
• 1757 Dies in Mannheim on March 27.

Johann Stamitz can be considered one of the most brilliant violinist and composers of the famed Mannheim orchestra, and one of the significant developers of the so-called German symphonic style. He composed 57 symhonies, over 40 concertos (including one of the first for the clarinet), and numerous sacred works.

Listening

Further Reading

• Wolf, Eugene K. The Symphonies of Johann Stamitz: A Study in the Formation of the Classic Style. Utrecht: Bohn, Scheltema & Holkema, 1981.

Abbé Georg Joseph Vogler (1749-1814)

• Born on June 15, 1749 in Pleichach, Germany
• 1763 Matriculates at the University of Würzburg after studies at the Jesuit Gymnasium
• 1766 Moves to Bamberg to study theology at the university there
• 1771 Offered the position of almoner at the Electoral court in Mannheim
• 1773 Travels to Italy to study with Padre Martini, and while in Rome on tour receives the title of Abbé
• 1775 Returns to Mannheim to open a music school and publish his treatises on music theory
• 1780 Begins a life as a touring virtuoso
• 1786 Arrives in Stockholm as music director
• 1790 Returns to touring travel, allegedly going as far afield as North Africa
• 1793 Returns to Stockholm as Acting Kapellmästare
• 1799 Receives a pension and leaves Sweden for Denmark, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Munich
• 1807 Offered position as ecclesiastical counselor and Kapellmeister in Darmstadt
• 1814 Dies in Darmstadt on May 6

Abbé Vogler is one of the most controversial figures of the Classical Period. As a composer he was both condemned for plagiarism and praised for his attempts to bring non-Western musics into the concert hall, often using an augmented organ of his own invention called an Orchestrion. He was responsible for landmark work in music theory, and his own works often include unusual and colorful orchestration.

Further Reading

• Georg Helmut Fischer. “Abbé Georg Joseph Vogler: A ‘Baroque’ Musical Genius,” in Gustav III and the Swedish Stage, 75-102. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen, 1993.
• Floyd K. Grave and Margaret Grave. In Praise of Harmony: The Teachings of Abbé Georg Joseph Vogler. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1988.