Johann Georg Albrechtsberger
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Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (3 February 1736 – 7 March 1809)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist, widely regarded as one of the leading figures in counterpoint and composition theory during the Classical period. He was a prolific composer of church music, orchestral works, and keyboard pieces, though he is best remembered for his influence as a teacher.
Albrechtsberger was a mentor to several important composers, most notably Ludwig van Beethoven, whom he instructed in counterpoint and fugue. His theoretical writings and pedagogical methods had a lasting impact on 19th-century composition, and his treatises on harmony and counterpoint remain highly regarded. He was also a friend of Haydn and Mozart.
In addition to his academic contributions, Albrechtsberger held several prestigious positions, including Kapellmeister of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. His compositions, though less frequently performed today, exemplify the refined craftsmanship and technical mastery characteristic of the Viennese Classical tradition.
Biography
[edit]Albrechtsberger was born at Klosterneuburg, near Vienna. He originally studied music at Melk Abbey and philosophy at a Benedictine seminary in Vienna, and became one of the most learned and skilful contrapuntists of his age. Albrechtsberger's earliest classmates included Michael Haydn and Franz Joseph Aumann.<ref>p. 556, Anderson (1982) Robert. 123 "Mostly unknown" 1674 The Musical Times August</ref> After being employed as organist at Raab in 1755 and Maria Taferl in 1757, he was appointed Thurnermeister back at Melk Abbey. In 1772 he was appointed organist to the court of Vienna, and in 1792 Kapellmeister of St. Stephen's Cathedral.
His fame as a theorist attracted to him in the Austrian capital a large number of pupils, some of whom afterwards became eminent musicians.<ref name="EB1911">Template:EB1911</ref> Among these were Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Ignaz Moscheles, Josef Weigl, Ludwig-Wilhelm Tepper de Ferguson, Antonio Casimir Cartellieri, Ludwig van Beethoven, Anton Reicha and Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart. Template:See LMST Beethoven had arrived in Vienna in 1792 to study with Joseph Haydn, but quickly became infuriated when his work was not being given attention or corrected. Haydn recommended his friend Albrechtsberger, with whom Beethoven then studied harmony and counterpoint.<ref>p. 82, Lockwood (2005) Lewis. New York Beethoven: The Music and the Life W. W. Norton & Company</ref> On completion of his studies, the young student noted, "Patience, diligence, persistence, and sincerity will lead to success", which reflects upon Albrechtsberger's own compositional philosophy.
Albrechtsberger died in Vienna; his grave is in St. Marx cemetery.
Compositions
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His published compositions consist of preludes, fugues and sonatas for the piano and organ, string quartets, etc.; but the greater proportion of his works, vocal and instrumental, exists only in manuscript. They are in the library of the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde.<ref name="EB1911"/> Around 1765, he wrote at least seven concerti for Jew's harp and strings (three survive in the Hungarian National Library in Budapest). They are pleasant, well-written works in the galant style.<ref>Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (composer), bach-cantatas.com. Accessed 5 March 2024.</ref>
One of his most notable works is his Concerto for Alto Trombone and Orchestra in BTemplate:Music Major (1759).<ref>Concerto for Alto Trombone and Orchestra, andrews.edu. Accessed 5 March 2024.</ref> As the trombone has few works dating back to the classical period, his concerto is often highlighted by the trombone community. He also wrote a Concerto for the Mandola, Op. 27, discussed positively in the 1914 book The Guitar and Mandolin.<ref>The guitar and mandolin: biographies of celebrated players and composers for these instruments, archive.org. Accessed 5 March 2024.</ref>
Possibly the most valuable service he rendered to music was in his theoretical works. In 1790 he published at Leipzig a treatise on composition, of which a third edition appeared in 1821. A collection of his writings on harmony, in three volumes, was published under the care of his pupil Ignaz von Seyfried (1776–1841) in 1826. An English version of this was published by Novello in 1855.<ref name="EB1911"/> His compositional style derives from the counterpoint of Johann Joseph Fux, who was Kapellmeister at St Stephen's Cathedral from 1713 to 1741; Albrechtsberger later held the same position.<ref>Emil Smidak and Charlotte Moscheles, Isaak-Ignaz Moscheles: the life of the composer and his encounters with Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, and Mendelssohn (London: Scolar Press, 1989); Template:ISBN</ref>
A continuous thread can be traced from his teaching through that of his pupil Anton Reicha, who went on to become the first Professor of Counterpoint and Fugue at the Paris Conservatoire from 1818 until his death in 1836, and who in turn reached a wide audience through both his own teaching and his theoretical writings, which were standard reference at the Conservatoire for most of the 19th century, and translated into German by Carl Czerny.<ref>Robert W. Wason, Viennese Harmonic Theory from Albrechtsberger to Schenker and Schoenberg (Rochester NY: University of Rochester Press, 1995); Template:ISBN</ref>
References
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[edit]- Pages with broken file links
- 18th-century Austrian people
- Austrian Classical-period composers
- Austrian music theorists
- Classical composers of church music
- People from Klosterneuburg
- Musicians from Lower Austria
- 1736 births
- 1809 deaths
- Austrian male classical composers
- 19th-century Austrian male musicians
- Austrian string quartet composers