Bernhard Schott
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Bernhard Peter Schott (9 August 174826 April 1809) was a German
clarinetist The clarinet is a single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest woodw ...
and
music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectu ...
. He founded the predecessor of
Schott Music Schott Music () is one of the oldest German music publishers. It is also one of the largest music publishing houses in Europe, and is the second-oldest music publisher after Breitkopf & Härtel. The company headquarters of Schott Music were foun ...
, a major German music publishing company which continues to this day.


Biography

Schott was the eldest child of Nicolaus Schott (1716–92), a baker and innkeeper who had a sideline as a ', and his wife Maria Elisabeth Bakkers. From 1762 to 1764, he served an apprenticeship in engraving and printing at
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
. He subsequently travelled to the Netherlands, France and England. He studied philosophy at the
University of Mainz The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz () is a public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany. It has been named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. it had approximately 32,000 students enrolled in around 100 a ...
, and was in 1769 awarded the degree of ''
Magister artium A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...
''. In 1770, he established a business in
Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...
to print and sell
sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...
. Around the same time, he trained as a clarinetist; perhaps under Peter Krauß, court clarinetist at Mainz. From 1771 to 1773, he played in a military band at Strasbourg. He studied further in Paris under Joseph Beer (1744–1811), one of the first clarinet virtuosi. On 14 June 1780, he was appointed court music printer to
Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden Charles Frederick (22 November 1728 – 10 June 1811) was Margrave, Elector and later Grand Duke of Baden (initially only Margrave of Baden-Durlach) from 1738 until his death. Biography Born at Karlsruhe, he was the son of Hereditary Prince Fr ...
(1728–1811), with exclusive rights; perhaps an unusual appointment, because in 1780 Mainz was the seat of the
Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...
, a state next to but distinct from the Grand Duchy of Baden. In 1785, he was awarded the privilege of '' Bürgerrecht'' by the city of Mainz, and also issued his first catalogue of music for sale. He published, among other things, first editions of
piano reduction In music, a reduction is an arrangement or transcription of an existing score or composition in which complexity is lessened to make analysis, performance, or practice easier or clearer; the number of parts may be reduced or rhythm may be ...
s of
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...
's ''
Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...
'' (1785) and ''
Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...
'' (1791), works by Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel and
Antonio Rosetti Francesco Antonio Rosetti (c. 1750 – 30 June 1792) was a classical era composer and double bass player, and was a contemporary of Haydn and Mozart. There is considerable confusion regarding his name. The occasional mention of a supposed, bu ...
, and
salon music Salon music was a popular music genre in Europe during the 19th century. It was usually written for solo piano in the Romantic music, romantic style, and is often performed by the composer at events known as "Salon (gathering), Salons". Salon compo ...
. During the political upheavals associated with the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
, which included the overthrow of the Electorate of Mainz by the short-lived
Republic of Mainz The Republic of Mainz was the first democratic state in the current German territoryThe short-lived republic is often ignored in identifying the "first German democracy", in favour of the Weimar Republic; e.g. "the failure of the first Germa ...
(1793), its reinstatement, its further overthrow by the
Cisrhenian Republic The Cisrhenian Republic () was a proposed client state of France during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1797. It was intended to be established on the Left Bank of the Rhine which was under French occupation at the time. However, the Coup of 18 ...
(1797), its further reinstatement, and the abolition not only of the Electorate but of the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
itself (1806), he dealt, in addition to music, in stationery, paper and wine. After his death, his sons continued the music business under the name ''B. Schotts Söhne'', and expanded it across Europe. That firm later passed out of family hands, and eventually became the modern company Schott Music.


See also

* Schott frères, a Belgian sheet music publishing house that began in 1823 as the Belgium branch of B. Schotts Söhne


Footnotes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schott, Bernhard 1748 births 1809 deaths 18th-century clarinetists 19th-century clarinetists German classical clarinetists German music publishers (people) People from Eltville 18th-century German composers Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz alumni