Christian Kramer (January 16, 1781 – February 18, 1834) was a composer, arranger, musician and

Master of the King's Musick Master of the King's Music (or Master of the Queen's Music, or earlier Master of the King's Musick) is a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. The holder of the post originally served the monarch of England, directing the court orc ...

between 1829 and 1834. He served under two British kings;

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

and

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

. Kramer was born in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

and was a pupil of Romantic composer

Peter Winter Peter Winter, later Peter von Winter, (baptised 28 August 1754 – 17 October 1825) was a German violinist, conductor and composer, especially of operas. He began his career as a player at the Mannheim court, and advanced to conductor. When th ...

. He became a court musician, eventually rising to lead George IV's personal orchestra ("band") which, according to ''Dwight's Journal of Music'' was "in its time acknowledged to be one of the best in Europe".John Sullivan Dwight, ''Dwight's Journal of Music'' Volumes 7-8 (D.L. Balch, 1856) 26 Notably, many of the musicians in his band were sourced from Germany. John Dwight goes on to note that he could play all of the instruments in his orchestra to a remarkable degree. ''A Dictionary of Musical Information'' of 1876 notes that he was "a composer of great ability",

John Weeks Moore John Weeks Moore (11 April 1807 – 1889) was an American editor of musical publications. He also authored a historical work on early governmental slavery and politics Biography Born in 1807 in Andover, New Hampshire, Moore was a son of Jacob Bail ...

, ''A Dictionary of Musical Information'' (Ayer Publishing, 1876) 44 although none of his compositions have remained in the repertoire. He was apparently on good terms with the king; according to one account, like George IV, Kramer suffered from

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of pain in a red, tender, hot, and Joint effusion, swollen joint, caused by the deposition of needle-like crystals of uric acid known as monosodium urate crysta ...

and was often inquired of by his master "after a simultaneous attack".

References

1781 births 1834 deaths 19th-century German composers German conductors (music) German male conductors (music) Masters of the King's Music {{Germany-conductor-stub