Franz Xaver Süssmayr (German: ''Franz Xaver Süßmayr'', or ''Suessmayr'' in English; 1766 – September 17, 1803) was an Austrian composer and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

. Popular in his day, he is now known primarily as the composer who completed

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's unfinished

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

. In addition, there have been performances of Süssmayr's operas at Kremsmünster, and his secular political cantata (1796), ''Der Retter in Gefahr'', SmWV 302, received its first full performance in over 200 years in June 2012 in a new edition by Mark Nabholz, conducted by Terrence Stoneberg. There are also CD recordings of his unfinished clarinet concerto (completed by Michael Freyhan), one of his German

requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

s, and his Missa Solemnis in D.

Works

His works include the following: * Two masses (SmWV 101–102) * Two requiems (SmWV 103–104) * Seven offertories (SmWV 112–115, 117–119, 123, 125, 144–145, 156) * A gradual (SmWV 143) * Psalms * A magnificat * Hymns * ''Agonia e morte di Mozart'' (fantasia for piano) * ''Nicht mehr als sechs Schüsseln'' (SmWV 205) * ''Moses oder der Auszug aus Ägypten'' (SmWV 209) * ''Der Spiegel von Arkadien'' (SmWV 213) * ''List und Zufall'' (SmWV 224) Of special note may be the clarinet concerto (SmWV 501) he most probably wrote for Mozart's clarinetist Anton Stadler, because it was scored for the basset clarinet. Recordings of the work by

Dieter Klöcker Dieter Klöcker (13 April 1936, Wuppertal – 21 May 2011, Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German clarinetist known for rediscovering many forgotten composers of the 18th century. Specifically forgotten music of the clarinet. From 1975 to 2002, Kl� ...

(on

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure o ...

) on "normal clarinet" and by Thea King (on

Hyperion Hyperion may refer to: Greek mythology * Hyperion (Titan), one of the twelve Titans * ''Hyperion'', a byname of the Sun, Helios * Hyperion of Troy or Yperion, son of King Priam Science * Hyperion (moon), a moon of the planet Saturn * ''Hyp ...

) in a reconstructed version for basset clarinet by Michael Freyhan are available. In 2021 a completion appropriate for period basset clarinet was published by Craig Hill.

Ballet

* ', ballet by

Salvatore Viganò Salvatore Viganò (March 25, 1769 – August 10, 1821), was an Italian choreographer, dancer and composer. Viganò was born in Naples. He studied composition with Luigi Boccherini (his uncle) and by the mid-1780s was composing original music. In ...

, premiered at La Scala on 25 April 1812. It gave an inspiration to

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices f ...

for creating ''Le Streghe'', Variations on a theme from the ballet ''Il noce di Benevento'' (Op. 8, 1813).

References

Sources

Books * * * * Articles * Freyhan, Michael: "Towards the Original Text of Mozart's Die Zauberflote" in ''

Journal of the American Musicological Society The ''Journal of the American Musicological Society'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal and an official journal of the American Musicological Society. It is published by University of California Press and covers all aspects of musicology. The ...

'', Summer 1986, no. 2, pp. 355–380 * Freyhan, Michael: "Rediscovery of the 18th Century Scores and Parts of 'Die Zauberflote' showing the Text Used at the Hamburg Premiere in 1793" in ''Mozart Jahrbuch 1997'', pp. 109–149 * Lorenz, Michael: "Süßmayr und die Lichterputzer. Von gefundenen und erfundenen Quellen", in ''Mozart Jahrbuch 2006'' Editions * Franz Xaver Süßmayr, ''Der Spiegel von Arkadien (Vienna, 1794),'' edited by David J. Buch
Recent Researches in the Music of the Classical Era, vols. 93–94
(Middleton, Wisconsin: A-R Editions, 2014)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sussmayr, Franz Xaver 1766 births 1803 deaths People from Schwanenstadt Austrian classical composers Austrian opera composers Male opera composers Austrian Classical-period composers Music copyists Pupils of Antonio Salieri 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis 19th-century male musicians Tuberculosis deaths in Austria