Frederick Thorkildsen Wexschall (born 9 April 1798 in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, died 25 October 1845) was a Danish classical composer, violinist, and

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

of the Copenhagen Royal Orchestra. A pupil of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

n composer

František Martin Pecháček František Martin Pecháček, also ''Francis Martin Pechatschek, Pechaczek, Behatschek'' (10 November 1763 in Ústí nad Orlicí - 26 September 1816 in Vienna) was a Bohemian violinist, pedagog, arranger and diligent composer. His son Franz Pech� ...

and German conductor

Louis Spohr Louis Spohr (, 5 April 178422 October 1859), baptized Ludewig Spohr, later often in the modern German form of the name Ludwig was a German composer, violinist and conductor. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Spohr composed ten symphonies, ...

, Wexschall was married to the Danish stage actress and

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

singer Anna Nielsen.

Life

He was the son of John Thorkildsen Wexsal, a Norwegian farmer's son who became chief huntsman to the Danish Crown Prince, and later manager of the

Amalienborg Palace Amalienborg () is the official residence for the Danish royal family and is located in Copenhagen. Frederick VIII's palace complex has four identical Classical façades, effectively four palaces, with Rococo interiors, laid around an octagona ...

, and Jacobine Caroline, née Holm. In 1823 he was married to the Danish actress and opera singer Anna Nielsen; the marriage was dissolved in 1831, and later he married Caroline, née Dam (d. 1848). Taught on violin, first by his father and later by music professor

Peter Mandrup Lem Peter Mandrup Lem (baptized 7 June 1758 - 12 January 1828) was an eighteenth-century Danish violin virtuoso. Among his few compositions always mentioned by his contemporaries are his both symphonies, violin concertos, piano pieces and an oratorio, ...

, he was already appearing at concert halls at a very young age. In June 1812 he became a pupil in the chapel of

concert master The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the most significant ...

, evolving to an excellent violin player. Between 1820 and 1822 he traveled with abroad, where he studied under masters such as

Karl Moser Karl Moser (10 August 1860 – 28 February 1936) was an architect from Switzerland. Between 1887 and 1915 he worked together with Robert Curjel in Karlsruhe, setting up the architecture firm Curjel and Moser. Some of their works are: * Kuns ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Pecháček in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and Spohr in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

, and gave concerts, which were well received even in the perfectly pampered violin playing circles in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. Critics called him Wexschall, and reviews like this he kept for the future, perhaps as a small persiflage against Professor Schall, who always ignored him. Despite the universal acclaim at home and abroad Wexschall did not advance to a higher position than 2nd

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Répétiteur A (; from the French verb meaning 'to repeat, to go over, to learn, to rehearse') is an accompanist, tutor or coach of ballet dancers or opera singers. The feminine form is . Opera In opera, a is the person responsible for coaching singers ...

and 1st second violinist in the chapel after his return to Copenhagen in 1824, but he gradually worked his way to becoming the person whose strong and broad bow-strokes led the ensemble in the orchestra, and by Schall's death Wexschall became director of the royal violin school with predicate of concert master in 1835. Among his students must be mentioned the names of

Holger Simon Paulli Holger Simon Paulli (22 February 181023 December 1891) was a Danish conductor and composer. Paulli composed an opera, thirteen ballets, an overture, and pieces for violin and lieder. Biography Paulli was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was a st ...

Ole Bull Ole Bornemann Bull (; 5 February 181017 August 1880) was a Norwegian virtuoso violinist and composer. According to Robert Schumann, he was on a level with Niccolò Paganini for the speed and clarity of his playing. Biography Background Bull was ...

and

Niels Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day, in the period known as ...

. The music scene suffered a great loss as a corrosive disease led him to death on 25 October 1845, a year after both his parents died.

Additional informations

References

;Attribution *''This article is based on the translation of the corresponding article of the Danish Wikipedia. A list of contributors can be found there at th
History
section.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Wexschall, Fredrik Thorkildsen 1798 births 1845 deaths Danish composers Danish male composers Danish classical violinists Danish male classical violinists Musicians from Copenhagen Pupils of Louis Spohr 19th-century Danish male musicians

Life

See also

Additional informations

References