__NOTOC__ Georg Robert von Pasterwitz (7 June 1730 – 26 January 1803) was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n composer and teacher. He was born in Bierhütten, near

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

. First educated at

Niederaltaich Niederaltaich Abbey (Abtei or Kloster Niederaltaich) is a house of the Benedictine Order founded in 741, situated in the village of Niederalteich on the Danube in Bavaria. Foundation and early history After its foundation in 741 by Duke Odilo of ...

, he entered the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

Kremsmünster Kremsmünster is a town in Kirchdorf an der Krems District, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Settled in 777, it is home to the Kremsmünster Abbey. The Abbey was founded 777 by Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and is one of the oldest abbeys ...

in 1749. He then enrolled at the

University of Salzburg The University of Salzburg (, ), also known as the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg (''Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg'', PLUS), is an Austrian public university in Salzburg, Salzburg municipality, Salzburg (federal state), Salzburg State, ...

, studying theology, law and mathematics. It was during this time that he met

Johann Ernst Eberlin Johann Ernst Eberlin (27 March 1702 – 19 June 1762) was a German composer and organist whose works bridge the baroque and classical eras. He was a composer of church organ and choral music. Marpurg claims he wrote as much and as rapidly as ...

, who became his music teacher. Pasterwitz completed his studies in 1759 and soon started teaching philosophy at the monastery's Ritterakademie, eventually rising to teach courses in mathematics, physics, economics, and political science; since about 1755 he was also active as composer, producing stage works for the monastery almost every year. Between 1767 and 1783 Pasterwitz served as the monastery's choir director. Due to reforms started by

Joseph II Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor F ...

, he had to give up some of his duties and became instead the monastery's treasurer and eventually official representative, when it was threatened with dissolution in 1785. Pasterwitz died in 1803 in Kremsmünster, having served as dean of the Upper School there until 1801. Pasterwitz's surviving ''oeuvre'' comprises some 500 works, mostly liturgical pieces and dramatic works for the church. He composed a large number of short

contrapuntal In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous Part (music), musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and Pitch contour, melodic contour. The term ...

pieces for keyboard: 324 were published between 1790 and 1803, and were the only works published during the composer's lifetime. They show him as a competent master of both counterpoint and the keyboard. For the monastery, Pasterwitz regularly composed dramas and dozens of liturgical pieces: masses, offertories, vespers, etc.

List of works

Stage

* ''Mardochäus'' (drama), 1751 * ''Abul Granatae rex'' (comedy), 1755 * ''Jephtias'' (drama), 1758 * ''Joas'' (drama), 1759 * ''Athamas'' (Singspiel), 1774 * ''Samson'' (Singspiel), 1775 * ''Il Giuseppe riconosciuto'', 1777 * ''Der wahre Vater'', 1782 * other dramatic works

Sacred vocal

* ''Requiem'' (previously attributed to

Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 1737 – 10 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohra ...

) * ''Terra tremuit'' for choir and orchestra * 14 masses, 83 graduals, 85 offertories, 11 vespers, 38 Magnificats, 40 Marian antiphons, 4 litanies, 4 Te Deums, 16 Advent arias, 24 Passion arias

Instrumental

* 4''Fughe'', for organ or harpsichord, opp. 1–3 (Vienna, 1790–92) * ''300 Themata und Versetten'', for organ or piano, op. 4 (Vienna, 1803) * 22 orchestral minuets * Variations for harpsichord

References

* Altman Kellner, ''Pasterwitz, Georg

obert Obert may refer to the following people: Given name *Obert Bika (born 1993), Papua New Guinean football midfielder *Obert Logan (1941–2003), American football safety *Obert Mpofu, Zimbabwean politician *Obert A. Olson (1882–1938), American p ...

(von)'' page 213 in volume 19 of the ''New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' Second Edition edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

*David Black, ''Pasterwitz and Michael Haydn''. ''Early Music'' 2008 36(1):174 *Ernst Schlader: ''Georg Pasterwiz (1730-1803), Leben Wirken Werk'', Saarbrücken 2011.

External links

* Austrian people of German descent Austrian Classical-period composers People from Passau (district) 1730 births 1803 deaths University of Salzburg alumni Austrian Benedictines Austrian male classical composers 19th-century male musicians {{Austria-composer-stub