Johann(es) Simon Mayr (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr (14 June 1763 – 2 December 1845), was a German

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the

Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

musical era. He was an early inspiration to

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

and taught and advocated for Donizetti.

Life

He was born in Mendorf near

Altmannstein Altmannstein (Central Bavarian: ''Oidmannstoa'') is a municipality in the district of Eichstätt in Bavaria in Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populo ...

Landkreis Eichstätt In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a '' Gemeinde'' (municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia ...

, Bavaria, and studied theology at the University of Ingolstadt, continuing his studies in Italy from 1787. He was closely associated with the Illuminati of Adam Weishaupt while a student in Ingolstadt, and the ideals of the French Enlightenment were a strong influence on his philosophy as a musician as corroborated by his famed ''Zibaldone'' or "Notebooks" compiled toward the end of his career. Shortly thereafter, he took music lessons with Carlo Lenzi, and later with Ferdinando Bertoni. He moved to

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

in 1802 and was appointed '' maestro di cappella'' at the

Cathedral of Bergamo Bergamo Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Bergamo, ''Cattedrale di Sant'Alessandro'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Bergamo, Italy, dedicated to Saint Alexander of Bergamo, patron saint of the city. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bergamo. History From ...

, succeeding his old teacher Lenzi. He held the post until his death, and became a central figure in the city's musical life, organizing concerts and introducing Ludwig van Beethoven's music there. He was music teacher to

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

. By the end of his life, he was blind. He died in

and is buried in the

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

there, just in front of the tomb of his famous pupil. Mayr's works, among which there are almost seventy operas, are rarely performed today.

Works

See List of compositions by Simon Mayr and List of operas by Simon Mayr

Recordings

*'' Ginevra di Scozia'' - Elizabeth Vidal (soprano); Daniela Barcellona (mezzo-soprano); Antonino Siragusa (tenor); Luca Grassi (baritone); Giuseppina Piunti (soprano);

Marco Lazzara Marco Lazzara (born 1962) is an Italian countertenor who sings a wide-ranging repertoire from baroque composers to those of the 20th century and has performed in a number of notable premieres and revivals of rarely performed operas. He has recorded ...

(countertenor); Orchestra del

Teatro Verdi di Trieste The Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi is an opera house located in Trieste, Italy and named after the composer Giuseppe Verdi. Privately constructed, it was inaugurated as the Teatro Nuovo to replace the smaller 800-seat "Cesareo Regio Teatro di San Pie ...

; Tiziano Severini (conductor). Label:

Opera Rara Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don Whi ...

ORC23 *''

Fedra Fedra may refer to: * , ship which hit the rocks in Gibraltar in 2008 * Italian for Phaedra * ''Fedra'' (Mayr), 1820 opera by Simon Mayr * ''Fedra'' (Pizzetti), 1915 opera by Ildebrando Pizzetti, based on a 1909 play of the same name by Gabriele ...

'' (Chiaudani, Nelsen, Zagorski, Lee; Schaller) OEHMS Classics 920 *''Verter'' (Herrmann, Gemmabella, Cicchetti, Salsi, Zarelli; Terracini). Bongiovanni GB 2343–4. *''

Medea in Corinto ''Medea in Corinto'' (''Medea in Corinth'') is an 1813 opera in Italian by the composer Simon Mayr. It takes the form of a ''melodramma tragico'' in two acts. The libretto, by Felice Romani, is based on the Greek myth of Medea and the plays on t ...

'' ( Eaglen, Kenny, Ford, Miles; Parry), Opera Rara ORC11

993 Year 993 ( CMXCIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – The 12-year-old King Otto III gives the Sword of Saints Cosmas and Damian ...

* ''Konzert mit Schnitte von Werken von Johann Simon Mayr.'' Wilhelm Schmailzl, Karlskron

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Em ...

* ''Samuele'' Fono-Schallplattengesellschaft, Laer 997* ''Grande messa da requiem'' Orchestra Stabile di Bergamo, Agora 997* ''Stabat Mater No.3 in C-minor'' Incontri Europei con la Musica, Bongiovanni 999* ''Che Originali! ossia La Musicomania'' Georgisches Kammerorchester, Guild 999* ''Mass in C-minor'' Guild

001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to: *1 (number), a number, a numeral *001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent *001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986) *AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...

* ''La Passione'' Kammerorchester Ingolstadt, Guild

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'', *1965 Italian film *Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 ...

* ''Atalia'' Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik Guild

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

* ''Vespri per il Corpus Domini 1802'' Orchestra da Camera Milano Classica, Bongiovanni

004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * Lauda ...

* ''Sisara'' Accademia I Filarmonici di Verona, Simon Mayr Chor conducted by Franz Hauk Guild GmbH 2004 * ''L'Armonia'' and ''Cantata for the Death of Beethoven''. Ingolstadt Georgian Chamber Orchestra and Simon Mayr Choir, Naxos

006 Alec Trevelyan (006) is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye'', the first film to feature actor Pierce Brosnan as Bond. Trevelyan is portrayed by actor Sean Bean. The likeness of Bean as Alec T ...

*'' La Rosa Bianca e la Rosa Rossa'' ( Antonacci, Anselmi, Serraicocca, Canonici, Facini; Briccetti) Fonit Cetra RFCD 2007 * ''David in Spelunca Engaddi'', Naxos

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * The Streetwear Brand @008us , inspired by Ian Fleming & Virgil Abloh *"030", the fictional 030 Agent of MI6 * '' 038: Operation Exterminate'', a 1965 Italian action film * '' Explosivo 030'' a 1940 Argentine c ...

* ''

L'amor coniugale ''L'amor coniugale'' (Conjugal Love) is an opera in one act by Simon Mayr set to an Italian libretto by Gaetano Rossi. It premiered at Padua's Teatro Nuovo on 26 July 1805. Background and performance history Like Beethoven's ''Fidelio'', the ...

'', Naxos,

* '' Tobiae matrimonium'' Simon Mayr Chor + Ensemble, Naxos

009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight 9 * ...

* ''

Theater St. Gallen The Theater St. Gallen is a performing arts center for opera, musical, ballet, and theatre in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and considered to be the oldest professional theatre in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Al ...

, Oehmsclassic

010 010 may refer to: * 10 (number) * 8 (number) in octal numeral notation * Motorola 68010, a microprocessor released by Motorola in 1982 * 010, the telephone area code of Beijing * 010, the Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the R ...

* '' La Lodoiska'' Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Oehmsclassic

011 The following is a list of different international call prefixes that need to be dialled when placing an international telephone call from different countries. Countries by international prefix Countries using optional carrier selection cod ...

* ''Amor ingegnoso'', Bongiovanni GB 2456-2

012 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassie ...

* ''Samuele'', Naxos

* ''Demetrio, Re di Siria'', Oehmsclassic

* ''Innalzamento al trono del giovane re Gioas''. Cantata, Naxos

* ''Il sagrifizio di Jefte'', Oratorio, Naxos

013 013 is a music venue in Tilburg, the Netherlands. The venue opened in 1998 and replaced the ''Noorderligt'', the ''Bat Cave'' and the ''MuziekKantenWinkel''. 013 is the largest popular music venue in the southern Netherlands. There are two concer ...

* ''Piano Concerto in C-major'' * ''Ginevra di Scozia'', Oehmsclassic

014 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 * BIND-014 * 014 Construction Unit * Divi Divi Air Flight 014 * Pirna 014 * Tyrrell 014 The Tyrrell 014 was a Formula One car, designed for Tyrrell Racing by Maurice Philippe for use in the season. The cars wer ...

* ''Gran messa di requiem in G-minor'', Naxos

015 Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

* ''Messa di Gloria in E-minor'', Naxos

021 021 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...

* ''Messa di Gloria in F-minor'', Naxos

* ''L'accademia di musica'', Naxos 022

References

;Sources * Heinrich Bauer: ''Simon Mayr'' 1763–1845, Meister der italienischen Oper aus der bayerischen Oberpfalz''. (Munich : Bayer. Vereinsbank), 1983 * Franz Hauk: ''Johann Simon Mayr und Venedig''. (Munich : Katzbichler), 1999. - * John Stewart Allitt: ''Giovanni Simone Mayr - Vita, musica, pensiero''. (Villa di Serio (BG), Edizioni Villadiseriane), 1995 * Mahan Esfahani, ''Giovanni Simone Mayr's 'Ginevra di Scozia' and the Classical Aesthetic in Early Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera Seria''. (BA thesis, Stanford University), 2005

Film

* Martin Pfeil: ''Der vergessene Musiker: Johann Simon Mayer (1763-1845)''. INTV Media Ingolstadt, 1995 (VHS, 30 Min.)

External links

Simon-Mayr-Gesellschaft
* *
Simon Mayr Chor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayr, Johann Simon 1763 births 1845 deaths German Classical-period composers Italian people of German descent German opera composers Male opera composers People from Eichstätt (district) German Romantic composers 19th-century classical composers German male classical composers 19th-century German composers 19th-century German male musicians