Georg Druschetzky (born Jiří Družecký; 7 April 1745 – 21 June 1819) was a
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus
*Czech (surnam ...
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 def ...
,
oboist
An oboist (formerly hautboist) is a musician who plays the oboe or any oboe family instrument, including the oboe d'amore, cor anglais or English horn, bass oboe and piccolo oboe or oboe musette.
The following is a list of notable past and pres ...
and
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
st.
Biography
Druschetzky was born Jiří Družecký in
Jemníky
Jemníky is a municipality and village in Kladno District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The coun ...
on 7 April 1945. He studied oboe with the noted oboist and composer
Antonio Besozzi
Antonio Besozzi (1714–1781) was an Italian oboist and composer and also member of an extensive family of musicians from the eighteenth-century Naples. He composed several concertos for oboe and a few quintets, which he called "sonatas", for ...
in
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
. He then joined the band of an infantry regiment in
Cheb
Cheb (; ) is a town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Ohře River.
Before the Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia, expulsion of Germans in 1945, the town was the centre of the G ...
(), with which he was later stationed (sequentially) 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. ...
,
Enns,
Linz
Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...
, and
Branau. In 1777 he was certified as a drummer. In 1783 he moved to Vienna, where he became a member of the Tonkünstler-Sozietät. Three years later he was Kapellmeister for Anton Grassalkovič of Gyaraku and moved to
Bratislava
Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...
.
It is believed he started writing music in the 1770s, most of it for his band. He also wrote chamber music and music for orchestra, including 27 Symphonies and Concertos for various instruments. A couple of his operas survive, but one suite of incidental music and a ballet are lost. Druschetzky is credited with one of the earliest uses of the
BACH motif
In music, the BACH motif is the motif (music), motif, a succession of note (music), notes important or characteristic to a musical composition, piece, ''B flat, A, C, B natural''. In Letter notation, German musical nomenclature, in whi ...
. Druschetzky died in
Buda
Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...
on 21 June 1819.
Selected compositions
;Stage
* ''Mechmet'', Opera
* ''Zemira'', Opera
* ''Perseus and Andromeda'', Incidental music to the play
* ''Inkle and Yariko'', Ballet
;Orchestral
* Concerto in B major for oboe and orchestra
* Concerto in C major for oboe and orchestra
* Concerto in F major for oboe and orchestra
* Concerto for 6 timpani and orchestra
* Concerto in D major for viola and orchestra; The solo viola part is written in the key of C major requiring a
scordatura
Scordatura (; literally, Italian for "discord", or "mistuning") is a Musical tuning, tuning of a string instrument that is different from the normal, standard tuning. It typically attempts to allow special effects or unusual Chord (music), chords ...
tuning a whole step higher.
* ''Gran Sinfonia'' in C major
* ''Harmonia'' – for 21 wind instruments (1790)
* ''Partita in C major for timpani and chamber orchestra''
* ''Partita in F major''
* ''Sinfonia alla battaglia'' for string and brass orchestra
* ''Sinfonia in C''
;Chamber music
* ''Quartet for bassethorn, violin, viola and cello''
* ''Quintet in F major for horn, violin, 2 violas and cello'' (1810)
* ''Sextet for 2 clarinets, 2 horns and 2 bassoons''
* 6 Sonatas for solo violin and basso continuo, Op. 1 (Linz, 1783)
[
* ''Sonata for ]mandolin
A mandolin (, ; literally "small mandola") is a Chordophone, stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally Plucked string instrument, plucked with a plectrum, pick. It most commonly has four Course (music), courses of doubled St ...
and bass'' in G
* ''String Quartet No. 1''
* ''String Quartet No. 2''
* ''String Quartet No. 3 in D major''
* Trio for 3 bassethorns
;Choral
* ''Missa solemnis'' for soloists, mixed chorus and orchestra (1804)
Discography
Some of Druschetzky's music has been recorded on the Naxos Records
Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records, which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...
label, such as his Timpani Concerto on a disc titled ''Virtuoso Timpani Concertos''. All Parthias have been recorded on the Aulia Label by I Fiati Italiani.
The first complete recording of Druschetzky's Divertissement for three basset horns was recorded on the Hevhetia label by Lotz Trio ensemble. Four of his Quartets for oboe, violin, viola & cello (F major, G minor, E flat major, and C major) are recorded on ''Georg Druschetzky: Oboe Quartets'' on the Hungaroton Classic label,
References
Further reading
* Alexander Weinman & Damian A. Frame, ''"Druschetzky, Georg"'' in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. 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 ...
. New York: Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...
Limited (2001): 7 617 – 618
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Druschetzky, Georg
1745 births
1819 deaths
Czech male classical composers
Classical-period composers from Bohemia
Austrian male classical composers
Czech classical oboists
Male oboists
Austrian classical composers
Austrian people of Czech descent
People from Kladno District
Timpanists
19th-century Austrian male musicians
18th-century composers from the Holy Roman Empire
Composers from the Austrian Empire