Johan Mazer (7 March 1790,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

- 25 October 1847, Stockholm) was a Swedish merchant, musician, concert manager, and collector.

Biography

He was born to Jean-Pierre Mazer († 1829), a silk weaver and stocking maker, originally from France, and his first wife, Brita Maria née Sjöman. He and his younger brother, Anton, went to a French convent school, where he studied music and Latin. When their father died, he left them a large fortune, and they took over his company; Anton oversaw the manufacturing, and Johan the sales. Their half-brother, Carl Peter, was studying art in Paris and never took part in the company's operations..Carl Kinberg, "Mazérska qvartettsällskapet: ett femtioårsminne", In: ''Mazerska kvartettsällskapet'', 1999 (

LIBRIS LIBRIS (Library Information System) is a Swedish national union catalogue maintained by the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populo ...

br>Online
It soon became clear that Johan was more interested in music than business. His summers were spent at his home on

Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum Skansen, the small resident ...

, hosting concerts of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

.Biography and notes
by Eva Block @ '' Svenskt biografiskt lexikon'' The participants ranged from capable amateurs to well-known professionals. Each session was recorded in a journal; in meticulous detail. Altogether, 358 gatherings were held, and over 1200 pieces of music played.Hans Åstrand (Ed.), ''Sohlmans musiklexikon'', 2nd ed., 1975-1979 The affairs always featured a meal, which he often cooked himself. In the process, he collected a large amount of

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chords of a song or instrumental musical piece. Like its analogs – printed Book, books or Pamphlet, pamphlets ...

, which he had professionally bound. He also collected instruments, such as violins by the

Guarneri The Guarneri (, , ), often referred to in the Latinized form Guarnerius, is the family name of a group of distinguished luthiers from Cremona in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, whose standing is considered comparable to those of the Amati ...

s and the

Amati Amati (, ) is the last name of a family of Italian violin makers who lived at Cremona from about 1538 to 1740. Their importance is considered equal to those of the Bergonzi, Guarneri, and Stradivari families. Today, violins created by Nico ...

s. Once, he built his own

contrabass Contrabass (from ) refers to several musical instruments of very low pitch—generally one octave below bass register instruments. While the term most commonly refers to the double bass (which is the bass instrument in the orchestral string family ...

. In 1840, he was elected a member of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...

, second class; a category that included music conoisseurs and promoters. He was presented with a medal, inscribed with the Academy's motto: " Anda och Konst" (Spirit and Art). In his will, he decreed that the meetings should continue, and that his friends should form a company for that purpose. They followed his wishes and, in 1849, the "" (Quartet Company) began its activities. Although its procedures have changed somewhat, the Company continues to meet today. Their concerts have been recorded since the technology first became available, creating a valuable historical record. Mazer, who never married or had children, bequeathed his notes to King Oscar I. His instruments and sheet music went to what is now the (Music and Theatre Library), while a monetary donation went to the Royal Academy, for the purpose of establishing an amateur Quartet Company, that would perform there.

References

External links

Mazerska kvartettsällskapet
home page {{DEFAULTSORT:Mazer, Johan 1790 births 1847 deaths Swedish male musicians 19th-century Swedish male musicians Musicians from Stockholm