Johann Andreas Stumpff (27 January 1769 – 2 November 1846), born in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, was a maker of pianos and harps in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He met and supported

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

in the composer's later years.

Life

He was born in

Ruhla Ruhla () is a town situated in the forest of Thuringia in the district of Wartburgkreis in Germany, immediately next to the Rennsteig. Thal and Kittelsthal are parts of the town. History Within the German Empire (1871-1918), part of Ruhla belon ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

in 1769, a son of a maker of keyboard instruments. In 1789 he moved to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, and in the following year moved to London, settling there as a manufacturer of harps and pianos. He had a workshop on

Great Portland Street Great Portland Street is a commercial road in the West End of London which links Oxford Street with the A501 road, A501 Marylebone Road. A mixed-use street of residents and businesses, it divides Fitzrovia, to the east, from Marylebone to the ...

, and styled himself "J. A. Stumpff, Harpmaker to His Majesty". From ''

Die Gartenlaube (; ) was the first successful mass-circulation German newspaper and a forerunner of all modern magazines.Sylvia Palatschek: ''Popular Historiographies in the 19th and 20th Centuries'' (Oxford: Berghahn, 2010) p. 41 It was founded by publisher ...

'', Vol. 32–34, pp437–440, 455–457, 468–470 In 1814 he returned to Germany, visiting

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

where he briefly met

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

; it was probably during this visit to Germany that he bought the manuscripts of

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's ten last

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

s, from the music publisher

Johann Anton André Johann Anton André (6 October 1775 – 6 April 1842) was a German composer and music publisher of the Classical period, best known for his central place in Mozart research. Life Born in Offenbach am Main, André wrote operas, symphonies, mass ...

. They remained in his possession during his lifetime.Preface

Alfred Einstein Alfred Einstein (December 30, 1880February 13, 1952) was a German-American musicologist and music editor. He was born in Munich, and fled Nazi Germany after Adolf Hitler, Hitler's ''Machtergreifung'', arriving in the United States by 1939. He is b ...

, W. A. Mozart, ''The Ten Celebrated String Quartets'', Courier Corporation, 2013, accessed 20 November 2015.Johann Andreas Stumpff
Pamela J. Willetts, ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' was an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer's Musical Times and Singing Circular'', but in 1844 he sold it to Alfr ...

'' Vol. 118, No. 1607 (January 1977), p29, accessed 20 November 2015. Stumpff furthered his acquaintance with Goethe, meeting him in 1824 when he gave him presents of editions of Goethe's works, and again in 1829, when he spent every evening for a week in his company. Stumpff read aloud to Goethe his poem about a steam engine, ''Der Kampf der Elemente'' (''The Battle of the Elements''); Goethe published this and other poems by Stumpff in the Weimar literary periodical ''Chaos''. Stumpff visited

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. ...

in 1824, and Andreas Streicher gave him a letter of recommendation to

. Stumpff had a cordial meeting with him, during which it was clear that England was occupying the composer's thoughts. "Beethoven had an exaggerated opinion of London, and its highly cultured inhabitants", he wrote. Beethoven said to him, "England stands high in culture. In London everybody knows something and knows it well, but the man of Vienna can only talk of eating and drinking, and sings and pounds away at music of little significance or of his own making."Nettl, Paul. "Stumpff, Joseph Andreas". ''Beethoven Encyclopedia''. Philosophical Library, New York. 1956. In 1826 Stumpff sent Beethoven Samuel Arnold's 40-volume edition of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

's complete works. Beethoven thanked him in a letter of 8 February 1827, in which he also wrote that he was ill and unable to write a note of music, and was in financial difficulty. Stumpff obtained from the

Royal Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...

an advance of money for Beethoven, informing the composer of this in a letter of 1 March; however the help was too late, as Beethoven died on 26 March of that year.

Death

Johann Andreas Stumpff died in London in 1846.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stumpff, Johann Andreas 1769 births 1846 deaths Piano makers Harp makers People from Ruhla British musical instrument makers German musical instrument makers German emigrants to England