Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (22 October 17875 February 1836) was an Austrian

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

. He is best known for his close friendship with the composer

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

Biography

Mayrhofer was born in

Steyr Steyr (; ) is a statutory city (Austria), statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd lar ...

, Austria, educated at

Novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

in St. Florian's Priory,

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

. In 1810 he began to study

jurisprudence Jurisprudence, also known as theory of law or philosophy of law, is the examination in a general perspective of what law is and what it ought to be. It investigates issues such as the definition of law; legal validity; legal norms and values ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, both of which courses he finished. He worked as a censor at the Zentral-Bücher-Revisions-Amt in Vienna. In 1814 he met the young composer

and his friends (

Joseph von Spaun Joseph Freiherr von Spaun (November 11, 1788November 25, 1865) was an Austrian nobleman, an Imperial and Royal Councillor, lottery director, and honorary citizen of Vienna and Cieszyn. He is best known for his friendship with the composer Franz S ...

, Franz von Schober). From 1818 to 1821 he lived with Schubert in a one-room apartment in a house on Wipplingerstrasse 4. After Schubert moved out, he wrote the poem "An Franz" for him: You love me! Deeply I have felt it, You faithful boy, tender and good; So steel yourself, beautifully bound, The noble, youthful courage! However life presses on, We hear the kindred sounds. Most scholars agree that he was homosexual. Mayrhofer wrote much lyric poetry and published it in 1824. Forty-seven Schubert songs and two of his operas (''

Die Freunde von Salamanka ''Die Freunde von Salamanka'' D. 326, is an 1815 Singspiel in two acts by Franz Schubert to a libretto by Johann Mayrhofer. The opera is set at the beginning of the 19th century in Salamanca, Spain. It consists of an overture and eighteen number ...

'' and ''

Adrast Franz Schubert's best-known music for the theatre is his incidental music for ''Rosamunde''. Less successful were his many opera and Singspiel projects. On the other hand, some of his most popular Lieder, like "Gretchen am Spinnrade," were based o ...

)'' are based on texts by Mayrhofer. In 1829 he published his ''Memories of Franz Schubert'' in the journal ''Neues Archiv für Geschichte'', through which some remarkable information about Schubert and his circle of friends have been handed down. Mayrhofer was a hypochondriac all his life: in 1836, during a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic, he committed suicide by jumping from the window of his office in Vienna.

Libretti

* ''Die Freunde von Salamanca'' (1815) * ''Adrast'' (1819)

Works

Edition 1824
*

Ernst von Feuchtersleben Baron Ernst von Feuchtersleben (full name: Ernst Maria Johann Karl ''Freiherr'' von Feuchtersleben; 29 April 18063 September 1849), was an Austrian physician, poet and philosopher. He was a member of the von Feuchtersleben family. Life He was bo ...

’
Edition 1843

References

* Davidson, Michael; Hillenaar, Henk (2008), ''Schubert and Mayrhofer''. London 2008. * Dürhammer, Ilija (March 1997), " 'Was ich gefühlt, hast Du gesungen' – Neue Dokumente zu Johann Mayrhofers Leben und Schaffen", ''Mitteilungen der österreichischen Gesellschaft für Musikwissenschaft'' 31, pp. 13–45. * Dürhammer, Ilija (1999), ''Schuberts literarische Heimat. Dichtung und Literatur-Rezeption der Schubert-Freunde''. Vienna, Cologne, Weimar. * Michael Kohlhäufl (1999), ''Poetisches Vaterland. Dichtung und politisches Denken im Freundeskreis Franz Schuberts''. Kassel 1999. * List, Fritz (1921), ''Johann Mayrhofer, ein Freund und Textdichter Franz Schuberts''. Munich 1921. Print: Nittenau: Kangler:

991 Year 991 (Roman numerals, CMXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events * March 1: In Rouen, Pope John XV ratifies the first Peace and Truce of God, Truce of God, between Æthelred the Unready and Richard I o ...

226 Bl. * Lorenz, Michael (2000), "Dokumente zur Biographie Johann Mayrhofers", ''Schubert durch die Brille'' 25, June 2000, 21–50. * Norman McKay, Elizabeth: "Schubert and Classical Opera: The promise of ''Adrast''", Erich Wolfgang Partsch (ed.): ''Der vergessene Schubert: Franz Schubert auf der Bühne''. Böhlau, Wien 1997, , p. 61–76. * Rabenlechner, Michael Maria (1938), ''Johann Mayrhofers Gedichte mit einem Lebensbild des Dichters''. Wiener Bibliophilen-Gesellschaft 1938. * Steblin, Rita (2001), "Schubert’s Problematic Relationship with Johann Mayrhofer: New Documentary Evidence". ''Essays on Music and Culture in Honor of Herbert Kellman'', 2001, 465–495. * Youens, Susan (1999), ''Schubert’s Poets and the Making of Lieder''. Cambridge University Press 1999.

External links

"Mayrhofer, Johann"
in Constant von Wurzbach: ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich''. Vol. 17. Verlag L. C. Zamarski, Vienna 1856–1891, 186–190 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayrhofer, Johann Poets from the Austrian Empire People from Steyr Austrian opera librettists Franz Schubert 1787 births 1836 deaths 1830s suicides Suicides in the Austrian Empire

Biography

Libretti

Works

References

Further reading

External links