Joseph Labitzky ( cs, Josef Labický; 4 July 1802 in
Krásno – 18 August 1881 in
Karlovy Vary
Karlovy Vary (; german: Karlsbad, formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 46,000 inhabitants. It lies on the confluence of the rivers Ohře and Teplá. ...
) was a Bohemian composer, violinist, and
conductor. He studied with Karl Veit in his youth. Labitzky joined a traveling orchestra at age 14, and in 1820 took a position in an orchestra in
Marienbad. In 1823-24 he was in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
, and following this he toured Germany as a concert violinist. He put together his own orchestra in 1825, touring Vienna and Warsaw. He took a conducting position in
Karlsbad in 1835, and his dance pieces became quite popular throughout Europe, including England. He was involved in "Cocks vs Purday", a British court case concerning copyright.
Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the English Courts of Common Law
/ref> He was the father of August Labitzky
August Labitzky (22 October 1832, Petschau – 29 August 1903, Bad Reichenhall) was a Bohemian composer and kapellmeister
(, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" desi ...
. Labitzky composed 300 dance pieces.
He was overshadowed by Johann Strauss
Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...
later in his life.
Selected works
* ''L'adieu: Romance sans paroles'' for viola and piano, Op.286 (1872)
References
* Andrew Lamb, "Joseph Labitzky". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
''. London: Macmillan, 2001.
Web sources
External links
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1802 births
1881 deaths
People from Krásno (Sokolov District)
German Bohemian people
Composers from the Austrian Empire
Composers from Austria-Hungary
Romantic composers
19th-century classical composers
19th-century conductors (music)
19th-century violinists
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