Joseph Maria Wolfram (21 July 1789 – 30 September 1839) was a German-Czech politician and amateur composer who wrote operas which were performed with success.

Biography

Wolfram was born on 21 July 1789 in

Dobřany Dobřany (; ) is a town in Plzeň-South District in the Plzeň Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,500 inhabitants. It is known for a large psychiatric hospital. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an urban mon ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. He first studied philosophy at the Karls-Universität in Prague, but also harmony with Leopold Koželuch. He went to Vienna to study piano under

Joseph Drechsler Joseph Drechsler (26 May 1782 – 27 February 1852) was an Austrian organist, teacher, composer and conductor; in Vienna he was organist and choirmaster at several churches, and theatre conductor and composer of incidental music. Life Drechsler wa ...

and taught music there from 1811. Quitting music as a profession in 1813, he became a government official at Theusing, and eventually worked his way up to the mayor of

Teplice Teplice (, until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; , ''Teplitz-Schönau'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 51,000 inhabitants. It is the most populous Czech spa town, followed by Karlovy Vary. The historic city cen ...

in 1824. He wrote several operas which became popular. Such was the popularity of his opera ''Alfred'' that when a replacement for

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and Music criticism, critic in the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Best known for List of operas by Carl Maria von Weber, h ...

in the position of

kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

was needed, Wolfram was among those contemplated. He died in Teplice.

Works

Wolfram's best-known works are his operas. ''Der Diamant'' was first produced in Teplice around 1820. Two of his operas, ''Herkules'' and ''Maja und Alpino, oder die bezauberte Rose,'' were both produced in Dresden in 1826, while the latter was also produced in Prague that year. This same year saw the first production of ''Alfred.'' In 1828, again in Dresden, his opera ''Die Normannen in Sicilien'' was performed. The next year saw the production of ''Prinz Lieschen.'' ''Der Bergmönch'' followed in 1830, first produced in Dresden on March 14. ''Das Schloss Candra'' was first performed in 1832, also in Dresden. The final opera, ''Wittekind'', was produced in 1838. In addition to his operas, he wrote a wedding mass, a Requiem, and a collection of Serbian songs. He also composed instrumental music, including string quartets and piano sonatas. A concerted effort to collect and catalog the operas of Wolfram was headed by Tomáš Spurný.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfram, Joseph Maria 1789 births 1839 deaths Classical-period composers Politicians from the Austrian Empire Composers from the Austrian Empire People from Dobřany Charles University alumni German Bohemian people Mayors of Teplice