Joseph Johann Baptist Woelfl (surname sometimes written in the German form Wölfl; 24 December 1773 – 21 May 1812) was an Austrian pianist and composer of the late Classical period.

Life

Joseph Woelfl Gedenktafel am Geburtshaus

Woelfl was born in

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

, where he studied music under

Leopold Mozart Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (November 14, 1719 – May 28, 1787) was a German composer, violinist, and music theorist. He is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook ''Versuch einer grün ...

and

Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 1737 – 10 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohra ...

. He first appeared in public as a soloist on the violin at the age of seven. Moving to

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 1790 he visited

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 ...

and may have taken lessons from him. His first

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, ''Der Höllenberg'', appeared there in 1795. Woelfl was very tall (over 6 feet), and with an enormous finger span (his hand could span a thirteenth, according to his contemporary

Václav Tomášek Václav Jan Křtitel Tomášek (in German: Wenzel Johann Tomaschek; 17 April 1774, Skuteč, Bohemia – 3 April 1850, Prague) was an Austrian-Bohemian, by other accounts a Czech composer and music teacher. He was known as the Musical Pope of Prag ...

); to his wide grasp of the keyboard he owed a facility of execution which he turned to good account, especially in his improvised performances. Like the virtuoso violinist Paganinni, he probably had

Marfan syndrome Marfan syndrome (MFS) is a multi-systemic genetic disorder that affects the connective tissue. Those with the condition tend to be tall and thin, with dolichostenomelia, long arms, legs, Arachnodactyly, fingers, and toes. They also typically ha ...

, which is associated with these physical characteristics. Although he dedicated his 1798 sonatas Op. 6 to

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 ...

, the two were rivals. Beethoven bested Woelfl in a piano 'duel' at the house of Baron Raimund Wetzlar in 1799, after which Woelfl's local popularity waned. However, Beethoven deeply admired his music following the duel. After spending 1801 to 1805 in Paris, Woelfl moved to London, where his first concert performance was on 27 May 1805. On 12 March 1806 he published ''Six English Songs'' which he dedicated to the English soprano

Jane Bianchi Jane Jackson became Jane Bianchi and later Jane Bianchi Lacy (1776 – 19 March 1858) was a British soprano singer in London and Oudh, India. She was also a good pianist, painter and linguist. Life Bianchi was born as Jane Jackson, the daught ...

. In England, he enjoyed commercial if not critical success. In 1808 he published his Sonata, Op. 41, which he entitled "

Non Plus Ultra (, , ) is a Latin phrase and the national motto of Spain. A reversal of the original phrase ''non plus ultra'' ("nothing further beyond"), said to have been inscribed as a warning on the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar (whic ...

" on account of its technical difficulty. In reply to the challenge, a sonata by

Dussek Jan Ladislav Dussek (baptized Jan Václav Dusík, Černušák, p. 271 with surname also written as Duschek or Düssek; 12 February 176020 March 1812) was a Czech classical period composer and virtuoso pianist. He was an important representative ...

which was originally entitled "" was reprinted with the title ''Plus Ultra'', with an ironic dedication to ''Non Plus Ultra''. He also completed for publication an unfinished sonata of George Pinto. Woelfl suffered from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, and died of the disease in Great Marylebone Street, London, on 21 May 1812. He is buried in St. Marylebone Churchyard. His music was championed and performed by Romantic composers like

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 ...

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include symphonie ...

, Chopin and

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

Recordings

Woelfl's works have long disappeared from the concert repertory. However, in 2003 four selected piano sonatas of his (Op. 25 and Op. 33) were recorded by the pianist Jon Nakamatsu (Harmonia Mundi CD # 907324). (An Adda CD in 1988 contained his three Opus 28 sonatas, played by

Laure Colladant Laure Colladant is a contemporary French fortepianist. Biography After starting her musical training at Boulogne-sur-Mer in Charles Eloffe's class, Colladant continued at the Conservatoire of Paris, then at the École normale de musique de Pari ...

, who also recorded the sonatas Opus 6 for Adès in 1993 and the three Opus 33 sonatas for the label Mandala in 1995.) In 2006, German pianist recorded Woelfl's piano concertos 1, 5 and 6 in addition to the second movement from the piano concerto 4, which was otherwise a re-release of concerto 1. The piano concertos closely resemble the later piano concertos of Mozart, who had pioneered the genre; they can be distinguished from Mozart's works by the larger range of the piano, which had been extended shortly after Mozart's death.

Nataša Veljković Nataša Veljković (born in Belgrade, 2.4.1968) is a Serbian pianist. She was trained under Arbo Valdma, Paul Badura-Skoda ( University of Music in Vienna, -1987), Rudolf Firkusny (Juilliard School, 1988–89) and Harry Datyner ( Geneva Cons ...

has since recorded the 2nd and 3rd Piano Concertos and the Concerto da Camera in E-flat major (1810) on CPO. There are also now recordings of the two symphonies (Pratum Integrum Orchestra, 2008), three string quartets (Quatuor Mosaïques, 2012), and the Grand Duo for cello and piano. Toccata Classics has issued two CDs of the piano music (2017 and 2021). In 2021, Dutch pianist Mattias Spee recorded an album with works by Joseph Woelfl with record label .

Works

Piano concertos

*Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 20 in G major (c. 1802–1803) *Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 26 in E major (published c. 1806) *Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 32 in F major *Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 36 in G major "The Calm" (published c.1808) *Piano Concerto No. 5, Op. 43 in C major "Grand Military Concerto" (1799?) *Piano Concerto No. 6, Op. 49 in D major "The Cuckoo" (published 1809)

Symphonies

*Symphony in G minor, Op. 40. Dedicated to

Luigi Cherubini Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethov ...

. This work is rather larger in dimensions (320+ bars in each of first movement and finale) than Woelfl's Op. 41. *Symphony in C major, Op. 41. Dedicated to

Johann Peter Salomon Johann Peter Salomon (20 February 1745 aptized– 25 November 1815) was a German violinist, composer, conducting, conductor and musical impresario. Although an accomplished violinist, he is best known for bringing Joseph Haydn to London a ...

. . *

IMSLP The International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP), also known as the Petrucci Music Library after publisher Ottaviano Petrucci, is a subscription-based digital library of public domain, public-domain sheet music, music scores. The project use ...

has an autograph manuscript of an 1807 Symphony No. 3 by Woelfl (in one movement, or one movement of a larger work). *A publication ca.1825 was made of 3 Grand Symphonies by Wölfl. (The British Library record does not give an opus number.) *The Moldenhauer archive has (in manuscript, though possibly not autograph) part of what is described as "J. Woelfl's 5th grand sinfonia: for full band".. Dated March 1808.

String quartets

*3 String Quartets, Op. 4, dedicated to Leopold Staudinger *String Quartets, Op. 5 (3 or more?) *6 String Quartets, Op. 10. Dedicated to Count Moritz Fries. *3 String Quartets, Op. 30. Dedicated to Mr. Bassi Guaita. *Six String Quartets, Op. 51. Published by Lavenu in London (British Library Holdings).

Operas

*''Der Höllenberg'' (

Theater auf der Wieden The Theater auf der Wieden, also called the Freihaus-Theater auf der Wieden or the Wiednertheater, was a theater located in the then-suburban Wieden district of Vienna in the late 18th century. It existed for only 14 years (1787–1801), but dur ...

1795), libretto by

Emanuel Schikaneder Emanuel Schikaneder (born Johann Joseph Schickeneder; 1 September 1751 – 21 September 1812) was a German impresario, dramatist, actor, singer, and composer. He wrote the libretto of Mozart's opera ''Die Zauberflöte'' and was the builder of th ...

*''Das schöne Milchmädchen, oder Der Guckkasten'' (1797) *''Der Kopf ohne Mann'' (1798) *''Liebe macht kurzen Prozess, oder Heirat auf gewisse Art'' (1798) *''Das trojanische Pferd'' (1799) *''L'Amour romanesque'' (1804) *''Fernando, ou Les maures'' (1805)

Other works

*68 Sonatas for the piano, several sonatas for piano and violin, 18 piano trios, and some 4-hands music *Grand Duo in D minor for Pianoforte and Violoncello, Op. 31, dedicated to Madame Hollander *

Clarinet concerto A clarinet concerto is a concerto for clarinet; that is, a musical composition for solo clarinet together with a large ensemble (such as an orchestra or concert band). Albert Rice has identified a work by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli as possibly th ...

in B major (premiered 1796) * Variations, Rondoós, German dances...

References

External links

*
Joseph Woelf biography
St Marylebone Parish Church

OperaGlass,

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

* *
Eclipse, Vol. 1: Joseph Wölfl (SACD) • Mattias Spee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woelfl, Joseph 1773 births 1812 deaths 18th-century Austrian musicians 18th-century Austrian male musicians 19th-century Austrian male musicians 18th-century Austrian classical composers 19th-century Austrian classical composers 18th-century classical pianists 19th-century Austrian classical pianists Austrian Classical-period composers Austrian opera composers Austrian male opera composers Composers for piano Austrian string quartet composers Burials at St Marylebone Parish Church Composers from Salzburg Austrian male classical pianists Expatriates in France Austrian expatriates in the United Kingdom Composers from the Austrian Empire People from the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg