Johann(es) Simon Mayr (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr (14 June 1763 – 2 December 1845), was a German

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era. In 1805 he founded the Bergamo Conservatory. He was an early inspiration to

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano p ...

and taught and advocated for

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''bel canto'' opera ...

Life

He was born in Mendorf near Altmannstein, Landkreis Eichstätt,

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, and studied

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 Ingolstadt, continuing his studies in Italy from 1787. He was closely associated with the Illuminati of

Adam Weishaupt Johann Adam Weishaupt (; 6 February 1748 – 18 November 1830)''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'Vol. 41, p. 539van Dülmen, Richard. ''Der Geheimbund der Illuminaten''. Stuttgart: Frommann-Holzboog, 1975.Stauffer, Vernon. '' ew Englandand the B ...

while a student in Ingolstadt, and the ideals of the

French Enlightenment French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band) ...

were a strong influence on his philosophy as a musician as corroborated by his famed ''Zibaldone'' or "Notebooks" compiled toward the end of his career. Shortly thereafter, he took music lessons with Carlo Lenzi, and later with Ferdinando Bertoni. He moved to

Bergamo Bergamo ( , ; ) is a city in the Alps, alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from the alpine lakes Lake Como, Como and Lake Iseo, Iseo and 70 km (43 mi) from Lake Garda, Garda and Lake ...

in 1802 and was appointed ''

maestro di cappella ( , , ), 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 ...

'' at the Cathedral of Bergamo, succeeding his old teacher Lenzi. He held the post until his death, and became a central figure in the city's musical life, organizing concerts and introducing

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 ...

's music there. In 1805 he founded the Bergamo Conservatory; then known as the Lezioni Caritatevoli di Musica. One of his pupils at the conservatory was

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...

. By the end of his life, he was blind. He died in

and is buried in the

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome. The largest Marian church in Rome, it is ...

there, just in front of the tomb of his famous pupil. Mayr's works, among which there are almost seventy

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 ...

s, are rarely performed today.

Works

See List of compositions by Simon Mayr and List of operas by Simon Mayr

Recordings

*'' Ginevra di Scozia'' - Elizabeth Vidal (soprano); Daniela Barcellona (mezzo-soprano); Antonino Siragusa (tenor); Luca Grassi (baritone); Giuseppina Piunti (soprano); Marco Lazzara (countertenor); Orchestra del Teatro Verdi di Trieste; Tiziano Severini (conductor). Label:

Opera Rara Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don Whi ...

ORC23 *'' Fedra'' (Chiaudani, Nelsen, Zagorski, Lee; Schaller) OEHMS Classics 920 *''Verter'' (Herrmann, Gemmabella, Cicchetti, Salsi, Zarelli; Terracini). Bongiovanni GB 2343–4. *'' Medea in Corinto'' ( Eaglen, Kenny, Ford, Miles; Parry), Opera Rara ORC11 993* ''Konzert mit Schnitte von Werken von Johann Simon Mayr.'' Wilhelm Schmailzl, Karlskron

996 Year 996 ( CMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emperor Kazan. * 2 March: Emperor ...

* ''Samuele'' Fono-Schallplattengesellschaft, Laer 997* ''Grande messa da requiem'' Orchestra Stabile di Bergamo, Agora 997* ''Stabat Mater No.3 in C-minor'' Incontri Europei con la Musica, Bongiovanni

999 999 or triple nine most often refers to: * 999 (emergency telephone number), a telephone number for the emergency services in several countries * 999 (number), an integer * AD 999, a year * 999 BC, a year Media Books * 999 (anthology), ''99 ...

* ''Che Originali! ossia La Musicomania'' Georgisches Kammerorchester, Guild

* ''Mass in C-minor'' Guild 001* ''La Passione'' Kammerorchester Ingolstadt, Guild

002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to: Airports *0O2, Baker Airport *O02, Nervino Airport Astronomy *1996 OO2, the minor planet 7499 L'Aquila *1990 OO2, the asteroid 9175 Graun Fiction *002, fictional British 00 Agent *''002 Operazione Luna'' ...

* ''Atalia'' Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik Guild 003* ''Vespri per il Corpus Domini 1802'' Orchestra da Camera Milano Classica, Bongiovanni 004* ''Sisara'' Accademia I Filarmonici di Verona, Simon Mayr Chor conducted by Franz Hauk Guild GmbH 2004 * ''L'Armonia'' and ''Cantata for the Death of Beethoven''. Ingolstadt Georgian Chamber Orchestra and Simon Mayr Choir, Naxos

006 Alec Trevelyan is a fictional character who is the main antagonist in the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye,'' portrayed by actor Sean Bean. Bean's likeness was also used as the model for Alec Trevelyan in the 1997 video game '' GoldenEye 007' ...

*'' La Rosa Bianca e la Rosa Rossa'' ( Antonacci, Anselmi, Serraicocca, Canonici, Facini; Briccetti) Fonit Cetra RFCD 2007 * ''David in Spelunca Engaddi'', Naxos

008 008, OO8, O08, or 0O8 may refer to: * "008", a fictional 00 Agent In Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and the derived films, the 00 Section of MI6 is considered the secret service's elite. A 00 (pronounced "Double O") is a field agent who ho ...

* '' L'amor coniugale'', Naxos,

* '' Tobiae matrimonium'' Simon Mayr Chor + Ensemble, Naxos 009* '' Medea in Corinto'' Theater St. Gallen, Oehmsclassic 010* '' La Lodoiska'' Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Oehmsclassic 011* '' Amor ingegnoso'', Bongiovanni GB 2456-2 012* ''Samuele'', Naxos 012* ''Demetrio, Re di Siria'', Oehmsclassic 012* ''Innalzamento al trono del giovane re Gioas''. Cantata, Naxos 012* ''Il sagrifizio di Jefte'', Oratorio, Naxos 013* ''Piano Concerto in C-major'' * ''Ginevra di Scozia'', Oehmsclassic

014 014 may refer to: * Argus As 014 The Argus As 014 (designated 109-014 by the Ministry of Aviation (Germany), RLM) was a pulsejet engine used on the German V-1 flying bomb of World War II, and the first model of pulsejet engine placed in mass pr ...

* ''Gran messa di requiem in G-minor'', Naxos

015 015 may refer to: * 015, a telephone numbers in Malaysia, telephone number code in Malaysia * ''Global Underground 015'', DJ mix album by Darren Emerson * ''The Haunting of Tram Car 015'', 2019 novella by P. Djèlí Clark * JWH-015, chemical from t ...

* ''Messa di Gloria in E-minor'', Naxos

021 069 is: * in Brazil, the telephone area code for the city of Rio de Janeiro and surrounding cities (Greater Rio de Janeiro) * in China, the telephone area code for the city of Shanghai. * in Indonesia, the area code for the city of Jakarta and su ...

* ''Messa di Gloria in F-minor'', Naxos

* ''L'accademia di musica'', Naxos 022

References

;Sources * Heinrich Bauer: ''Simon Mayr 1763–1845, Meister der italienischen Oper aus der bayerischen Oberpfalz''. Munich: Bayer. Vereinsbank, 1983 * Franz Hauk: ''Johann Simon Mayr und Venedig''. (Munich: Katzbichler), 1999. - * John Stewart Allitt: ''Giovanni Simone Mayr: Vita, musica, pensiero''. (Villa di Serio (BG), Edizioni Villadiseriane), 1995 * Mahan Esfahani, ''Giovanni Simone Mayr's 'Ginevra di Scozia' and the Classical Aesthetic in Early Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera Seria''. (BA thesis, Stanford University), 2005

Film

* Martin Pfeil: ''Der vergessene Musiker: Johann Simon Mayer (1763–1845)''. INTV Media Ingolstadt, 1995 (VHS, 30 Min.)

External links

Simon-Mayr-Gesellschaft
* *
Simon Mayr Chor
* John A. Rice
"Gli Siiti: Voltaire's Play, Beretti's Ballet, Mayr's Opera"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayr, Johann Simon 1763 births 1845 deaths German Classical-period composers Italian people of German descent German opera composers German male opera composers People from Eichstätt (district) German Romantic composers 19th-century German classical composers 19th-century German male musicians 18th-century German composers