Sylvius Leopold Weiss (12 October 168716 October 1750) 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 ...

and

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

nist. Born in Grottkau near Breslau, the son of Johann Jacob Weiss, also a lutenist, Weiss was one of the most important and most prolific composers of lute music in history and one of the best-known and most technically accomplished lutenists of his day. In later life, Weiss became a friend of

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (22 November 17101 July 1784) was a German composer, organist and harpsichordist. He was the second child and eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. Despite his acknowledged genius as an improviser ...

and met J.S. Bach through him. Bach and Weiss were said to have competed in improvisation.

Life

Born in Grottkau near Breslau, the son of Johann Jacob Weiss, also a lutenist, he served at courts in Breslau,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

, where he died. Until recently, he was thought to have been born in 1686, but recent evidence suggests that he was in fact born the following year. Weiss was one of the most important and most prolific composers of lute music in history and one of the best-known and most technically accomplished lutenists of his day. He was a teacher to Philip Hyacinth, 4th Prince

Lobkowicz The House of Lobkowicz (''Lobkovicové'' in modern Czech, sg. ''z Lobkovic''; ''Lobkowitz'' in German) is an important Bohemian noble family that dates back to the 14th century and is one of the oldest noble families of the region. Over the ce ...

, and the prince's second wife Anna Wilhelmina Althan. In later life, Weiss became a friend of

and met J.S. Bach through him. Bach and Weiss were said to have competed in improvisation, as the following account by

Johann Friedrich Reichardt Johann Friedrich Reichardt (25 November 1752 – 27 June 1814) was a German composer, writer and music critic. Early life Reichardt was born in Königsberg, East Prussia, to lutenist and ''Stadtmusiker'' Johann Reichardt (1720–1780). Johann F ...

describes: "Anyone who knows how difficult it is to play harmonic modulations and good counterpoint on the lute will be surprised and full of disbelief to hear from eyewitnesses that Weiss, the great lutenist, challenged J.S. Bach, the great harpsichordist and organist, at playing fantasies and fugues." Sylvius Weiss's son Johann Adolph Faustinus Weiss succeeded him as a Saxon court lutenist. Weiss is buried at the Old Catholic Cemetery in Dresden, Saxony, Germany.

Works

Weiss probably wrote more than 1000 pieces for lute, from which about 850 attributed pieces survived, most of them grouped into '

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

s' (not to be confused with the later classical sonata, based on

sonata form The sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement form) is a musical form, musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of t ...

) or

suite Suite may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Suite (music), a set of musical pieces considered as one composition ** Suite (Bach), a list of suites composed by J. S. Bach ** Suite (Cassadó), a mid-1920s composition by Gaspar Cassadó ** ''Suite' ...

s, which consist mostly of baroque dance pieces. Weiss also wrote chamber pieces and

concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...

s, but only the solo parts have survived for most of them. His Sonatas 15 and 48 were the inspiration for the painting "The Fruit of the Soul II" by

Anelia Pavlova Anelia Pavlova (), also known as Annael, is a Bulgarian-born Australian artist. She was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1956, and in 1993 moved to Adelaide, South Australia. Her best known image is the Semillon label for the Semillon wine in the P ...

.''The Musicians''. Portland, Oregon: Pomegranate.

External links

*
Classical Composers DatabaseSilvius Leopold Weiss
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35112907/silvius_leopold-wei%C3%9F#source

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weiss, Sylvius Leopold 1687 births 1750 deaths People from Grodków Composers for lute German Baroque composers 18th-century German classical composers Lutenists from the Holy Roman Empire German male classical composers 18th-century German male musicians People from the Habsburg monarchy