Carl Ludwig Lithander

Carl Ludwig Lithander (born February 6, 1773 in Röiks , † December 17, 1843 in Greifswald ) was a Finnish-Swedish musician and composer.

Life

Carl Ludwig Lithander was the eldest son of the Lutheran pastor Johan Lithander, who looked after a Swedish-speaking congregation in the Estonian governorate , and Kristina Hollming. He and his ten siblings received musical training from their father. After their parents died, the children went to live with relatives in Stockholm and Turku. Because of the Russo-Swedish War , they had to travel via Riga and Königsberg . Carl Ludwig Lithander enrolled at the Albertus University in Königsberg on June 4, 1789 . From October 1790 he attended Uppsala University . On September 24, 1791 he became a cadet of fortification. In 1792 he went to the Stockholm Fortification Brigade as a conductor. In Stockholm he stayed for some time with his uncle, the tax lawyer Daniel Lithander.

In 1795 he passed the exam as a fortification officer and published his first piano compositions and variations at the same time . From 1798 Lithander taught mathematics in his troop and from 1799 as an adjunct at the Karlberg Military Academy. From 1807 he taught geometry and perspective representation at an art academy. During this time he became known as a pianist and violinist . Music was played in large societies initiated by Margareta Cronstedt, the wife of the governor of Karlberg Palace and daughter of the founder of the music academy, Patrick Alströmer. In 1812 he was promoted to lieutenant.

For health reasons and in order to be able to devote himself entirely to music, he went abroad in 1814 and published several piano works and other pieces in London by 1818. Lithander gave music lessons and socialized. He gave concerts in Copenhagen and various Prussian cities. At times his family accompanied him on his travels. From 1821 and 1824 he stayed in Berlin . In 1824 he was a lecturer for organ at the Stockholm Academia Musika. On the recommendation of General Music Director Gaspare Spontini , he got a job as music director and organist in Greifswald, where he settled after 1824 and worked until the end of his life. He was buried in the old cemetery .

plant

The piano sonatas in C major and in F sharp minor are considered to be the most important works by Lithander. He also composed two operas, of which Lantara can be described as the first Finnish opera ever. Lithander was considered one of the most progressive early romantic composers. He expanded the forms and structures of the Viennese Classic and paved the way for composers of the Romantic era such as Franz Berwald .

family

Carl Ludwig's brothers Ernst Gabriel (1774–1803) and Fredrik Immanuel Lithander (1777–1823) were also musicians and composers.

Carl Ludwig Lithander was married to Eva Theresia Berndtsson (born February 15, 1775 in Sala; † 1843 in Greifswald). Her two daughters, the twins Carolina (1807) and Eva Lithander (1807-1830) were very musically gifted and accompanied their father to concerts on the piano and with singing.

literature

• Bertil Van Boer: Historical Dictionary of Music of the Classical Period. Scarecrow Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-7183-0 , pp. 346-347.
• Ruth-Esther Hillila, Barbara Blanchard Hong: Historical Dictionary of the Music and Musicians of Finland. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1997, ISBN 978-0-313-27728-3 , pp. 231-232.
• Alfhild Forslin: Carl Ludvig Lithander . In: Svenskt biografiskt lexikon . Volume 23 (1980-1981), pages 739f.

Web links

• Literature by and about Carl Ludwig Lithander in the catalog of the German National Library

• Literature about Carl Ludwig Lithander in the state bibliography MV

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Seija Lappalainen: From Bernhard Henrik Crusell to Fredrik Pacius. Finnish music from the late 18th century to the late 19th century. (No longer available online.) 1999, archived from the original on March 10, 2016 ; accessed on March 10, 2016 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ FIMIC: Finnish Opera - now on the Internet ( Memento from February 13, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )