Hofkapellmeister
The Hofkapellmeister was a high musical office at European royal and princely courts from around the 15th century (Innsbruck, Kassel). It gained increasing importance around the middle of the 18th century, when the new pre-classical style encouraged many art-loving princes to keep a court orchestra or to expand the existing one.
In many cases , the Kapellmeister were also active as composers . Examples of this are Johann Sebastian Bach as court conductor at Prince Leopold von Anhalt-Köthen , or Joseph Haydn as chief conductor at the court of Prince Nikolaus Esterházy .
Area of responsibility
The task of a court music director was not only to lead the court orchestra (or chamber music ), but also to watch over the personal life of the court musicians and to orchestrate pieces of music appropriately .
Since not all artists for management and leadership are capable of some Hofkapellmeister suffered greatly under the supervision of his musicians. Until around 1800 these were de facto serfs of their employer and had to prove a solid lifestyle, to participate in all rehearsals, often to play several concerts a week or at evening parties - and this often at very short notice or even when sick.
Mozart , who had served as concertmaster for Prince-Bishop Hieronymus von Colloredo in Salzburg , was one of the first to successfully attempt to work as a freelance artist when he moved to Vienna. The custom of the visiting conductor , which is common today , did not emerge until the 19th century.
A court conductor usually also had the job of a music teacher for the young aristocrats . Nationally known masters were sometimes also members of the respective academy .
In some areas, the position of former court music directors (or some court composers) can be compared with that of today's general music directors . Recognized masters were mostly sought-after teachers and thus had an influence on society beyond their art. Nevertheless, some in the court hierarchy were assigned to the auxiliary staff, for example at the court of the Salzburg prince archbishops .
Well-known court orchestra
One of the first orchestras known throughout Europe was that of Emperor Maximilian in Innsbruck , where Heinrich Isaac worked for a long time . The Braunschweig State Orchestra, founded as a ducal chapel in 1587, or the Munich court orchestra , which gained fame under Ludwig Senfl and above all Orlando di Lasso, came into being a little later . In the field of church music, the papal chapel under the direction of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was of primary importance. In England , Nicholas Lanier was appointed Master of the King's Music in 1626 .
From 1700, an increasing number of royal courts had an influence on the stylistic development of music, including:
- the royal and princely courts of London , Paris , Florence , Vienna , Dresden , Braunschweig and Berlin ,
- the Palatinate Kurfürstenhof in Mannheim , whose particularly innovative court orchestra and its Mannheim school significantly enriched the pre-classical period (see also Mannheim rocket )
- as well as special music lovers, like the aforementioned Prince Esterházy ( Eisenstadt and Hungary ) and his decades-long music director Haydn.
Important court orchestras such as the Meiningen court orchestra have been preserved as the state orchestra to the present day .
Development in the 19th century
Towards the end of the 19th century the importance of the court orchestra slowly declined - although some royal courts still have their own today. With the founding period , the development of art increasingly passed to public institutions, for which numerous concert halls and halls were built (see also music association and music director ).
Today, instead of the now rare court music director, new forms have emerged in which famous conductors can also look after several orchestras from a country in loose succession, or several labels in the music industry. The former position of court composer, on the other hand, was only able to hold onto as composer in residence .
Well-known court composers
Before a detailed list exists,
see the list of well-known court composers
