Ignaz von Seyfried

Ignaz von Seyfried, lithograph by Joseph Kriehuber , 1829

Ignaz Ritter von Seyfried (born August 15, 1776 in Vienna ; † August 26, 1841 there ) was an Austrian conductor and stage composer .

Life

According to the information in his handwritten memoirs, Seyfried was on the one hand a piano student of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Jan Antonín Koželuh and on the other hand a composition student of Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Peter von Winter . He died on August 26, 1841.

From 1797 to 1801 he was Kapellmeister of the Schikaneder Theater in the Freihaus and until 1828 of the subsequent Theater an der Wien . He also conducted the world premiere of Beethoven's Fidelio .

Seyfried was also known to his contemporaries as a music theorist and taught, among others, Wilhelm Reuling , Franz von Suppè and Salomon Sulzer . Great notoriety gained Ludwig van Beethoven Studies in basso continuo, counterpoint and in the Compositionslehre issued 1,832 handwritten using a manuscript miscellany of Beethoven's estate, which Seyfried. Gustav Nottebohm , however, described the studies in 1872 as a forgery on the basis of a comparison with the sources, since Seyfried, contrary to his own statements, intervened in a strongly changing manner and made no effort at all to reproduce his templates accurately.

On the other hand, Seyfried's biographical sketch , published in the appendix to the studies , was and continues to be of great value as it contains everything that is known to be guaranteed about Beethoven's living conditions. In 1877, at the same time as Nottebohm's general judgment, Ludwig Nohl emphasized that Seyfried was a reliable witness in this regard due to his close acquaintance with Beethoven, and that recent literature also recognizes his statements about Beethoven as being of great biographical value.

Seyfried composed over a hundred works for the stage, including operas , singspiele , ballets and melodramas , as well as numerous sacred works - masses , motets , requiems , psalms , hymns , oratorios - as well as symphonies , overtures and chamber music works. On the occasion of the performance of Mozart's Requiem at the funeral service for Ludwig van Beethoven , he composed a Libera me that does not belong to the liturgical texts of the Missa pro defunctis ; it takes up themes from Mozart's work.

Fonts

Ludwig van Beethoven's studies in figured bass, contrapoint and composition theory. Collected and edited from his handwritten estate,
- 1st ed. Haslinger, Vienna 1832, 20 + 352 + 144 pp.
- 2nd edition, revised and completed, ed. by Henry Hugo Pierson, Schuberth, Leipzig 1852, 14 + 328 + 118 S. ( MDZ ).
- see: Gustav Nottebohm : Beethoven's manuscripts relating to figured bass and composition theory and Seyfried's book “Ludwig van Beethoven's studies in figured bass” etc. In: Beethoveniana. Leipzig: Peters 1872, pp. 154–203 ( Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).

The Kalkant. Historical-romantic story from the 17th century Century. In: Orpheus. Musical paperback. Vol. 2, ed. by August Schmidt, Vienna 1841, pp. 117–141 ( books.google.de ).

literature

Constantin von Wurzbach : Seyfried, Ignaz Ritter von . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 34th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1877, pp. 176–188 ( digitized version ).
Hans Michael Schletterer: Seyfried, Ignaz von . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 34, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1892, pp. 113-116.
Bettina von Seyfried: Ignaz Ritter von Seyfried. Thematic-bibliographical index - aspects of biography and work . Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1990, ISBN 3-8204-9198-8 .
Ch. Fastl: Seyfried Ignaz von. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 12, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2001-2005, ISBN 3-7001-3580-7 , p. 209 f. (Direct links on p. 209 , p. 210 ).
Marion Brück: Seyfried, Ignaz Xaver (sic!) Ritter von. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 24, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2010, ISBN 978-3-428-11205-0 , p. 299 f. ( Digitized version ).
Harald Strebel: An unknown letter from Johann Friedrich Rochlitz to the Mozart student Ignaz von Seyfried and their correspondence in the light of contemporary music criticism and concert practice. In: Mozart Studies , Volume 19, ed. by Manfred Hermann Schmid. Schneider Tutzing, 2010, pp. 2-56.
Beethoven: The Seyfried Papers. Reproduction and transcription of the autograph manuscripts for biographical notes and character traits & anecdotes with synopsis. BoD, Norderstedt, 2019. ISBN 978-3-748-16746-4 .

Web links

Media from and about Ignaz von Seyfried in the catalog of the German National Library
Works by and about Ignaz von Seyfried in the German Digital Library
Sheet music and audio files by Ignaz von Seyfried in the International Music Score Library Project
List of the stage works by Ignaz von Seyfried based on the MGG at Operone

Individual evidence

↑ The Musical Postillion , page 152 .
↑ "I have therefore rather tried with the most conscientious loyalty to give everything exactly and thus in order as I found it; yes, even keep the author's own words and expressions ”(Seyfried, Ludwig van Beethovens Studien ... , 2nd ed., SV)
↑ “The very opposite of what Seyfried says is true. Seyfried made no effort at all to reproduce his models accurately; he has neither reproduced them exactly nor completely, he has changed 'the author's own words and expressions' for the most part […] has included wrong things, added marginal glosses and left out important things. So, viewed in detail, his book cannot claim to be authentic. The studies are not authentic, not a changeling, but a fake work "(Nottebohm. Basso and composition manuscripts concerned Beethoven and Seyfried's book" Ludwig van Beethoven Studies in basso "etc. In: Beethoveniana , Leipzig: Peters 1872, p 154 –203, especially p. 203)
↑ "The above biographical sketch contains everything that is known and guaranteed to be true about the revered master's living conditions" ( Henry Hugh Pierson [ed.], Ludwig van Beethoven's studies in figured bass, contrapoint and in the theory of composition , 2nd, revised a. Edition completed in the text, Lpz./Hbg./New York 1853, appendix, p. 11)
↑ Ludwig Nohl, Beethoven based on the descriptions of his contemporaries , 1877
↑ "(Seyfried's) personal character was inviolable ... The unfavorable light which ... fell on him as the editor of the so-called studies of Beethoven, does not fall on the actual reports on actual things ... and the section which is here from the appendix to the 'Studies' is communicated… bears all the characteristics of a truthful report from the writer's own memory ”( Alexander Wheelock Thayer , Ludwig van Beethovens Leben , 1907/17)
↑ "(Seyfried's) statements about Beethoven are of great biographical value" (Marc Honegger, Günther Massenkeil (ed.): Das große Lexikon der Musik. Volume 7: Randhartinger - Stewart. Updated special edition. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau et al. 1987, ISBN 3-451-20948-9 .)
↑ “His communications about Beethoven are of great value ... the appendix to (the studies ) is still very much appreciated today because of the many communications about Beethoven ... It contains 'biographical notes' that were irrelevant for the Bonn period, but for Beethoven's work in Vienna is valuable "( Theodor von Frimmel , Beethoven Handbuch , 1926)

personal data
SURNAME	Seyfried, Ignaz von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Seyfried, Ignaz Ritter von (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Austrian composer and conductor
DATE OF BIRTH	August 15, 1776
PLACE OF BIRTH	Vienna
DATE OF DEATH	August 26, 1841
Place of death	Vienna

[1] The Musical Postillion , page 152 .

[2] "I have therefore rather tried with the most conscientious loyalty to give everything exactly and thus in order as I found it; yes, even keep the author's own words and expressions ”(Seyfried, Ludwig van Beethovens Studien ... , 2nd ed., SV)

[3] “The very opposite of what Seyfried says is true. Seyfried made no effort at all to reproduce his models accurately; he has neither reproduced them exactly nor completely, he has changed 'the author's own words and expressions' for the most part […] has included wrong things, added marginal glosses and left out important things. So, viewed in detail, his book cannot claim to be authentic. The studies are not authentic, not a changeling, but a fake work "(Nottebohm. Basso and composition manuscripts concerned Beethoven and Seyfried's book" Ludwig van Beethoven Studies in basso "etc. In: Beethoveniana , Leipzig: Peters 1872, p 154 –203, especially p. 203)

[4] "The above biographical sketch contains everything that is known and guaranteed to be true about the revered master's living conditions" ( Henry Hugh Pierson [ed.], Ludwig van Beethoven's studies in figured bass, contrapoint and in the theory of composition , 2nd, revised a. Edition completed in the text, Lpz./Hbg./New York 1853, appendix, p. 11)

[5] Ludwig Nohl, Beethoven based on the descriptions of his contemporaries , 1877

[6] "(Seyfried's) personal character was inviolable ... The unfavorable light which ... fell on him as the editor of the so-called studies of Beethoven, does not fall on the actual reports on actual things ... and the section which is here from the appendix to the 'Studies' is communicated… bears all the characteristics of a truthful report from the writer's own memory ”( Alexander Wheelock Thayer , Ludwig van Beethovens Leben , 1907/17)

[7] "(Seyfried's) statements about Beethoven are of great biographical value" (Marc Honegger, Günther Massenkeil (ed.): Das große Lexikon der Musik. Volume 7: Randhartinger - Stewart. Updated special edition. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau et al. 1987, ISBN 3-451-20948-9 .)

[8] “His communications about Beethoven are of great value ... the appendix to (the studies ) is still very much appreciated today because of the many communications about Beethoven ... It contains 'biographical notes' that were irrelevant for the Bonn period, but for Beethoven's work in Vienna is valuable "( Theodor von Frimmel , Beethoven Handbuch , 1926)