Joseph Merk (composer)

Joseph Merk, lithograph by Josef Kriehuber , 1829

Joseph Merk , also Josef Merk (born March 15, 1795 in Vienna ; † June 16, 1852 in Döbling ) was an Austrian composer and cellist .

Life

As the son of a wealthy family, he enjoyed thorough musical training in singing, guitar and violin from an early age . He developed a particular preference for the cello , in which he was taught by Philipp Schindlöcker . At the age of 18 he was already employed in the court opera orchestra. Soon this was followed by an appointment as a member of the court orchestra and in 1834 as a chamber virtuoso . As early as 1823 he was appointed professor for violoncello at the Conservatory of the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna . Successful concert tours have taken him to Italy and Germany.

The focus of his work, however, remained Vienna, where his solid lessons produced some outstanding cellists (the most famous were Leopold Böhm and Anton Träger ).

Merk was friends with Franz Schubert and Frédéric Chopin . Chopin dedicated the Polonaise in C major op. 3 for piano and violoncello to him in 1828, and Schubert wrote the vocal quartet “Geist der Liebe” in 1822 especially for a concert by Merk.

As a composer, he mainly wrote pieces for the cello, but these were not very successful. Its importance lies in teaching and developing performance practice.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Merk, Joseph . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 17th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1867, p. 396 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Th. Antonicek:  Merk Josef. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 6, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1975, ISBN 3-7001-0128-7 , p. 230.

Web links

Commons : Joseph Merk  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Works by and about Joseph Merk in the catalog of the German National Library
• Joseph Merk , Celloheaven