Franz Xaver Süssmayr (German: ''Franz Xaver Süßmayr'', or ''Suessmayr'' in English; 1766 – September 17, 1803) was an Austrian composer and conductor. Popular in his day, he is now known primarily as the composer who completed

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

's unfinished Requiem. In addition, there have been performances of Süssmayr's operas at

Kremsmünster Kremsmünster is a town in Kirchdorf an der Krems District, in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. Settled in 777, it is home to the Kremsmünster Abbey. The Abbey was founded 777 by Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria and is one of the oldest abbeys o ...

, and his secular political cantata (1796), ''Der Retter in Gefahr'', SmWV 302, received its first full performance in over 200 years in June 2012 in a new edition by Mark Nabholz, conducted by Terrence Stoneberg. There are also CD recordings of his unfinished

clarinet concerto A clarinet concerto is a concerto for clarinet; that is, a musical composition for solo clarinet together with a large ensemble (such as an orchestra or concert band). Albert Rice has identified a work by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli as possibly th ...

(completed by Michael Freyhan), one of his German requiems, and his Missa Solemnis in D.

Works

His works include the following: * Two masses (SmWV 101–102) * Two requiems (SmWV 103–104) * Seven offertories (SmWV 112–115, 117–119, 123, 125, 144–145, 156) * A gradual (SmWV 143) * Psalms * A magnificat * Hymns * ''Agonia e morte di Mozart'' (fantasia for piano) * ''Nicht mehr als sechs Schüsseln'' (SmWV 205) * ''Moses oder der Auszug aus Ägypten'' (SmWV 209) * ''Der Spiegel von Arkadien'' (SmWV 213) * ''List und Zufall'' (SmWV 224) Of special note may be the clarinet concerto (SmWV 501) he most probably wrote for Mozart's clarinetist

Anton Stadler Anton Paul Stadler (28 June 1753, in Bruck an der Leitha – 15 June 1812, in Vienna) was an Austrian clarinet and basset horn player for whom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote, amongst others, both his Clarinet Quintet (K 581) and Clarinet Concer ...

, because it was scored for the

basset clarinet , french: clarinette de basset; it, clarinetto di bassetto; , classification = Aerophon, clarinet-family , hornbostel_sachs = , hornbostel_sachs_desc = , inventors = Theodor Lotz and others , developed = aroun ...

. Recordings of the work by

Dieter Klöcker Dieter Klöcker (13 April 1936, Wuppertal – 21 May 2011, Freiburg im Breisgau) was a German clarinetist known for rediscovering many forgotten composers of the 18th century. Specifically forgotten music of the clarinet. From 1975 to 2002, Kl ...

(on

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (), was a German polymath who was a writer, philosopher, poet, aristocrat and mystic. He is regarded as an idiosyncratic and influential figure of ...

) on "normal clarinet" and by

Thea King Dame Thea King DBE FRCM FGSM (26 December 1925 – 26 June 2007) was a British clarinettist. Biography Early life Thea King was born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, the daughter of Henry Walter Mayer King, the manager of his family engine ...

(on Hyperion) in a reconstructed version for basset clarinet by Michael Freyhan are available. In 2021 a completion appropriate for period basset clarinet was published by Craig Hill.

Ballet

* ', ballet by

Salvatore Viganò Salvatore Viganò (March 25, 1769 – August 10, 1821), was an Italian choreographer, dancer and composer. Viganò was born in Naples. He studied composition with Luigi Boccherini (his uncle) and by the mid-1780s was composing original music. ...

, premiered at La Scala on 25 April 1812. It gave an inspiration to

Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices fo ...

for creating ''Le Streghe'', Variations on a theme from the ballet ''Il noce di Benevento'' (Op. 8, 1813).

References

Sources

Books * * * * Articles * Freyhan, Michael: "Towards the Original Text of Mozart's Die Zauberflote" in ''

Journal of the American Musicological Society The ''Journal of the American Musicological Society'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal and an official journal of the American Musicological Society. It is published by University of California Press and covers all aspects of musicology. The ' ...

'', Summer 1986, no. 2, pp. 355–380 * Freyhan, Michael: "Rediscovery of the 18th Century Scores and Parts of 'Die Zauberflote' showing the Text Used at the Hamburg Premiere in 1793" in ''Mozart Jahrbuch 1997'', pp. 109–149 * Lorenz, Michael: "Süßmayr und die Lichterputzer. Von gefundenen und erfundenen Quellen", in ''Mozart Jahrbuch 2006'' Editions * Franz Xaver Süßmayr, ''Der Spiegel von Arkadien (Vienna, 1794),'' edited by David J. Buch
Recent Researches in the Music of the Classical Era, vols. 93–94
(Middleton, Wisconsin: A-R Editions, 2014)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sussmayr, Franz Xaver 1766 births 1803 deaths People from Schwanenstadt Austrian classical composers Austrian opera composers Male opera composers Austrian Classical-period composers Music copyists Pupils of Antonio Salieri 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis 19th-century male musicians Tuberculosis deaths in Austria