Franz Xaver Süssmayr or Süßmayr (; 1766 – September 17, 1803), also anglicized as Suessmayr, was an Austrian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and conductor. Popular in his day, he is now known primarily as the composer who completed

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's unfinished Requiem. In addition, there have been performances of Süssmayr's operas at Kremsmünster, 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: * String Trio in D Minor (SmWV 613) * 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) * ''Soliman oder die drei Sultaninnen'' (SmWV 219).

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

used a theme from this opera for his Variations on 'Tändeln und Scherzen', WoO 76. Of special note may be the clarinet concerto (SmWV 501) he most probably wrote for Mozart's clarinetist Anton Stadler, because it was scored for the basset clarinet. Recordings of the work by Dieter Klöcker (on

Novalis Georg Philipp Friedrich Freiherr von Hardenberg (2 May 1772 – 25 March 1801), pen name Novalis (; ), was a German nobility, German aristocrat and polymath, who was a poet, novelist, philosopher and Mysticism, mystic. He is regarded as an inf ...

) on "normal clarinet" and by Thea King (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, premiered at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

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 ...

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 triannual 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 musicol ...

'', 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 Austrian male opera composers Austrian Classical-period composers Music copyists Pupils of Antonio Salieri 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis 19th-century Austrian male musicians Tuberculosis deaths in the Holy Roman Empire 18th-century Austrian composers