Georg Reutter (3 November 1656 – 29 August 1738) was an

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...

theorbo The theorbo is a plucked string instrument of the lute family, with an extended neck and a second pegbox. Like a lute, a theorbo has a curved-back sound box (a hollow box) with a wooden top, typically with a sound hole, and a neck extending ...

player, and composer.

Biography

Georg Reutter was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and became a pupil of Johann Caspar Kerll, whom he later succeeded as

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna St. Stephen's Cathedral (german: Stephansdom) is the Mother Church#Cathedral, mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, Ordo Praedicato ...

, in 1686. In 1695 he spent some time in Italy. He was ennobled in Rome on 8 January 1695 by Prince Sforza; unlike his son, he did not use his title. Between 1696 and 1703 Reutter was employed in the Viennese court chapel as continuo player on the theorbo. The principal ''Kapellmeister,''

Antonio Draghi Antonio Draghi (17 January 1634 – 16 January 1700) was a Baroque composer. He possibly was the brother of Giovanni Battista Draghi. Draghi was born at Rimini in Italy, and was one of the most prolific composers of his time. His contribution t ...

, recommended him to the emperor as ‘a virtuoso player able to play many instruments’. He was married three times and was the father of 15 children, of whom two became musicians (Karl and the younger Georg). In 1700 Reutter was formally appointed court organist. In 1712 he succeeded Fux as vice-''Kapellmeister'' and in 1715 as first ''Kapellmeister'' of the cathedral; he retained that position until 1728. He passed on the position of cathedral organist to his son

Georg Reutter II Johann Adam Joseph Karl Georg Reutter, during his life known as Georg Reutter the Younger (6 April 1708 – 11 March 1772) was an Austrian composer. Karl Geiringer, ''Haydn: A Creative Life in Music'', 1982, p. 19: "There were two Viennese comp ...

in 1720. He died in Vienna. As a composer Reutter is best known for his collection of

toccatas Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virt ...

. He also composed a large number of so-called '' Versetteln'' or short organ preludes.Karl Geiringer Haydn: A Creative Life in Music 1982 - Page 19 There were two Viennese composers of this name. Georg Reutter, the father (1656-1738), was choir director of St. Stephen's and court organist. His son, J. A. Karl Georg ( 1708- 1772), was Haydn's teacher. It is not always easy to distinguish between the compositions of the father and those of the son. See Norbert Hofer, "Die beiden Reutter als Kirchenkomponisten," ..

References

1656 births 1738 deaths 17th-century Austrian people 17th-century classical composers 18th-century Austrian people 18th-century classical composers 18th-century Austrian male musicians Austrian classical composers Austrian male classical composers Austrian classical musicians Austrian classical organists Male classical organists Austrian untitled nobility Austrian Baroque composers Musicians from Vienna Composers from Vienna 18th-century keyboardists 17th-century male musicians {{Austria-composer-stub