Hans (Johann) Schläger (5 December 1820 – 17 May 1885) was an Austrian conductor and composer, important in the musical life of

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

in the 1860s. He was particularly involved in choral music.

Life

Schläger was born in Feldkirchen an der Donau,

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

, in 1810. His father Johann Schläger, a teacher, gave him early music lessons, and he was a choirboy at St. Florian Monastery, where he received violin lessons. In

Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...

he trained from 1836 to 1838 to be a teacher; he became an assistant teacher in Regau, and afterwards in

Sankt Florian Sankt Florian (also ''Florian'' or ''St. Florian'') is a town in the Austrian state of Upper Austria. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Linz. Sankt Florian is the home of St. Florian Monastery, a community of Canons Regular named after Saint F ...

, where he was the predecessor of

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

. (Bruckner dedicated his early choral work '' Das Lied vom deutschen Vaterland'', written in 1845, to Schläger)."Schläger, Hans (Johann)"
''

Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon The ''Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon'Oesterreichisch'' with ''Oe'' is the spelling of the print and online output. (, ) is a five-volume music encyclopedia founded by the Austrian Academy of Sciences' Commission for Music Research. It was offic ...

Online''. Retrieved 28 February 2022. From 1845 to 1847 he studied composition under Gottfried von Preyer at Vienna Conservatory, and later studied singing at the in Vienna. From 1854 to 1861 he was director of the

Wiener Männergesang-Verein The Wiener Männergesang-Verein ("Vienna Men's Choral Society" or "Vienna Male Voice Choir") is a men's choir in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1843. The choir has regularly appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic, and has performed worldwide. Notable ...

("Vienna Men's Choral Society"); as its director he won a prize at the Singing Festival in Nuremberg in 1861.

In Salzburg

Schläger moved to Salzburg, where from 1861 to 1868 he was

Kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

of the Dom-Musik-Verein und Mozarteum; from 1862 he was also director of the Salzburger Liedertafel. He was important in the musical life of Salzburg at this period, bringing notable choral works to the city for the first time, including Haydn's '' The Creation'', Schumann's '' Paradise and the Peri'' and Mendelssohn's ''

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

''. In 1868 he married Countess Pauline von Oldershausen (born Countess von Zichy-Vásonykeő)."Zichy-Vásonykeő, Familie"
''

Online''. Retrieved 2 March 2022. He resigned from his offices and devoted himself to composition. He was adviser to the publisher

Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel () is a German Music publisher, music publishing house. Founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf, it is the world's oldest music publisher. Overview The catalogue contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works ...

on their complete edition of Mozart (now known as the ''

Alte Mozart-Ausgabe The ''Alte Mozart-Ausgabe'' is the name by which the first complete edition of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is known. It was published by Breitkopf & Härtel from January 1877 to December 1883, with supplements published until 1910. Th ...

''). Schläger died in Salzburg in 1885.

Compositions

Compositions, some of which were printed, include operas (''Hans Haidekukuk'', ''Die Prophezeiung'' and ''Doctor und Friseur''), songs, choral works, 2 symphonies and 3 string quartets. His biographer in ''

Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'' (English, ''Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire'') (abbreviated ''Wurzbach'' from the author's surname) is a 60-volume work, edited and published by Constantin von Wurzbach, cont ...

'' (1875) wrote: "Music critics praise in Schläger's compositions originality of invention, stylish portrayal of characters and action, and colourful instrumentation."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlager, Hans 1820 births 1885 deaths Conductors (music) from Austria-Hungary Romantic composers Composers from Austria-Hungary Composers from the Austrian Empire