Johann Andreas Stumpff (27 January 1769 – 2 November 1846), born in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, was a maker of pianos and harps in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He met and supported

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

in the composer's later years.

Life

He was born in

Ruhla is a town situated in the forest of Thuringia in the district of Wartburgkreis in Germany, immediately next to the Rennsteig. Thal and Kittelsthal are parts of the town. History Within the German Empire (1871-1918), part of Ruhla belonged to t ...

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

in 1769, a son of a maker of keyboard instruments. In 1789 he moved to

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, and in the following year moved to London, settling there as a manufacturer of harps and pianos. He had a workshop on

Great Portland Street Great Portland Street in the West End of London links Oxford Street with Albany Street and the A501 Marylebone Road and Euston Road. A commercial street including some embassies, it divides Fitzrovia, to the east, from Marylebone to the west. ...

, and styled himself "J. A. Stumpff, Harpmaker to His Majesty". From '' Die Gartenlaube'', Vol. 32–34, pp437–440, 455–457, 468–470 In 1814 he returned to Germany, visiting

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

where he briefly met

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as trea ...

; it was probably during this visit to Germany that he bought the manuscripts of

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 ten last

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

s, from the music publisher Johann Anton André. They remained in his possession during his lifetime.Preface

Alfred Einstein Alfred Einstein (December 30, 1880February 13, 1952) was a German-American musicologist and music editor. He was born in Munich and fled Nazi Germany after Hitler's ''Machtergreifung'', arriving in the United States by 1939. He is best known for b ...

, W. A. Mozart, ''The Ten Celebrated String Quartets'', Courier Corporation, 2013, accessed 20 November 2015.Johann Andreas Stumpff
Pamela J. Willetts, ''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainze ...

'' Vol. 118, No. 1607 (January 1977), p29, accessed 20 November 2015. Stumpff furthered his acquaintance with Goethe, meeting him in 1824 when he gave him presents of editions of Goethe's works, and again in 1829, when he spent every evening for a week in his company. Stumpff read aloud to Goethe his poem about a steam engine, ''Der Kampf der Elemente'' (''The Battle of the Elements''); Goethe published this and other poems by Stumpff in the Weimar literary periodical ''Chaos''. Stumpff visited

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

in 1824, and

Andreas Streicher Johann Andreas Streicher (13 December 1761 in Stuttgart – 25 May 1833 in Vienna) was a German pianist, composer and piano maker. In 1793 he married Nannette Streicher (1769–1833), another piano maker and the daughter of Augsburg piano maker ...

gave him a letter of recommendation to

. Stumpff had a cordial meeting with him, during which it was clear that England was occupying the composer's thoughts. "Beethoven had an exaggerated opinion of London, and its highly cultured inhabitants", he wrote. Beethoven said to him, "England stands high in culture. In London everybody knows something and knows it well, but the man of Vienna can only talk of eating and drinking, and sings and pounds away at music of little significance or of his own making."Nettl, Paul. "Stumpff, Joseph Andreas". ''Beethoven Encyclopedia''. Philosophical Library, New York. 1956. In 1826 Stumpff sent Beethoven

Samuel Arnold Samuel Arnold may refer to: *Samuel Arnold (composer) (1740–1802), English composer and organist * Samuel Arnold (Connecticut politician) (1806–1869), U.S. Representative from Connecticut * Samuel Arnold (conspirator) (1834–1906), co-conspira ...

's 40-volume edition of

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's complete works. Beethoven thanked him in a letter of 8 February 1827, in which he also wrote that he was ill and unable to write a note of music, and was in financial difficulty. Stumpff obtained from the Royal Philharmonic Society an advance of money for Beethoven, informing the composer of this in a letter of 1 March; however the help was too late, as Beethoven died on 26 March of that year.

Death

Johann Andreas Stumpff died in London in 1846.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stumpff, Johann Andreas 1769 births 1846 deaths Piano makers Harp makers People from Ruhla