![Johann Baptist Cramer by William Sharp](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/Johann_Baptist_Cramer_by_William_Sharp.jpg)
Johann (sometimes John) Baptist Cramer (24 February 1771 – 16 April 1858) was an English pianist, composer and music publisher of German origin. He was the son of
Wilhelm Cramer
Wilhelm Cramer (2 June 1746, Mannheim – 5 October 1799, London) was a famous London violinist and musical conductor of German origin. He was part of a large family who were connected with music during both the 18th and 19th centuries. He is ...
, a famous
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
violinist and conductor, one of a numerous family who were identified with the progress of music during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Biography
Cramer was born in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
and was brought to London as a child, where he worked for most of his musical career, lived most of his life, and died.
From 1782 to 1784, he studied
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
under
Muzio Clementi
Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, who was mostly active in England.
Encourag ...
and soon became a renowned professional pianist both in London and on the continent. He enjoyed a worldwide reputation, and was particularly appreciated by
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 classic ...
when he visited Vienna, concertized and competed with him. Both were considered the greatest pianists of their time, Beethoven excelling in interpretative expressiveness, Cramer in pure technical perfection. He was the English publisher of Beethoven's
Piano Concerto No. 5 and is credited with giving it its nickname, "The Emperor".
Legacy
Cramer was one of the most renowned piano performers of his day. He met Beethoven in Vienna, initiating a mutually rewarding relationship, while renewing his friendship with
Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have led ...
.
After 1800, he was based almost exclusively in England. Following the successful example of his former teacher Clementi, he also became a successful music publisher in London. His many compositions take second place to his pianistic prowess; Beethoven considered him the finest pianist of the day from the standpoint of pure technical perfection.
In 1818 Cramer was a founding member of the
Regent’s Harmonic Institution Regent's Harmonic Institution (RHI), also known as Royal Harmonic Institution, Welsh and Hawes at the Royal Harmonic Institution, and Welsh and Hawes, was a 19th-century English firm of music publishers as a well as a purveyor of music instruments. ...
; a music publishing firm established with the intent of raising funds for the
Royal Philharmonic Society
The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a memb ...
and its restoration of the
Argyll Rooms. He later established his own musical instrument manufacturing and music publishing firm,
Cramer & Co. in 1824. It was located at 201 Regent Street He ended his personal involvement in the company at the end of 1833, although it retained his name. He wrote a number of
sonatas
Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cant ...
and other pieces for piano, and other compositions, of which his
Études are best known, having appeared in numerous editions. They are still considered standard didactic works for piano students.
His music is generally less dramatic and elegant than Clementi's, much less adventurous than
Dussek
Jan Ladislav Dussek (baptized Jan Václav Dusík, Černušák, p. 271 with surname also written as Duschek or Düssek; 12 February 176020 March 1812) was a Czech classical composer and pianist. He was an important representative of Czech music ...
's and far less Romantic in sentiment than the
Chopin forerunner
John Field. It is stylistically conservative but replete with the most advanced, idiomatically pianistic passage-work. He wrote some 200 solo piano sonatas, about 50 sonatas for other instruments with piano accompaniment, nine
piano concertos, and chamber music.
His brother
Franz Cramer
Franz Anton Dorotheus Cramer or François Cramer (12 June 17721 August 1848) was an English people, English violinist and conductor who was Master of the Queen's Music, Master of the King's/Queen's Musick from 1834 until his death.
He was born ...
was
Master of the King's Musick
Master of the King's Music (or Master of the Queen's Music, or earlier Master of the King's Musick) is a post in the Royal Household of the United Kingdom. The holder of the post originally served the monarch of England, directing the court orch ...
from 1837 until his death in 1848.
Selected works
(→ for a complete survey cf. Thomas B. Milligan, ''J. B. Cramer (1771–1858): A Thematic Catalogue of His Works'', Boydell and Brewer, 1994, 224 p., )
* Sonatas in D major, A major, and G major for piano with violin and violoncello ad. lib, Op. 11 (1796)
* Piano Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 16
* Grande sonate pour le piano-forte, Op. 20 (1809)
* Sonata in A-flat major for piano, Op. 23, No. 1 (1799)
* 2 Sonatas for piano, Op. 27
* Sonata in A-flat major for piano, Op. 46 ("Die Jungfrau von Orleans")
* Piano Concerto No. 5 in C minor, Op. 48
* 84 Études, Opp. 30 and 40
* Keyboard Sonata in A minor ("L'Ultima"), Op. 53 (1812)
* Piano Concerto No. 7 in E major, Op. 56
* Sonata for piano in C major, Op. 57
* Keyboard Sonatas in B-flat major ("Les suivantes No. 2"), Op. 58 (1817) - Allegro spiritoso / Largo sostenuto / Rondo allegretto
* Keyboard Sonata in E minor ("Les Suivante No. 3"), Op. 59 (1817)
* Keyboard Sonata in E major ("Le Retour a Londres"), Op. 62 (1818)
* Keyboard Sonata in D minor, Op. 63 (1821)
* ''Introduzione ed aria all'inglese'' for piano, Op. 65
* Piano Quintet in E major ("Amicitia"), Op. 69 (1824) - also in a piano arrangement
* Piano Concerto No. 8 in D minor, Op. 70
* Keyboard Sonata in F major ("Il Mezzo"), Op. 74 (1827)
* Short Studies, Op. 100
* ''Romance et Tarantelle Brilliante'' (Romance in F major - Tarantelle in A Minor), Op. 101
References
*
External links
History of Johann Baptist Cramer Piano Maker
The Association of Blind Piano Tuners, UK Piano Page
The complete Etudes Op. 50 (PDF)
*
Grande sonate pour le piano-forte, Oeuvre 20
(Score from Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection)
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Baptist-Cramer
Encyclopædia Britannica
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cramer, Johann Baptist
1771 births
1858 deaths
18th-century classical composers
18th-century classical pianists
18th-century British male musicians
19th-century British composers
19th-century classical composers
19th-century classical pianists
19th-century British male musicians
British male pianists
British music publishers (people)
English classical composers
English classical pianists
English male classical composers
English people of German descent
English Romantic composers
Male classical pianists
Musicians from London
Pupils of Muzio Clementi