Johann Christian Friedrich Schneider (3 January 1786 in Alt-Waltersdorf – 23 November 1853 in

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

) was a German pianist,

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 Defi ...

, organist, and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

. Schneider studied piano first with his father Johann Gottlob Schneider (senior), and then at the Zittau Gymnasium with Schönfelder and Unger. His first published works were a set of three piano sonatas in 1804. In 1805, he commenced studies at the University of Leipzig. He became an organist at

St. Thomas Church, Leipzig , native_name_lang = , image = Leipzig Thomaskirche.jpg , imagelink = , imagealt = , caption = , pushpin map = , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt ...

in 1812, and was named conductor in Dessau in 1821. It is thought that Schneider premiered Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in Leipzig on 28 November 1811. In 1824, he was festival director of the Lower Rhenish Music Festival and his oratorio ''Die Sündflut'' was premiered during this event. Schneider composed copiously. Among his works are seven operas, four masses, six oratorios, 25

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of ...

s, 23

symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...

, seven

piano concerto A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...

s, sonatas for violin, flute, and cello, and a great many shorter instrumental pieces, some of them for piano, some for organ. He also left numerous solo songs and part songs.

Friedrich Lux Friedrich Lux (24 November 1820 – 9 July 1895) was a German conductor and composer. He was born in the town of Ruhla and was initially an organist. Lux was a student of Friedrich Schneider. Between 1841 and 1850, he was Director of the Opera ...

was one of Schneider's pupils. His brothers Johann Gottlob Schneider (junior; 1789-1864) and Johann Gottlieb Schneider (1797-1856) were likewise organists, the former achieving great fame and notability, with artistic connections to

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

, Liszt, Schumann and many others.

Selected recordings

*Friedrich Schneider ''Das Weltgericht'' Martina Rüping, Marie Henriette Reinhold, Patrick Grahl, GewandhausChor Leipzig, Camerata Lipsiensis, Gregor Meyer 2CD 2019

References

* Don Randel, ''The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music''. Harvard, 1996, pp. 803–804.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schneider, Friedrich 1786 births 1853 deaths German opera composers Male opera composers German Romantic composers German conductors (music) German male conductors (music) German classical pianists Male classical pianists 19th-century classical composers German male classical composers 19th-century classical pianists 19th-century German composers Leipzig University alumni German pianists German male pianists 19th-century German male musicians