Johann Daniel Elster (16 September 1796 – 19 December 1857) was a German music professor and

choirmaster A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

Life

Johann Daniel Elster was born on 16 September 1796 in

Benshausen Benshausen is a village and a former municipality in the district Schmalkalden-Meiningen, in Thuringia, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous cou ...

. He was the son of a hammer smith. He received his first music lessons in his hometown. In 1809, Elster attended grammar school in Freiberg. Elster also studied theology in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

and in 1816 was a member of the "Corps compatriot Franconia Leipzig". He continued his studies in

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

, but later moved to South America and joined

Simón Bolívar Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios (24 July 1783 – 17 December 1830) was a Venezuelan military and political leader who led what are currently the countries of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and B ...

's liberation movement. He later returned to Europe and moved to

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

where he continued his studies. Early 1822 he travelled to Greece with other Philhellenes to fight with the Greeks in the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

. He took part in the bloody

Battle of Peta The Battle of Peta or Battle of Petta was fought between the Greeks (with Philhellenes) led by Alexandros Mavrokordatos with Markos Botsaris and the Ottomans led by Omer Vrioni on 16 July 1822 (4 July Julian calendar). The conflict occurred on a ...

(July 1822) where many Philhellenes were killed. In 1823 he moved to

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

through Smyrna and France, and gained his first job as a piano teacher. Shortly thereafter, he received an appointment to the Lenzburg teacher training institute. He received a teaching post in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

in 1825 and in 1826 founded the first Baden male choir. In 1827, after learning of his father's death, he moved back home. In 1834 Elster began to complete the "Richard und Blondel" opera, which premiered in December 1835 at the Meininger Theater. In 1839 he received a job as a theater bandmaster in

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

. He died on 19 December 1857 in Wettingen from a liver disease.http://www.schubertchor.de/musik.htm Audio-Aufnahme des Stückes ''Thüringen Du holdes Land''

Works

Das Bataillon der Philhellenen: dessen Errichtung, Feldzug und Untergang. Baden, 1828.Die Irrfahrten des Daniel Elster, vols. 1 & 2

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elster, Johann Daniel 1796 births 1857 deaths People from Schmalkalden-Meiningen 19th-century German male musicians