Johannes (or János) Spech (10 December 1767 – 24 November 1836) was a Hungarian

classical era Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

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 ...

. He was born in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

. Musicologist Dezsö Legány theorized that Spech must have been inspired to study music by the rich musical life of the city, where the opera theater regularly programmed works by

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 ...

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 (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, and other acknowledged masters of the time. Spech received primary music education, but also studied law, and in 1792 he became a law clerk in

Buda Buda (; german: Ofen, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Budim, Будим, Czech and sk, Budín, tr, Budin) was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Hungary and since 1873 has been the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest, on the ...

. A few years later he left for

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

to study with Haydn. Researcher Tia DeNora notes that a discrepancy exists in biographical materials related to the next decades of Spech's life. Sources chosen for the ''New Grove'' dictionary suggest that Spech subsequently left for Hungary and worked as a civil servant intermittently for a number of years, while also being a theater conductor and pursuing a composer's career. However, Spech's great-grandson, when interviewed by the legendary scholar

H. C. Robbins Landon Howard Chandler Robbins Landon (March 6, 1926November 20, 2009) was an American musicologist, journalist, historian and broadcaster, best known for his work in rediscovering the huge body of neglected music by Haydn and in correcting misunderstand ...

, claimed that Spech followed his studies with Haydn by an extensive four-year course in the

Paris Conservatory The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, after which he returned to Hungary and concentrated entirely on his musical career. He died in Oberlimbach (now Grad) after having lived some time in Vienna and Paris. Spech's most numerous works are his settings of Hungarian songs, but his oeuvre also includes the following: * opera ''Ines und Pedro, oder Die Johannisnacht'' (first performance 1814) * opera ''Der Vogel des Bruder Philipp'' (first performance 1821) * opera ("romantic fairytale") ''Felizie'' * oratorio ''Die Befreiung von Jerusalem'' * 7 cantatas * 9 string quartets (3 published in Vienna as Opus 2 by 1803) * 6 sonatas * numerous settings of Hungarian songs (most published in Pest in 1805–23) Dezsö Legány describes Spech's style as a mixture of influences: late Mozart,

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

, contemporary French and Italian styles, and the rhythmic features of Hungarian music. Spech's works are rarely recorded. One of the few available records was made by the

Festetics String Quartet The Festetics Quartet (pronounced "fesh-tat-itch") are a string quartet from Budapest, Hungary. The members are Istvan Kertesz, first violin; Erika Petoefi, second violin; Péter Ligeti, Kriszta Véghelyi, viola; and Rezső Pertorini, cello. The q ...

for the

Hungaroton Hungaroton is the oldest record and music publisher company in Hungary. Hungaroton was founded in 1951, when its only competitors in the Hungarian music market were record labels like Melodiya, Supraphon and from other socialist countries. Pre ...

label in the early 2000s.

References

* DeNora, Tia. ''Beethoven and the Construction of Genius: Musical Politics in Vienna, 1792–1803'', p. 93. * Landon, Robbins. 1976–80. ''Haydn: Chronicle and Works'', vol. 3:556n. * Legány, Dezsö. ''Spech, János'', Grove Online.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Spech, Johannes 1767 births 1836 deaths 18th-century classical composers 18th-century male musicians 19th-century classical composers 19th-century male musicians Classical-period composers Hungarian classical composers Hungarian male classical composers Hungarian Romantic composers