Josef Dessauer (28 May 1798 in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
– 8 July 1876 in
Mödling
Mödling () is the capital of the Austrian Mödling (district), district of the same name located approximately 14 km south of Vienna.
Mödling lies in Lower Austria's industrial zone (Industrieviertel). The Mödlingbach, a brook which rises ...
, near
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
), was an
Austrian
Austrian may refer to:
* Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent
** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law
* Austrian German dialect
* Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
-born composer who wrote many popular songs, and also some less successful operas.
Life
Dessauer was born into a wealthy Jewish family, and studied piano in Prague with
Bedřich Diviš Weber and composition with
Wenzel Tomaschek. Dessauer began as a song composer, but later began composing operas, of which very few were performed.
In 1821 he settled in Vienna, from which he made many European tours. He was a friend of many composers of his time, such as
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...
,
Franz 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 ...
,
Hector Berlioz
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
,
Felix 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 period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...
,
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
and
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...
, who dedicated some pieces to him. He was also a friend of
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil (; 1 July 1804 – 8 June 1876), best known by her pen name George Sand (), was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. One of the most popular writers in Europe in her lifetime, bein ...
.
Operas
*''Lidwinna'' (1836)
*''Ein Besuch in Saint-Cyr'' (1838)
*''Paquita'' (1851)
*''Domingo'' (1860)
*''Oberon'' (which was never performed)
Songs
*"Verschwiegenheit"
*"Das Gebet"
*"Wie Glücklich"
*"Am Strande"
*"Ich Denke Dein"
*"Das Zerbrochene Ringlein"
1798 births
1876 deaths
Musicians from Prague
Austrian Romantic composers
Austrian opera composers
Male opera composers
Austrian Jews
Jewish classical composers
Jewish songwriters
19th-century classical composers
19th-century Czech male musicians
{{Austria-musician-stub