Joseph Maria Wolfram (21 July 1789 – 30 September 1839) was a German-Czech politician and amateur composer who wrote operas which were performed with success.

Biography

Wolfram was born in Dobřany in Bohemia. He first studied philosophy at the Karls-Universität in Prague, but also harmony with

Leopold Kozeluch Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (The Simpsons), Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

. He went to Vienna to study piano under

Joseph Drechsler Joseph Drechsler (26 May 1782 – 27 February 1852) was an Austrian organist, teacher, composer and conductor; in Vienna he was organist and choirmaster at several churches, and theatre conductor and composer of incidental music. Life Drechsler wa ...

and taught music there from 1811. Quitting music as a profession in 1813, he became a government official at Theusing, and eventually worked his way up to the mayor of

Teplice Teplice () (until 1948 Teplice-Šanov; german: Teplitz-Schönau or ''Teplitz'') is a city in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is the second largest Czech spa town, after Karlovy Vary. The hi ...

in 1824. He wrote several operas which became popular. Such was the popularity of his opera ''Alfred'' that when a replacement for

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...

in the position of kapellmeister was needed, Wolfram was among those contemplated. He died in Teplice.

Works

Wolfram's best-known works are his operas. ''Der Diamant'' was first produced in Teplice around 1820. Two of his operas, ''Herkules'' and ''Maja und Alpino, oder die bezauberte Rose,'' were both produced in Dresden in 1826, while the latter was also produced in Prague that year. This same year saw the first production of ''Alfred.'' In 1828, again in Dresden, his opera ''Die Normannen in Sicilien'' was performed. The next year saw the production of ''Prinz Lieschen.'' ''Der Bergmönch'' followed in 1830, first produced in Dresden on March 14. ''Das Schloss Candra'' was first performed in 1832, also in Dresden. The final opera, ''Wittekind'', was produced in 1838. In addition to his operas, he wrote a wedding mass, a Requiem, and a collection of Serbian songs. He also composed instrumental music, including string quartets and piano sonatas. A concerted effort to collect and catalog the operas of Wolfram was headed by Tomáš Spurný.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfram, Joseph Maria 1789 births 1839 deaths German Classical-period composers People from Teplice Mayors of places in the Czech Republic People from Dobřany Charles University alumni German Bohemian people Mayors of Teplice