Josef Paul Labor (29 June 1842 – 26 April 1924) 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: ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

, and

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 ...

of the late Romantic era. Labor was an influential music teacher. As a friend of some key figures in Vienna, his importance was enhanced.

Biography

Labor was born in the town of

Hořovice Hořovice (; german: Horschowitz, Horvitz, Horowitz) is a town in Beroun District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts Hořovice is made up of only one administrative part. His ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

to Josef Labor, an administrator of ironworks, and his wife Josefa Wallner, who came from a family of doctors. Both of his parents came from Viennese families. His father belonged to the circle of Schubert-Friends and had been in his younger years a composer himself. At the age of three, he was left blind due to contracting

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. He attended the Institute for the Blind in

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

and the ''Konservatorium der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde'' (Conservatory of the Society of Friends of Music) where he studied

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

with

Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Germa ...

's teacher, Simon Sechter, and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

with Eduard Pickhert. He toured Europe as a pianist and, in the process, formed lasting friendships with King George V of Hanover, who was also blind, and with

Joseph Joachim Joseph Joachim (28 June 1831 – 15 August 1907) was a Hungarian violinist, conductor, composer and teacher who made an international career, based in Hanover and Berlin. A close collaborator of Johannes Brahms, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

, whom he met at Hanover. George named him Royal Chamber Pianist in 1865. The following year, Labor followed the king's exile and settled in Vienna, where he became a piano teacher, while continuing to compose and perform. In 1875 he also took organ lessons with Johann Evangelist Habert and became a distinguished organist himself. In 1904, Labor received the title ''Kaiserlich und Königlich Hoforganist'' (Royal and Imperial Court Organist) and is today best known for his organ works. Labor took a serious interest in early music and wrote continuo elaborations for

Heinrich Biber Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber ( bapt. 12 August 1644, Stráž pod Ralskem – 3 May 1704, Salzburg) was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. Biber worked in Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left his employer, Prince-Bishop Karl Li ...

's sonatas. Labor gave piano lessons to many notable musical personalities including

Alma Schindler Alma Maria Mahler Gropius Werfel (born Alma Margaretha Maria Schindler; 31 August 1879 – 11 December 1964) was an Austrian composer, author, editor, and socialite. At 15, she was mentored by Max Burckhard. Musically active from her early year ...

(who married Gustav Mahler and others), Paul Wittgenstein and Arnold Schoenberg. Alma Schindler studied with Labor for 6 years, beginning when she was 14, and her diaries contain numerous references to her esteemed teacher. Labor was very close to Paul Wittgenstein's family. He attended many musical evenings at the Wittgenstein home with such Viennese musicians of the day as Johannes Brahms,

Clara Schumann Clara Josephine Schumann (; née Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a ...

, Gustav Mahler,

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the U ...

, and Richard Strauss. As a compositional teacher he gave private lessons to

Julius Bittner Julius Bittner (born Vienna, 9 April 1874; died Vienna, 9 January 1939) was an Austrian composer. Life The son of a judge, Bittner also initially pursued a career in law. Until 1920 he was a judge in Wolkersdorf im Weinviertel, in Lower Austria. ...

and

Rudolf Braun Rudolf Braun (21 October 186930 December 1925) was an Austrian pianist and composer who was born congenitally blind. He was born and died in Vienna. Very little is recorded of Braun's early life. He was educated at the School for the Blind. He ...

. When Paul Wittgenstein lost his right arm in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Josef Labor was the first person he asked to write a piece for piano left hand. They settled on a concerto for piano left hand and orchestra, something for which there was no precedent. The ground-breaking work was premiered on 12 December 1916 in the Grosser Musikvereinsaal, Vienna, with the

Wiener Tonkünstler-Orchester The Wiener Tonkünstler-Orchester was an orchestra association in Vienna, which existed until 1933. History The predecessor institution was the Tonkünstler-Sozietät, which was founded in 1771 on the initiative of the composer Florian Leopold ...

conducted by

Oskar Nedbal Oskar Nedbal (26 March 1874 – 24 December 1930) was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music. Early life Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Be ...

. Wittgenstein later commissioned works for the left hand from other composers including Strauss,

Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born American composer and conductor. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential composers in Hollywood history. He was a noted pianist and compo ...

, Maurice Ravel,

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

, and Franz Schmidt (the finale of Schmidt's A major Clarinet Quintet – the last of his Wittgenstein commissions – is a set of variations on a theme from Labor's own clarinet and piano quintet, Op. 11, published in 1901). Paul's brother, the philosopher and writer

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...

, praised Josef Labor as one of "the six truly great composers" along with

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 ...

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 ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

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 ...

, and

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

Selected works

*Phantasie über ein Originalthema für 2 Klaviere op 1 (1868) *Scherzo in Canonform für 2 Klaviere op 2 (1880) *Quintett für Klavier, Violine, Viola, Violoncello und Kontrabass op 3 (1880) *Variationen und Fuge über ein Thema von Czerny für Klavier (1890) *Sonate für Violine und Klavier op. 5 (1892) *Klavierquartett Nr. 1 C-Dur op. 6 (1893) *Sonate für Violoncello und Klavier A-Dur op. 7 (1895) *Fünf Klavierstücke op 8 (1897) *Phantasie für Orgel über die österreichische Volkshymne op 9 (1898) *Thema und Variationen für Horn oder Violoncello und Klavier op. 10 (1896) *Quintett für Klarinette, Violine, Viola, Violoncello und Pianoforte op. 11 (1900) *Orgel-Phantasie e-moll für zwei Spieler op 12 (1903) *2 Improvisationen (Benedicamus domino; Ite missa est) op 13 (?, Print 1912) *Choralvorspiel über "Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten" für Harmonium op 14 (1903) *Orgelsonate h-moll op. 15 (?, Print 1912) *Pater noster, Chor, Orgel, Streichorchester op 16 (1876, Print 1912) *Klavierquartett Nr. 0 B-Dur (1874) *Streichquartett C-Dur (1888) *Thema, Variationen und Fuge über eine schottische Tanzweise (Sir Roger de Coverley) für Orchester (1899) *Big Ben Capriccio für 2 Klaviere (1901) *"Edward" – Ballade für Gesang und Klavier (1903) *Konzert für Violine und Orchester G-Dur (1905) *17 Praeludien über Intonationen der wichtigsten Choral-Offertorien nach der Editio Vaticana 1908 (1910) *6 Kanons für Frauenstimmen (1912) *3 Klavierstücke (1912) *3 Lieder für gemischten Chor (1912) *3 Interludes für Orgel 1914) *2. Sonate A-Dur für Klavier und Violine (1914) *Konzertstück I für Klavier (linke Hand) und Orchester (1915) *Konzertstück II für Klavier (linke Hand) und Orchester (1916) *3. Sonate E-Dur für Klavier (linke Hand) und Violine (1916) *Klavierquartett Nr. 2 c-moll (1916) (linke Hand) *Quintett für Oboe, Klarinette, Horn. Fagott und Klavier (linke Hand) (1921) *Divertimento/Serenade für Flöte, Oboe, Viola, Cello, Klavier (linke Hand) (1923) *Konzertstück III für Klavier (linke Hand) und Orchester (1923)

References

Sources

*Program notes by Bonnie H. Campbell for the Cedille Records "Twilight of the Romantics: Chamber Music by Walter Rabl and Josef Labor" (CD 90000 088) *Michael Wittmann, Josef Labor – Werkchronologie, Berlin 2020, https://mwmusikverlag.wordpress.com/2020/11/04/josef-labor-werkchronologie/

External links

*
Josef Labor Quintet for Piano, Clarinet, Violin, Viola and Cello, Op.11 Soundbites and discussion of work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Labor, Josef 1842 births 1924 deaths 19th-century classical composers 20th-century classical composers Blind classical musicians Male classical composers Austrian classical organists Male classical organists Austrian classical pianists Male classical pianists People from Beroun District Austrian Romantic composers 19th-century classical pianists 20th-century male musicians 19th-century male musicians