Karl Ignaz Augustin Kohaut (''Carolus Ignatius Augustinus''; baptised August 26, 1726 – August 6, 1784) was an Austrian lutenist 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 Czech descent. He is considered (along with Bernhard Joachim Hagen) to be one of the last important composers of music for Baroque

Lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

. Born in Vienna, Karl Kohaut pursued a dual career as a diplomat and musician. He entered the Austrian civil service in 1756 or 1757 as a minor official in the state chancellery, but by 1778 he had reached the position of court secretary. He was active as a violinist in performances organized by Gottfried van Swieten (in quartets by Haydn and

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 ...

), but he was most widely admired as a lutenist. He is recorded to have appeared as the soloist in a performance of one of his own lute concertos at the Tonkünstler-Societät on 17 March 1777, during which one of his symphonies was also performed. Kohaut wrote seven lute concertos, which are fine examples of this rare genre. The concerto in F major is probably most well known, having been recorded at least four times: by

Julian Bream Julian Alexander Bream (15 July 193314 August 2020) was an English classical guitarist and lutenist. Regarded as one of the most distinguished classical guitarists of the 20th century, he played a significant role in improving the public per ...

Alirio Díaz __NOTOC__ Alirio Díaz (12 November 19235 July 2016) was a Venezuelan classical guitarist and composer, considered one of the most prominent composer-guitarists of South America and an eminent musician. He studied with Andrés Segovia, and gave ...

John Schneiderman John H. Schneiderman is an American lutenist and guitarist born in Ithaca, New York, where his father was a member of the faculty of Cornell University. Schneiderman was introduced to music by his mother, who taught him to play the ukulele when he ...

and Hopkinson Smith. Kohaut's eight masses were frequently performed at the monasteries of Melk and Göttweig, especially the Missa Sancti Willibaldi, which was performed at Göttweig on 24 occasions, the last time as late as 1798. Kohaut's Symphony in F minor was his best known work during the 20th century, recorded on LP on the Supraphon label.

Works

Vocal: *Applausus Mellicensis (cant.), perf. 1764, A-M; *8 masses, A-GÖ, M, CZ-Bm, Pnm Orchestral: *12 syms., A-M, CZ-Bu, Pnm; *7 lute concs., D-As, Bsb; Db Conc., A-Wgm, ed. D. Young (London, 1996) 1 double bass conc., DM Chamber: *3 divertimentos, lute, 2 vn, b, B-Br, D-As; *5 divertimentos, lute, B-Br; Sonata, lute, D-As; *7 trios, 1 for lute, vn, b, 6 for 2 vn, b, A-GÖ, M, Wgm, D-Bsb; *7 partitas, 2 vn, b, A-Wgm, Wn; Qt, 2 vn, va, b, Wn; Trio, fl, vn, b, D-Bsb; 1 sonata, lute solo, DM *works listed in Breitkopf catalogues, 1762–3, 1766–7

Bibliography & references

* FétisB * GerberL * GerberNL * MGG1 (J. Klima) * New Grove (David Young) * J. A. Hiller, ed.: Wöchentliche Nachrichten und Anmerkungen die Musik betreffend, i (Leipzig, 1766) * R. Freeman: The Practice of Music at Melk Monastery in the Eighteenth Century (diss., U. of California, 1971) * J. Klima: ‘Karl Kohaut, der letzte Wiener Lautenist’, ÖMZ, xxvi (1971), 141–3

ith bibliography The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

External links

* 18th-century Austrian people 18th-century classical composers 18th-century Austrian male musicians 18th-century classical musicians Austrian Baroque composers Austrian Classical-period composers Austrian lutenists Czech classical composers Czech male classical composers Austrian male classical composers Composers for lute Austrian people of Czech descent Musicians from Vienna 1726 births 1784 deaths {{Austria-composer-stub