Moritz Christian Johann Reichsgraf von Fries (6 May 1777 – 26 December 1826) was an Austrian

nobleman Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

and

patron of the arts Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

Early life

He was born 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 ...

as the youngest son of Count Johann von Fries (1719-1785), one of the richest men in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

, thanks to many successful financial and industrial ventures and his wife Anna d’Escherny (1737-1807). They lived in their Palais Fries (now

Palais Pallavicini Palais Pallavicini is a palace in Vienna, Austria. It is located in the Josefsplatz square at number 5. It has been owned by the noble Pallavicini family. It was previously built and owned by the Fries banking family (Swiss-Austrian) and is ther ...

) in Vienna. He had three surviving siblings, Count Joseph Johann von Fries (1755-1788), Countess Ursula Viktoria von Schönfeld (1767-1805) and Countess Anna Philippina von Haugwitz (1769-1842).

Personal life

In 1800, at the time when Moritz von Fries married Princess Maria Theresia zu

Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst was a county in northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The name Hohenlohe derives from the castle of Hohenloch near Uffenheim in Mittelfranken, which came into the possession of the descendants of Conrad o ...

(1779-1819) he owned 80% of the family bank, which was itself worth 2.5 million

guilder Guilder is the English translation of the Dutch and German ''gulden'', originally shortened from Middle High German ''guldin pfenninc'' "gold penny". This was the term that became current in the southern and western parts of the Holy Roman Empir ...

s. However, this was the height of von Fries' social and financial success, as the

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...

and other economic troubles of the

Napoleonic War The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

s coupled with the vast expenses of his standard of living progressively eroded his fortune. By 1826 von Fries was bankrupt, and moved to Paris with his second wife Fanny Münzenberg (1795-1869), dying shortly thereafter. His children were left penniless. An admirer of music, Von Fries was also a collector of books and art. His art collection (which he inherited from his brother Johann and then substantially expanded) included over 300 works, including those by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of works by Raphael, His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of ...

van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy. The seventh ...

and

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

, and his library extended to over 2,000 books. However, this extensive collection was all sold for the benefit of his creditors after his bankruptcy.

Legacy

Today, von Fries is principally remembered for his patronage of the musical life of Vienna. A member of the Gesellschaft der Associierten Cavaliere, an association of noblemen that organised exclusive concerts with the leading musicians of the day, he also organised many private concerts and musical soirees, where he supported many musicians and composers, most notably

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Ludwig van 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 classical ...

and

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 ...

. Haydn's oratorio '' The Creation'' was performed at the family residence, the Palais Fries, in April 1800, and Haydn also dedicated his last, unfinished, string quintet to von Fries. It was at one of Fries's soirees that Beethoven was reportedly challenged to a trial of skill by

Daniel Steibelt Daniel Gottlieb Steibelt (October 22, 1765) was a German pianist and composer. His main works were composed in Paris and in London, and he died in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Biography Steibelt was born in Berlin, and studied music with Johann K ...

who consequently left Vienna in embarrassment. Beethoven dedicated two piano and violin sonatas, Op. 23 and Op. 24, to Fries, in return for his financial support. Von Fries inadvertently compromised the publication of these sonatas - Beethoven had arranged that, as their sponsor, the sonatas would be supplied to von Fries in manuscript for his exclusive enjoyment for a year prior to putting them to press. However, von Fries was tricked into supplying these manuscripts to the publisher Artaria, who immediately brought out a 'pirated' edition without Beethoven's permission. However, this error was evidently not fatal to Fries's relationship with Beethoven, who went on to dedicate his Op. 29 quintet and his Seventh Symphony to him.

References

Peter Sheppard Skaeverd, "BEETHOVEN-SONATAS OP 23 AND OP 24"
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fries, Moritz von 1777 births 1826 deaths 18th-century Austrian businesspeople 19th-century Austrian businesspeople Austrian bankers Austrian patrons of music Haydn's patrons Counts of Austria Austrian people of Swiss descent Nobility from Vienna