Nikolaus Simrock (23 August 1751 in Mainz – 12 June 1832 in Bonn) was a German horn player at the court of the Elector of Cologne in Bonn and a music publisher. He was a friend of Ludwig van Beethoven and founder of the

N. Simrock N. Simrock (in German Musikverlag N. Simrock, Simrock Verlag, or simply Simrock) was a German music publisher founded by Nikolaus Simrock which published many 19th-century German classical music composers. It was acquired in 1929 by Anton Benjamin ...

music publishing house. "Highly esteemed as a man and a musician", he remained in contact with Beethoven throughout the 1790s and is regarded as a "reliable witness" to Beethoven's years in Bonn.

Biography

Simrock was born in Mainz, the son of a corporal, and was a horn player in a French military chapel before age 16. He applied at the Cologne Elector Maximilian Frederick for a job in the Bonn court orchestra. He began working there in April 1775 as "bugler" with an annual salary of 300 florins. The young Beethoven later played in the same orchestra. Simrock was one of the most famous philosophers of the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

in the elector's residence. Like his colleagues Franz Anton Ries and Christian Gottlob Neefe, he belonged to the Minervalkirche Stagira, an association of the Order of Illuminati. After its demise he was a founding member of the "Lesegesellschaft" (Reading Society) in Bonn. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge "Les Frères courageux", founded in Bonn in 1805. In 1793, Nikolaus Simrock founded the music publishing house

in Bonn. Two of his early publications were Beethoven's variations "Das rote Käppchen" (WoO 66) in 1793 and variations on a theme by Waldstein (WoO 67) in 1794. One reason for the success of this company – in addition to Simrock's business acumen – was his pro-French attitude that paid off after the electoral period in 1794 during the early occupation of Bonn and the Rhineland by French revolutionary troops. Simrock had become one of the most important European music publishers by the beginning of the 19th century. Under his leadership, N. Simrock published first editions of music by

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 ...

, whom he met in person, and Ludwig van Beethoven (13 first editions). Among the notable composers published after Simrock's death were

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

, including his Third Symphony and

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 ...

, including his oratorios '' Elias'' and ''

Paulus Paulus is the original Latin form of the English name Paul. It may refer to: Ancient Roman * Paul (jurist) or Julius Paulus (fl. 222–235 AD), Roman jurist * Paulus (consul 496), politician of the Eastern Roman Empire * Paulus (consul 512), R ...

''. Fritz Simrock, his grandson, moved the headquarters of the publishing house from Bonn to Berlin in 1870. He is especially known for publishing works of

Johannes 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 wit ...

and

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

Personal life

Simrock was married to Franziska Ottilie Blaschek from Mainz and they had 13 children together. The family members influenced nearly 200 years of cultural history of the Rhineland. One of his sons,

Peter Joseph Simrock Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

, ran the publishing business, another son was for many years the manager of the Hotel "Trierer Hof" in the market square, where

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where '' '' is French for 'father', to distinguish him from his son Alexandre Dumas fils), was a French writer ...

was a guest. The youngest son, Karl, was an editor of old and middle German literature and German literature of the 19th century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simrock, Nikolaus 1751 births 1832 deaths Musicians from Mainz Musicians from Bonn German male musicians German music publishers (people) German horn players