Václav Pichl (25 September 1741 – 23 January 1805; known in German as Wenzel Pichl) was a Czech classical

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 18th century. He was also a violinist, music director and writer. Pichl was born at

Bechyně Bechyně (; german: Bechin, Beching or ''Bechingen'') is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 4,900 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban ...

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 ...

. His first musical training was at Bechyne with the cantor Jan Pokorný. He served as a singer between the years 1752–1758 at the Jesuit college at Březnice. In

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, he was a violinist at the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

seminary of

Saint Wenceslaus Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...

and his studies while at the university were

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

. He was appointed to the post of first violinist of the Týn Church in 1762 and studied

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

with the

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 ...

J. N. Seger. In 1765 he was engaged by the composer

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2 November 1739 – 24 October 1799) was an Austrian composer, violinist, and silvologist. He was a friend of both Haydn and Mozart. (webpage has a translation button) Life 1739–1764 Dittersdorf was born in ...

as a violinist for the private

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

of Bishop

Adam Patachich Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

Nagyvárad ) , blank2_name_sec1 = Patron saint , blank2_info_sec1 = Saint LadislausMaria Theresa Maria Theresa Walburga Amalia Christina (german: Maria Theresia; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was ruler of the Habsburg dominions from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position ''suo jure'' (in her own right). ...

, he became music director for the Austrian governor of

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Archduke Ferdinand d'Este Archduke Ferdinand Karl Joseph of Austria-Este (25 April 1781 – 5 November 1850) was the third son of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este and of his wife Princess Maria Beatrice Ricciarda d'Este, last member and heiress of the House of Este. Fo ...

. Pichl went to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in 1777 and remained there until 1796 when the French invaded Lombardy, he then returned to Vienna, where he stayed in the service of the archduke until his death (apart from a brief visit to Prague in 1802). In 1785, he met

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 ...

and became friends with him. Wenzel Pichl died at

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

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, on 23 January 1805, as the result of a stroke while playing a violin concerto at the

Palais Lobkowitz Palais Lobkowitz, or Palais Dietrichstein-Lobkowitz, is a Baroque palace in Vienna, Austria. It was owned by the noble Lobkowitz family. Today, it houses the theatre museum, which is a part of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. History The palac ...

. He was 63 years old.

Selected works

* Six symphonies, op. 1 (two oboes, two clarinets, two horns, drums, strings. ca. 1778. "SEI SINFONIE A PIÙ STROMENTI. Dedicate A SUA ALTEZZA REALE IL SERENISSIMO ARCIDUCA FERDINANTO Principe Reale d'Ungeria e Boemia ... Da WENCESLAO PICHL. in attuale Servizio dell'Istessa Altezza Reale. OPERA PRIMA") * Six String Quartets, op. 2 (in A, C, F, Em, D, and B♭. ca. 1779.) * Three Violin Concertos, op. 3 (in D, G and B♭. 1779.) * Six trios concertans, op. 7 (in C, F, B♭, E♭, A and D. 1783.) The front page of this work (IMSLP) states that he was a pupil of M. Haydn * Three Symphonies, op. 8 (in C, E♭ and D. 1784.) * Six Duos for Violin and Viola, op. 10 (in C, G, D, B♭, F, E♭. 1784.) * Three quartets for flute, violin, viola, and violoncello, op. 12 (1787) * Three String Quartets, op. 13 (in A, B♭ and E♭. 1788.) * Three Duets for viola and cello, op. 14 (in C, G and A. ca. 1788.) * Three Symphonies, op. 15 (in D, B♭ and ca. 1790.) * Three Duos for violin and cello, op. 16 (Amadeus Edition edited by Bernhard Pauler, published in 2002) * Twelve Caprices for solo violin, op. 19 (1796) * Three Sonatas for Solo Violin with Accompaniment of Violin or Viola, op. 23 * Symphonies for Orchestra op. 24 * Sei fughe con un preludio fugato: per un violino solo (may be op. 41 ) * Etude for the Violin in the Form of Twelve Caprices, op. 46 (about 1801) * Koncert for String Bass and Orchestra in C major

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pichl, Wenzel 1741 births 1805 deaths People from Bechyně Czech male classical composers Czech expatriates in Italy Czech classical violinists Male classical violinists Czech Classical-period composers 18th-century Bohemian musicians Musicians who died on stage String quartet composers 19th-century Czech male musicians