Eduard Tauwitz (21 January 1812 – 26 July 1894) was a German composer and a native of Glatz,

Prussian Silesia The Province of Silesia (german: Provinz Schlesien; pl, Prowincja Śląska; szl, Prowincyjŏ Ślōnskŏ) was a province of Prussia from 1815 to 1919. The Silesia region was part of the Prussian realm since 1740 and established as an official p ...

. While studying law at the University of Breslau, he devoted himself to music under the direction of organist Franz Wolf and music director

Johann Theodor Mosewius Johann Theodor Mosewius also Johann Theodor Mosevius (birth name "Moses") (25 September 1788 – 15. September 1858) was a German operatic bass, choirmaster and music director of the University of Wroclaw. Life Mosewius was born in Königsberg. ...

and took charge of the students' choral society ('). Having decided not to follow a juridical career, he left Breslau in 1837 to direct the orchestra of a theater in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...

. In 1840 he went in the same capacity to

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, but in 1843 returned to Breslau and two years later accepted a similar position in Prague, where he also taught music. After the death of Leopold Zvonař, he succeeded him as the director of the Žofín Academy, a music school for women. Tauwitz wrote over a thousand compositions, and the following songs are worthy of special mention: ' and '. He also composed three

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s: ', ''Bradamante'' and ''Trilby''. Tauwitz died on 26 July 1894 in Prague, Austria-Hungary, and was buried in the

Olšany Cemetery Olšany Cemeteries (''Olšanské hřbitovy'' in Czech, ''Wolschan'' in German) is the largest graveyard in Prague, Czech Republic, once laid out for as many as two million burials. The graveyard is particularly noted for its many remarkable art ...

under a white marble tombstone designed by sculptor Ignác Weinrich.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tauwitz, Eduard 1812 births 1894 deaths 19th-century classical composers German opera composers German male opera composers 19th-century German Jews University of Breslau alumni People from Kłodzko Musicians from the Province of Silesia 19th-century German composers 19th-century German male musicians Composers from the Kingdom of Prussia