Ambrosius Kühnel (1771 – 19 August 1813) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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 ...

and

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectu ...

with a career centered in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

Life and career

Ambrosius Kühnel was born in Lubiatów, Złotoryja County,

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

(now

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) in 1771. Kühnel held the position of organist at the Electoral Court Chapel in Leipzig from 1795 to 1800, succeeding Carl Immanuel Engel. Establishing himself as a thorough musician and skilled

quartet In music, a quartet (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations of four instruments in chamber music is the string quartet. String quar ...

violoncellist, he soon contributed significantly to publishing major works. Kühnel met the German

kapellmeister ( , , ), from German (chapel) and (master), literally "master of the chapel choir", designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term has evolved considerably in i ...

Franz Anton Hoffmeister Franz Anton Hoffmeister (12 May 1754 – 9 February 1812) was a German and Austrian composer and music publisher. Early years Franz Anton Hoffmeister was born in Rottenburg am Neckar, Further Austria, on 12 May 1754. At the age of fourteen ...

at the turn of the 18th century, forming a partnership with him shortly after. Ambrosius Kühnel and Hoffmeister established the music publishing house "Bureau de Musique, Hoffmeister & Kühnel" in

on 1 December 1800. Combining business acumen and musical expertise, the owners focused on classical music, particularly Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven, while engaging closely with leading composers. Hoffmeister's return to Vienna in March 1805 to focus on composing left the firm solely in Kühnel’s hands. Beginning in 1805, Kühnel led a company called Neuer Verlag des Bureau de Musique von Kühnel. Among his publications were the Italian singing lessons of Vincenzo Righini and

Girolamo Crescentini Girolamo Crescentini (2 February 1762 – 24 April 1846) was an Italian soprano castrato, singing teacher, and composer. Biography Crescentini was born in Urbania. He studied in Bologna with the noted teacher Lorenzo Gibelli and made his debu ...

, the Parisian piano schools of

Muzio Clementi Muzio Filippo Vincenzo Francesco Saverio Clementi (23 January 1752 – 10 March 1832) was an Italian-British composer, virtuoso pianist, pedagogue, conductor (music), conductor, music publisher, editor, and piano manufacturer, who was mostly ac ...

Johann Baptist Cramer Johann (sometimes John) Baptist Cramer (24 February 1771 – 16 April 1858) was an English pianist, composer and music publisher of German origin, born in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the son of Wilhelm Cramer, a famous London violinist and con ...

Ignaz Pleyel Ignaz (Ignace) Joseph Pleyel (; ; 18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831) was an Austrian composer, music publisher and piano builder of the Classical period. He grew up in Austria (then part of the Holy Roman Empire), and was educated there; in his ...

, and Müller, theoretical works by J. G. Albrechtsberger,

Charles-Simon Catel Charles-Simon Catel (; 10 June 1773 – 29 November 1830) was a French composer and educator born at L'Aigle, Orne. Biography Catel studied at the Royal School of Singing in Paris. He studied composition with François-Joseph Gossec and by t ...

, and Marpurg, and violin schools by

Pierre Rode Jacques Pierre Joseph Rode (; 16 February 1774 – 25 November 1830) was a French violinist and composer. Life and career Born in Bordeaux, Aquitaine, France, Pierre Rode traveled in 1787 to Paris and soon became a favourite pupil of the great Gi ...

Rodolphe Kreutzer Rodolphe Kreutzer (15 November 1766 – 6 January 1831) was a French violinist, teacher, conductor, and composer of forty French operas, including '' La mort d'Abel'' (1810). He is probably best known as the dedicatee of Beethoven's Violin Son ...

, and

Pierre Baillot Pierre Marie François de Sales Baillot (; 1 October 1771 – 15 September 1842) was a French violinist and composer born in Passy. He studied the violin under Giovanni Battista Viotti and taught at the Conservatoire de Paris together with Pierr ...

, to name a few.Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, etc. (1883). Germany: (n.p.). Works by Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Spohr, Hoffmeister, Cherubini, and Spontini are also included. Kühnel published a German translation of Italian singer Bernardo Mengozzi's ''Singing theory of the Conservatorium of Music Paris containing the basic rules of singing exercises for the voice Solfeggien from the older and new works and arias in every kind of movement and character'' (). In 1809, he corresponded with Austrian composer

Sigismund von Neukomm Sigismund Neukomm or Sigismund Ritter von Neukomm ennoblement.html" ;"title="fter ennoblement">fter ennoblement as a knight(10 July 1778, in Salzburg – 3 April 1858, in Paris) was an Austrian composer, conductor and pianist.Slonimsky, Nicholas ...

about

Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 1737 – 10 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohra ...

, the younger brother of the more famous

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 ...

Death

Ambrosius Kühnel died on 19 August 1813 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Legacy

Following the music dealer's untimely death, his widow announced that she would continue the business in the same capacity and under the same name for herself and her young sons. Carl Friedrich Peters, a Leipzig bookseller, took over the company in 1814.Edition Peters Company History. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.wisemusicclassical.com/edition-peters-company-history/ After purchasing the Bureau de Musique from Kühnel's heirs on 1 April 1814, Peters renamed it Bureau de Musique von C.F. Peters (now

Edition Peters Edition Peters is a classical music publisher founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1800. History The company came into being on 1 December 1800 when the Viennese composer Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754–1812) and the local organist Ambrosius Kühn ...

).The Monthly Musical Record. (1885). United Kingdom: Augener.. In 1828, it passed into the possession of Carl Gotthelf Siegmund Böhme.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kühnel, Ambrosius 1771 births 1813 deaths People from Złotoryja County German organists German male organists 18th-century German organists Music publishers (people) German music publishers (people)