Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky of Woschütz (, also known as ''Carl Alois, Fürst von Lichnowsky-Woschütz''; 21 June 1761 – 15 April 1814) was the second Prince Lichnowsky and a chamberlain at the Imperial

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n court. He is remembered for his

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of music and his relationships with

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

and

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Life

Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky was born in Vienna in 1761.Vienna, Parish of St. Michael, ''Baptismal Register'', Volume C, page 287. Original German: ''Wien, Pfarre St. Michael, Taufbuch Tom. C, S. 287.'' Karl Alois was born as the eldest son of Prince Friedrich Karl Johann Amadeus von Lichnowsky-Werdenberg (1720-1788) and his wife, Countess Maria Karolina von Althann (1741-1800). Although Lichnowsky spent most of his time in Vienna, it was actually in

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, ...

that he held the title of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

. His estates were located in Grätz, in the Austrian part of the historic province of

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

, most of which was

conquered Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or legal prohibitions against conquest ...

by Prussia earlier in the century. The location is today called Hradec nad Moravicí and is within the borders of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

.Clive 2001, p. 205. In his youth (1776 to 1782) he was a law student, studying 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 ...

and in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

. While in Göttingen he met

Johann Nikolaus Forkel Johann Nikolaus Forkel (22 February 1749 – 20 March 1818) was a German musicologist and music theorist, generally regarded as among the founders of modern musicology. His publications include the two-volume ''Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik'' ...

, who later was to become famous for writing the first biography of J. S. Bach. Lichnowsky at the time began to collect works by Bach in manuscript copies.Grove He also was a musician and a composer. Karl Alois was a Mason and a lodge brother of Mozart; see Mozart and Freemasonry.

Private life

Lichnowsky was married (1788) to

Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Maria Christiane von

Thun und Hohenstein The House of Thun und Hohenstein, also known as Thun-Hohenstein, belonged to the historical Austrian nobility, Austrian and Bohemian nobility. There is one princely and several count, comital branches of the family. The princely branch of the fami ...

(1765-1841), the "beautiful" (according to

Otto Erich Deutsch Otto Erich Deutsch (5 September 1883 – 23 November 1967) was an Austrian musicologist. He is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of Franz Schubert's compositions, first published in 1951 in English, with a revised edition pu ...

) daughter of Count Franz Josef Anton von

(1734-1801), an Imperial Chamberlain and his wife, Countess Maria Wilhelmine von Thun und Hohenstein, née Countess von Uhlfeldt (1744-1800). Deutsch 1965, p. 339.

Relationship with Mozart

In 1789 he traveled to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, taking Mozart along with him. For details of the trip, see Mozart's Berlin journey. He also lent Mozart money, which Mozart was unable to repay. This led the Prince to sue Mozart, and on 9 November 1791, a few weeks before Mozart died, the Lower Austria Court (''Landrechte'') decided the case in favor of the Prince, ruling that Mozart owed him the sum of 1,435 florins and 32 kreutzer, a substantial amount. The court issued an order to the chamber of the Imperial court (Mozart's employer) to attach half of Mozart's salary of 800 florins per year. The evidence of the lawsuit was uncovered (by Otto Mraz) only in 1991, and hence is not discussed in earlier Mozart biographies.

Relationship with Beethoven

Lichnowsky was one of the most significant aristocratic supporters of Beethoven. In an 1805 letter the composer called him "one of my most loyal friends and promoters of my art." In 1796, the Prince traveled to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, this time taking Beethoven with him. The composer was on his way to Berlin. In 1800, Lichnowsky gave Beethoven an annual allowance of 600 florins until such time as he found a regular appointment as a musician. The stipend continued until 1806, when a furious quarrel erupted between the two, terminating their friendship: Beethoven, staying at Lichnowsky's country estate, had refused to play for visiting French officers. Later, arriving home in Vienna, Beethoven smashed a bust of the Prince. Seven of Beethoven's musical compositions, all before 1806, were dedicated to Lichnowsky: *The three piano trios, Opus 1 (1795) *The "Nine variations for piano on 'Quant'è più bello' from

Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born i ...

's opera ''La Molinara''", for piano solo, WoO 69 (1795) *The Piano sonata in C minor, Opus 13, "Pathétique" (1798) *The Piano sonata in A-flat major, Opus 26 (1801) *The Second Symphony in D major, Opus 36 (1802)

Death

He died of a stroke in Vienna on 15 April 1814.''Wiener Zeitung'', 20 April 1814, p. 444.
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Notes

References

Sources

*Clive, Peter (2001) ''Beethoven and his World: A Biographical Dictionary''. Oxford University Press. *Deutsch, Otto Erich (1965) ''Mozart: A Documentary Biography''. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. *''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', article "Lichnowsky". Online edition. Copyright 2007 by Oxford University Press. The article is by Elliott Forbes and William Meredith. *Nosow, Robert (1997) "Beethoven's popular keyboard publications," ''Music and Letters'' 56-76. *Solomon, Maynard (1995) ''Mozart: A Life''. New York: Harper Collins.

External links

* Prince Lichnowsky page. *Genealogy
15 generations of the Lichnowsky Family
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lichnowsky, Prince Carl 1761 births 1814 deaths Austrian princes Habsburg Bohemian nobility Karl Alois, Prince Lichnowsky Patrons of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Austrian patrons of music Philanthropists from Vienna