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Leopold Koželuch (, born ''Jan Antonín Koželuh'', alternatively also ''Leopold Koželuh'', ''Leopold Kotzeluch''; 26 June 1747 – 7 May 1818) was a
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
composer and music teacher. He was born in Velvary and moved 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 ...
to further his musical education, before moving again to
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
in 1778, where he was based for the remainder of his career. In Vienna he achieved renown as a composer, pianist and teacher, and from 1792 until his death in 1818 he held royal appointments as ''Kammer Kapellmeister'' (music director) and ''Hofmusik Compositor'' (composer), as
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 ...
's successor. Koželuch's compositional output included
sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...
s and
concerto A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The ...
s for keyboard, the instrument in which he specialised, as well as
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...
,
choral music A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
and
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
.


Life

Koželuch was born on 26 June 1747 in Velvary, in present-day
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 ...
.Poštolka His father was Antonín Bartholomäus Koželuh, a shoemaker.Hogwood, p. 621 He was baptised Jan Antonín, but by 1773 he had adopted the name Leopold to avoid confusion with his elder cousin, the composer
Jan Antonín Koželuh Jan Antonín Koželuh (also Johann Antonin Kozeluch, Koscheluch, Jan Evangelista Antonín Tomáš; 14 December 1738 in Velvary – 3 February 1814 in Prague) was a Czech composer. Life Koželuh was a pupil of Josef Seger and studied under the ...
. He also Germanised his surname to Koželuch.English, p. 4 After starting his musical education in Velvary, Koželuch moved to Prague where he studied with his cousin and František Xaver Dušek, the latter teaching him in the keyboard and composition. From 1771 to 1778, Koželuch wrote ballets and pantomimes which were performed in
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 ...
. The success of these works led him to abandon plans to study law in favour of a musical career. He moved to
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
for this purpose in 1778, where he quickly established himself as a pianist, albeit one who did not perform in public, composer and teacher. Pianist Kemp English observes that in Vienna Koželuch "found himself in the right place at the right time", and was able to advance his career there with carefully cultivated connections. He composed a cantata for the death of
Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...
in 1780.Vytlačil, p. 8 His pupils would include Maria Theresia Paradis, Archduchess Elisabeth of Württemberg,
Archduchess Marie Louise Marie Louise (Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Theresia Josepha Lucia; 12 December 1791 – 17 December 1847) was Duke of Parma, Duchess of Parma from 11 April 1814 until her death in 1847. She was Napoleon's second wife and as such Empress o ...
and Maria Leopoldine von Österreich, Empress of Brazil. His appointment to teach Archduchess Elizabeth was an official court position, succeeding Georg Christoph Wagenseil. In 1781,
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 ...
resigned his appointment as court organist in
Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
following a quarrel with his employer, the Archbishop of Salzburg. The Archbishop offered the position to Koželuch, but Koželuch refused, later expressing concerns to a friend that he might too have fallen victim to what he saw as Mozart's ill-treatment. In 1784, Koželuch expanded into publishing, and soon formed his own firm, Musikalisches Magazin, which would later come under the management of his brother Antonín Tomáš. Koželuch would use the firm, in combination with overseas partners, to publish many of his compositions. By 1790, a time at which Mozart and
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 ...
were at the height of their careers, Koželuch's reputation was such as to move
Ernst Ludwig Gerber Ernst Ludwig Gerber (29 September 1746 in Sondershausen, Germany – 30 June 1819 in Sondershausen) was a German composer, organist, cellist, and author of a famous dictionary of musicians. His father, Heinrich Nikolaus Gerber (1702–1775), a ...
to say the following of his status within Europe: "Leopold Kozeluch is without question with young and old the generally most loved among our living composers, and this with justification".Hickman, p. 42 Koželuch's esteem in royal circles grew again in 1791, when he composed a well-received cantata commissioned for the coronation of
Emperor Leopold II Leopold II (Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard; 5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792) was the penultimate Holy Roman Emperor, as well as King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and Archduke of Austria from 1790 to 1792, and Grand Duke of Tusca ...
in Prague. Mozart composed ''
La clemenza di Tito (''The Clemency of Titus''), K. 621, is an ''opera seria'' in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzolà, after Pietro Metastasio. Mozart completed the work in the midst of composing ''Die Zauberfl ...
'' for the same occasion. Mozart's death later in the year afforded Koželuch another opportunity: Emperor Franz II offered him Mozart's positions in his court, ''Kammer Kapellmeister'' (music director) and ''Hofmusik Compositor'' (composer), and at double Mozart's salary.Vytlačil, p. 9 Koželuch would remain in the positions until his death. Koželuch joined a
masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...
in 1791, marking another coincidence between his career and Mozart's and serving to advance himself further within Viennese society. Koželuch's compositional output declined after the turn of the century as he focused on his court duties, teaching, and the lucrative work of arranging Scottish, Irish and Welsh folk songs for the publisher
George Thomson George Thomson may refer to: Government and politics * George Thomson (MP for Southwark) (c. 1607–1691), English merchant and Parliamentarian soldier, official and politician * George Thomson, Baron Thomson of Monifieth (1921–2008), Scottish p ...
.
William Crotch William Crotch (5 July 177529 December 1847) was an English composer and organist. According to the British musicologist Nicholas Temperley, Crotch was "a child prodigy without parallel in the history of music", and was certainly the most dist ...
reflected on Koželuch's reputation in a lecture in 1806, remarking that he had "sunk in unmerited neglect" while Mozart's reputation had enjoyed posthumous growth.Hogwood, p. 623 In 1809,
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 ...
, a frequent disparager of rival composers, would write to Thomson referring to Koželuch as "Miserabilis". Koželuch died on 7 May 1818. His daughter, Catherina Cibbini-Kozeluch, became a prominent pianist and composer based in Vienna.


Works

Koželuch left around 400 compositions. Among these there are about thirty
symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning c ...
, twenty-two
piano concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...
s, including a concerto for piano four-hands, arguably one of the best examples of this rare genre, two
clarinet concerto A clarinet concerto is a concerto for clarinet; that is, a musical composition for solo clarinet together with a large ensemble (such as an orchestra or concert band). Albert Rice has identified a work by Giuseppe Antonio Paganelli as possibly th ...
s, twenty-four
violin sonata A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple Baroque music, baroque form wi ...
s, sixty-three
piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...
s, six
string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...
s, two
oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
s (one of which, ''Moisè in Egitto'', has recently been produced and recorded), nine
cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
s and various liturgical works. Among his music there are also operas and works for ballet, which—with the exception of one opera —have yet to be heard in recent years. Numerous arrangements by him of Scottish songs for the Edinburgh collector George Thomson were popular, and some of these have also been recorded. Milan Poštolka, a musicologist, catalogued Koželuch's works in 1964.


Keyboard

Koželuch's substantial output of keyboard compositions reflected the promotion of his reputation as a specialist keyboard virtuoso.
Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English Conducting, conductor, harpsichordist, and Musicology, musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on h ...
argues that Koželuch's keyboard sonatas, especially those which open in minor keys, "substantially anticipated ... the tragic-pathetic manner" of
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 ...
and
Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
, and that in them he "created the internationally praised ''cantabile'' idiom". Hogwood further states that "Koželuch's sonatas are, in the true sense, 'classics'—that is to say, 'models for imitation and study'—and display to perfection precisely those features that theorists required of a sonata at the end of the 18th century." The oeuvre of sonatas spans almost the entirety of Koželuch's career: the first was composed in 1773; the final three date from after 1810. The sonatas cater for different purposes. Some are exhibitionist works; some are simpler; some are cast in a Romantic style that foreshadows Beethoven. In the third category, Koželuch was composing slow minor-key introductions to sonatas as much as 17 years before Beethoven composed his Piano Sonata No. 8 ("Pathetique"), while neither Mozart nor Haydn ever did so.English, p. 5 Koželuch's composed his sonatas to be played on the newly emerging
fortepiano A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...
rather than the
harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...
. The popularity of the sonatas in turn helped to make the fortepiano fashionable. Twenty-two Koželuch keyboard concertos survive. The musicologist Richard Wigmore argues that they "conspicuously lack the melodic abundance, rich woodwind colouring and operatic-style dialogues of Mozart's great Viennese concertos", but nonetheless "beguile with their limpid grace, their sparkling keyboard writing (often in just two parts), and their sense of proportion." Most are scored only for strings, oboes, horns and soloist—sparser than Mozart's scoring of his contemporaneous concertos—suggesting that the works were intended for small-scale performances.


Chamber

Koželuch's
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...
, especially his output from the 1790s, is among the more advanced of his works, often foreshadowing the expressionism of Beethoven. Musicologist Roger Hickman refers to this period of chamber music output as representing a more "daring character" on the part of the composer, and argues that these works "must have been noted by the young
Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...
". Koželuch's only
string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...
s date from this period. A set of six published as Opus 32 and Opus 33, they became known throughout Europe.


Orchestral and choral

Koželuch probably composed most of his symphonies during his first decade in Vienna, a period in which his Viennese contemporaries, including Mozart, were focusing on other genres. The musicologist Allan Badley labels Koželuch's symphonic compositions as "modest by the standards of the time". Badley argues that Koželuch's symphonies are influenced by those of his Prague teacher František Xaver Dušek in their orchestration and thematic organisation. Almost all of Koželuch's choral works, including cantatas and five of his six operas, have been lost. His opera ''Gustav Wasa'' (presumably from 1792) was performed in Finland in 2018, for the first time since the death of the composer.


References


Sources

* * *Christa Flamm-Harten: ''Leopold Koželuch : Biographie und stilkritische Untersuchung der Sonaten für Klavier, Violine und Violoncello nebst einem Beitrag zur Entwicklungsgeschichte des Klaviertrios''. Dissertation. Wien 1968, . (Exemplare: Universität Wien, ÖNB) * * *Kennedy, Michael and Bourne, Joyce, eds. ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music''. Fourth edition, 1996 (2004 reprint). Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. . * *Sondheimer, Robert: ''Die Theorie der Sinfonie und die Beurteilung einzelner Sinfoniekomponisten bei den Musikschriftstellern des 18. Jahrhunderts''. Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1925. * Vytlačil, Lukáš M. "From Velvary, Bohemia, to the court in Vienna. The life of the imperial Kapellmeister Leopold Koželuh and a new complete edition of his keyboard sonatas." ''Czech Music Quarterly'' 16/2 (2016), pp. 7–11.
on-line here


Further reading

* Deutsch, Otto Erich. ''Kozeluch Ritrovato''. ''Music and letters.'' London. v. 26 no. 1, Jan. 1945, p. 47-50. *Poštolka, Milan. ''Leopold Koželuh : život a dílo''. Praha : Státní hudební vydavatelství, 1964. 387 p. with bibliography pp. 379–87 and 10 pp. illustrations. *John A. Rice
"Muzzarelli, Kozeluch, and ''La ritrovata figlia di Ottone II'' (1794): Viennese Ballet Reborn in the Spirit of Noverre"
* John A. Rice
"A Bohemian Composer Meets a Mozart Singer: Kozeluch's Rondò for Adriana Ferrarese"


External links

*
Musical Manuscripts Collection
at the
Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kozeluh, Leopold 1747 births 1818 deaths 18th-century classical composers from Bohemia 18th-century male musicians from Bohemia 19th-century classical composers 19th-century Czech musicians Classical-period composers from Bohemia 18th-century composers from the Holy Roman Empire Composers from the Austrian Empire Czech Freemasons People from Kladno District 19th-century Czech male musicians String quartet composers Oratorio composers Czech opera composers Czech male opera composers Composers for piano