View source for Johann Georg Albrechtsberger

{{Short description|Austrian composer (1736–1809)}}
[[Image:Johann Georg Albrechtsberger.jpg|thumb|right|Albrechtsberger; portrait by [[Leopold Kupelwieser]]]]
'''Johann Georg Albrechtsberger''' (3 February 1736 – 7 March 1809)<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Randel |editor-first=Don Michael |title=The Harvard biographical dictionary of music |year=1996 |publisher=[[Belknap Press]] |location=Cambridge, MA |isbn=0-674-37299-9 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/harvardbiographi00rand/page/12 12] |chapter=Albrechtsberger, Johann Georg |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/harvardbiographi00rand/page/12}}</ref> was an [[Austria]]n [[composer]], organist, and music theorist, widely regarded as one of the leading figures in [[counterpoint]] and composition theory during the [[Classical period (music)|Classical period]]. He was a prolific composer of church music, orchestral works, and keyboard pieces, though he is best remembered for his influence as a teacher.

Albrechtsberger was a mentor to several important composers, most notably [[Ludwig van Beethoven]], whom he instructed in counterpoint and fugue. His theoretical writings and pedagogical methods had a lasting impact on 19th-century composition, and his treatises on harmony and counterpoint remain highly regarded. He was also a friend of [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]] and [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]].

In addition to his teaching contributions, Albrechtsberger held several prestigious positions, including [[Kapellmeister]] of [[St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna|St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna]]. He was a composer though his works are little performed today.

==Biography==
Albrechtsberger was born at [[Klosterneuburg]], near [[Vienna]]. He originally studied music at [[Melk Abbey]] and philosophy at a Benedictine seminary in Vienna, and became one of the most learned and skillful contrapuntists of his age. Albrechtsberger's earliest classmates included [[Michael Haydn]] and [[Franz Joseph Aumann]].<ref>p. 556, Anderson (1982) Robert. '''123''' "Mostly unknown" 1674 ''The Musical Times'' August</ref> After being employed as organist at [[Raab, Hungary]] in 1755 and [[Maria Taferl]], Austria in 1757, he was appointed [[Thurnermeister]] back at Melk Abbey. In 1772 he was appointed organist to the court of Vienna, and in 1792 [[Kapellmeister]] of [[St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna]].

His fame as a theorist attracted to him in the Austrian capital a large number of pupils, some of whom afterwards became eminent musicians.<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Albrechtsberger, Johann Georg|volume=1|page=512}}</ref> Among these were [[Johann Nepomuk Hummel]], [[Ignaz Moscheles]], [[Josef Weigl]], [[Tepper de ferguson|Ludwig-Wilhelm Tepper de Ferguson]], [[Antonio Casimir Cartellieri]], [[Ludwig van Beethoven]], [[Anton Reicha]] and [[Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart]]. ({{See LMST|Johann Georg|Albrechtsberger}}) Beethoven had arrived in Vienna in 1792 to study with [[Joseph Haydn]], but quickly became infuriated when his work was not being given attention or corrected. Haydn recommended his friend Albrechtsberger, with whom Beethoven then studied harmony and counterpoint.<ref>p. 82, Lockwood (2005) Lewis. New York ''Beethoven: The Music and the Life'' W. W. Norton & Company</ref> On completion of his studies, the young student noted, "Patience, diligence, persistence, and sincerity will lead to success", which reflects upon Albrechtsberger's own compositional philosophy.

Albrechtsberger died in Vienna; his grave is in [[St. Marx cemetery]].

==Compositions==
[[File:Johann Georg Albrechtsberger - VII Canoni a piu voci in partitura - British Library - Add MS 38070 f44r.jpg|thumb|Holograph manuscript of a folio from ''VII Canoni a piu voci in partitura'']]
His published compositions consist of [[Prelude (music)|preludes]], [[fugue]]s and [[Sonata (music)|sonatas]] for the [[piano]] and [[Organ (music)|organ]], [[string quartet]]s, etc.; but the greater proportion of his works, vocal and instrumental, exists only in manuscript. They are in the library of the Vienna [[Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde]].<ref name="EB1911"/> Around 1765, he wrote at least seven concerti for [[Jew's harp]] and strings (three survive in the Hungarian National Library in Budapest). They are pleasant, well-written works in the ''galant'' style.<ref>[https://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Albrechtsberger-Johann-Georg.htm Johann Georg Albrechtsberger (composer)], bach-cantatas.com. Accessed 5 March 2024.</ref>

One of his most notable works is his Concerto for Alto Trombone and Orchestra in B{{Music|flat}} Major (1759).<ref>[https://www.andrews.edu/~mack/pnotes/1992%20Concerts/feb0192.html Concerto for Alto Trombone and Orchestra], andrews.edu. Accessed 5 March 2024.</ref> As the trombone has few works dating back to the classical period, his concerto is often highlighted by the trombone community. He also wrote a Concerto for the [[Mandola]], Op. 27, discussed positively in the 1914 book ''The Guitar and Mandolin''.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/guitarmandolinbi00bone The guitar and mandolin: biographies of celebrated players and composers for these instruments], archive.org.  Accessed 5 March 2024.</ref>

Possibly the most valuable service he rendered to music was in his theoretical works. In 1790 he published at [[Leipzig]] a treatise on composition, of which a third edition appeared in 1821. A collection of his writings on [[harmony]], in three volumes, was published under the care of his pupil [[Ignaz von Seyfried]] (1776–1841) in 1826. An English version of this was published by [[Novello & Co|Novello]] in 1855.<ref name="EB1911"/> His compositional style derives from the counterpoint of [[Johann Joseph Fux]], who was Kapellmeister at St Stephen's Cathedral from 1713 to 1741; Albrechtsberger later held the same position.<ref>Emil Smidak and Charlotte Moscheles, ''Isaak-Ignaz Moscheles: the life of the composer and his encounters with Beethoven, Liszt, Chopin, and Mendelssohn'' (London: Scolar Press, 1989); {{ISBN|9780859678216}}</ref>

A continuous thread can be traced from his teaching through that of his pupil [[Anton Reicha]], who went on to become the first Professor of Counterpoint and Fugue at the Paris Conservatoire from 1818 until his death in 1836, and who in turn reached a wide audience through both his own teaching and his theoretical writings, which were standard reference at the Conservatoire for most of the 19th century, and translated into German by [[Carl Czerny]].<ref>Robert W. Wason, ''Viennese Harmonic Theory from Albrechtsberger to Schenker and Schoenberg'' (Rochester NY: University of Rochester Press, 1995); {{ISBN|9781878822529}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Catholic Encyclopedia|wstitle=Johann G. Albrechtsberger}}
* {{ChoralWiki|Johann Georg Albrechtsberger}}
* {{IMSLP|id=Albrechtsberger, Johann Georg}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albrechtsberger, Johann Georg}}
[[Category:1736 births]]
[[Category:1809 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century Austrian composers]]
[[Category:18th-century Austrian male musicians]]
[[Category:19th-century Austrian composers]]
[[Category:19th-century Austrian male musicians]]
[[Category:Austrian Classical-period composers]]
[[Category:Austrian male classical composers]]
[[Category:Austrian music theorists]]
[[Category:Austrian string quartet composers]]
[[Category:Classical composers of church music]]
[[Category:Musicians from Lower Austria]]
[[Category:People from Klosterneuburg]]