List of composers in the Mannheim school
Appearance
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Schloss_Mannheim_1725_v_J_C_Froimon.jpg/220px-Schloss_Mannheim_1725_v_J_C_Froimon.jpg)
The Mannheim school of composers was one of the most prominent musical groups of the 18th century. With a revolutionary court orchestra created by the Elector Palatinate of Mannheim, the Mannheim court inspired many famous musicians such as Haydn and Mozart. This is a list of composers usually associated with the Mannheim school.
List
[edit]First generation (born 1700–1730)
[edit]Name | Year born | Year died | Works/comments | Portrait |
---|---|---|---|---|
Carlo Grua[1] | 1700 | 1773 | 2 surviving operas and sacred works, including many oratorios. He is best known for his position as Kapellmeister of the Mannheim orchestra. | |
Franz Xaver Richter[2] | 1709 | 1789 | 80 extant symphonies, several concertos for soloist and orchestra, and 39 masses. He was the prime sacred music composer of his time. | ![]() |
Ignaz Holzbauer[2] | 1711 | 1783 | 196 symphonies. He was a prime exponent of the Sturm und Drang style. | |
Johann Stamitz | 1717 | 1757 | 58 symphonies, 10 orchestral trios (symphonies for string orchestra), many concertos, most famously his one for clarinet, and 8 vocal works. He was the first to expand the symphony's instrumentation and longevity. For this, he is known as being a founding father of the school. | ![]() |
Johann Baptist Wendling[2] | 1723 | 1797 | 14 flute concertos, 30 trios for flute, violin, and cello, 36 flute duets, and other works relating to the flute. He was one of the greatest flute virtuosos. |
Second generation (born after 1730)
[edit]Name | Year born | Year died | Works/comments | Portrait |
---|---|---|---|---|
Christian Cannabich | 1731 | 1798 | 76 symphonies, 30 sonatas for violin and piano, and several concertos and trios. He is known for being Stamitz's successor and bringing the Mannheim orchestra to its zenith. He was a friend of Mozart and directly influenced the symphonies of Haydn and Leopold Hofmann. | ![]() |
Anton Fils[2] | 1733 | 1760 | 34 surviving symphonies and several concertos, mostly for cello and flute. He, although very overshadowed today, was an eminent cellist and composer in the Mannheim court. | |
Franz Ignaz Beck[2] | 1734 | 1809 | 24 symphonies, a few operas, and miscellaneous pieces for keyboard. He spent most of his time in France, apparently after a duel which caused him to leave Mannheim. | ![]() |
Ignaz Fränzl[3] | 1736 | 1811 | 2 symphonies, 6 violin concertos, and several string quartets. He was heavily praised by Mozart, mostly for his violin technique. | ![]() |
Carl Stamitz[2] | 1745 | 1801 | 50 symphonies, 38 surviving sinfonia concertante, and more than 60 concertos for various instruments. He, along with Cannabich, was a stand-out representative of the Mannheim school. | ![]() |
Wilhelm Cramer[2] | 1746 | 1799 | 6 violin concertos and 23 violin sonatas, distributed in various opus numbers. He was the father of the more famous Johann Baptist Cramer, a virtuosic English pianist. | ![]() |
Georg Joseph Vogler[2] | 1749 | 1814 | 8 surviving masses, 4 string quartets, and a few operas. He also received patronage from Gustav III of Sweden and Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse. His travels extended as far as remote areas of Asia and Africa, and even Greenland. | ![]() |
Anton Stamitz | 1750 | 1809 | 15 symphonies distributed in four opus numbers and concertos for violin, flute, and viola d'amore. He, although not as well known as his father and brother, participated in the development of the Mannheim orchestra and was the violin teacher of Rodolphe Kreutzer. | |
Ludwig August Lebrun[2] | 1752 | 1790 | 6 oboe concertos, a concerto for clarinet, and other woodwind pieces. He was a celebrated oboe virtuoso and toured extensively across Europe. | |
Peter Winter[2] | 1754 | 1825 | 30 operas. He is regarded as a bridge between Mozart and Weber in the history of German opera. | ![]() |
Francesca Lebrun[2] | 1756 | 1791 | 12 keyboard sonatas with violin accompaniment. She is more known as a soprano and had many relationships with other Mannheim musicians, such as L. A. Lebrun (her husband) and Franz Danzi (her brother). | ![]() |
Franz Tausch | 1762 | 1817 | 2 clarinet concertos and 2 double clarinet concertos. He was the teacher of Heinrich Baermann. | |
Franz Danzi[2] | 1763 | 1826 | 9 woodwind quintets in 3 opus numbers, 2 horn sonatas, and concertos for many instruments. He knew Mozart in his youth, studied with Vogler, was a contemporary of Beethoven, and a tutor to the young Weber. He was a key figure in the transition between the Classical era and the Romantic era. |