Page:Pratt - The history of music (1907).djvu/441

 penetration and abundant technical equipment. His handling of the overture and of accompaniments is masterly, and many scenes and passages are original, beautiful and impressive. He and Marschner were, next to Weber, the strongest exponents of the new operatic ideal, though he did not have their fervor or freedom. His peculiar critical attitude prevented his full sympathy with either Beethoven or Weber, while at the same time he was powerfully contributing to the advance of the new German school.

Here may be mentioned a series of ready and popular composers of no permanent influence, namely, Johann Nepomuk Poissl (d. 1865), a lifelong court-musician at Munich, with some 15 operas (from 1806), of which the strongest was Der Untersberg (1829); Karl Ludwig Blum (d. 1844), an actor and many-sided musician, from 1822 stage-manager of the opera at Berlin, with 50 operettas (from before 1810) and adaptations of the French vaudeville, Das Rosenhutchen[F2 thinks ü. See http://susi.e-technik.uni-ulm.de:8080/Meyers2/seite/werk/meyers/band/3/seite/0045/meyers_b3_s0045.html] (1815) being specially successful; Franz Volkert (d. 1845), director of one of the Vienna theatres, with about 150 taking stage-works (1810-30); Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner (d. 1856), pupil of Winter at Munich, from 1812 conductor there and from 1819 at Stuttgart, winning fame by his skill, with over 20 operas (from 1811), notably Der Vampyr (1829) and Lichtenstein (1845), besides instrumental music and songs; and Friedrich Kuhlau (d. 1832), the able flutist, from 1810 at Copenhagen, with a few careful operas there (from 1814). (For Schubert, see sec. 174.)

Heinrich Marschner (d. 1861), born in 1795 at Zittau, represents a later group than most of the foregoing. Musically precocious, he had good teaching at Leipsic, in 1816 began opera-writing at Pressburg, in 1817 visited Vienna, meeting Beethoven, attracted the notice of Weber, with whom from 1822 he was associated at Dresden, from 1826 was opera-director at Leipsic and from 1831 at Hanover, with a wide renown. Besides incidental stage-music to many plays, he produced about 15 operas, of which Der Vampyr (1828), Der Templer und die Jüdin (1829, plot from 'Ivanhoe') and Hans Heiling (1833) placed him among the strongest of the early German opera-writers. He also wrote excellent piano and chamber music, and remarkable songs and part-songs. His genius resembled Weber's, with a striking power in depicting weird and outlandish scenes as well as those of homely simplicity. His command of harmonic and orchestral resources was superb, his melodic inspiration abundant, and his dramatic sense sure and vigorous.

Karl Gottlieb Reissiger (d. 1859), a fellow-student with Marschner at Leipsic, in 1821 began opera-writing at Vienna, studied with Winter at Munich, in 1824 was sent by the Prussian government to Italy to report upon conservatory methods, taught at Berlin for a time, in 1826 organized the Hague conservatory, and succeeded Marschner and Weber at Dresden. His operas numbered about 10, the most popular being the melodrama Yelva (1827), Die Felsenmühle von Étalières (1829) and Turandot (1835). He was an industrious composer of chamber music, and of pleasing piano-pieces and songs. He also wrote much church music, including 10 masses with orchestra and the oratorio David.

Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee (d. 1868), the Frankfort teacher and song-writer, wrote one fairy opera, Fortunat (1829).