The son of a wheelwright, he was trained as a choirboy and taken into the choir at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, where he sang from circa 1740 to circa 1750. He then worked as a freelance musician, playing the violin and keyboard instruments, accompanying for singing lessons given by the composer Porpora, who helped and encouraged him. At this time he wrote some sacred works, music for theatre comedies and chamber music. In circa 1759 he was appointed music director to Count Morzin; but he soon moved, into service as Vice-Kapellmeister with one of the leading Hungarian families, the Esterházys, becoming full Kapellmeister in 1766. He was director of an ensemble of generally some 15-20 musicians, with responsibility for the music and the
|
This is only the first few lines of this paper. If you would like to view the entire paper you need to register here.
|
Get Instant Access to 100,000 Essays!!
|
|