Conradin Kreutzer or Kreuzer (November 22, 1780 – December 14, 1849), not to be confused with French violinist Rodolphe Kreutzer, to whom Beethoven famously dedicated a sonata, was a German composer and conductor and well known in his day but neglected since his death.
He learned music theory and several instruments when he was young and briefly studied law at the end of the 1790s at the insistance of his father, but his death in 1800 freed Kreutzer to pursue a musical career. By 1804 he showed up in Vienna, where he met Haydn and probably studied with Albrechtsberger. It was during this period that Kreutzer composed several stage works, mostly in the singspiel style, but he had little success getting them performed. So he supported himself by giving lessons, and touring Germany demonstrating Franz Leppich's musical contraption, the panmelodicon.
The panmelodicon was rather like a harmonica with a keyboard, but not the kind of harmonica most people think of. Harmonica is also a generic term given to musical instruments where sound is produced by friction upon glass bells.
Glass-harmonicas originated in the fashionable 18th century instrument known as musical glasses (or verrillon). An Irishman, Richard Pockrich, came up with the idea of musical glasses and first played the instrument in public in Dublin in 1743 and the next year in England. E. H. Delaval is also credited with the invention.
The verrillon or Glassspiel consisted of 18 beer glasses arranged on a board covered with a cloth, with water being poured in when necessary to change the pitch. The glasses, covered over with silk or cloth, were gently struck on both sides with two long wooden sticks shaped like spoons. It is said that the instrument was used for church and other solemn music.
An orchestral concert was given at the little theatre in the Haymarket in London in April 1746 where a concerto was performed on musical glasses. When Benjamin Franklin visited London in 1757, he was so taken with the instrument's beautiful tone, that he decided to work on a mechanical application of it. He was successful and finished the glass harmonica in 1762.
In Franklin's instrument, the glass bowls were mounted on a rotating spindle, the largest to the left, and their under-edges passed during each revolution through a water-trough. By applying the fingers to the moistened edges, sound was produced that varied in intensity with the pressure, so that a good player could produce a certain amount of expression. It is said that "the timbre was extremely enervating, and, together with the vibration caused by the friction on the finger-tips, exercised a highly deleterious effect on the nervous system."
For many years the instrument was in great vogue, not only in England but on the Continent of Europe, and especially in Saxony, where it was given a place in the court orchestra. And Mozart, Beethoven, Naumann and Hasse all composed music for it.
As time went by, improvements were made; one of which was Franz Leppich's panmelodicon in 1810 that Kreutzer demonstrated all over Germany.
Though nothing now remains of this instrument, there are numerous specimens of Franklin's type in Europe's museums for musical instruments. One specimen by Emanuel Pohl, a Bohemian maker, can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Anyway, back to Kreutzer. He did end up finding some success when he settled in Stuttgart — at least three of his operas were staged there in 1811-1812. He was also awarded the post of Hofkapellmeister. And when political tensions drove Kreutzer from Stuttgart in 1816, he toured repeatedly and took a series of Kapellmeister posts. He ultimately hooked up with theaters in Vienna and was finally able to successfully produce his operas.
A few of Kreutzer's songs are still performed and recorded from time to time, but today he is known (if at all) mainly for his Septet for winds and strings, Op. 62 (which is beautiful, IMHO).
However, if you care to look into some of his other works, you may want to try one of his operas, Das Nachtlager in Granada, or Der Verschwender, both produced in 1834. In fact, Kreutzer owes his fame almost exclusively to Das Nachtlager in Granada because it kept the stage for half a century even though people's musical tastes had changed. It is described as having a beautiful melody with great depth of feeling.
He learned music theory and several instruments when he was young and briefly studied law at the end of the 1790s at the insistance of his father, but his death in 1800 freed Kreutzer to pursue a musical career. By 1804 he showed up in Vienna, where he met Haydn and probably studied with Albrechtsberger. It was during this period that Kreutzer composed several stage works, mostly in the singspiel style, but he had little success getting them performed. So he supported himself by giving lessons, and touring Germany demonstrating Franz Leppich's musical contraption, the panmelodicon.
The panmelodicon was rather like a harmonica with a keyboard, but not the kind of harmonica most people think of. Harmonica is also a generic term given to musical instruments where sound is produced by friction upon glass bells.
Glass-harmonicas originated in the fashionable 18th century instrument known as musical glasses (or verrillon). An Irishman, Richard Pockrich, came up with the idea of musical glasses and first played the instrument in public in Dublin in 1743 and the next year in England. E. H. Delaval is also credited with the invention.
The verrillon or Glassspiel consisted of 18 beer glasses arranged on a board covered with a cloth, with water being poured in when necessary to change the pitch. The glasses, covered over with silk or cloth, were gently struck on both sides with two long wooden sticks shaped like spoons. It is said that the instrument was used for church and other solemn music.
An orchestral concert was given at the little theatre in the Haymarket in London in April 1746 where a concerto was performed on musical glasses. When Benjamin Franklin visited London in 1757, he was so taken with the instrument's beautiful tone, that he decided to work on a mechanical application of it. He was successful and finished the glass harmonica in 1762.
In Franklin's instrument, the glass bowls were mounted on a rotating spindle, the largest to the left, and their under-edges passed during each revolution through a water-trough. By applying the fingers to the moistened edges, sound was produced that varied in intensity with the pressure, so that a good player could produce a certain amount of expression. It is said that "the timbre was extremely enervating, and, together with the vibration caused by the friction on the finger-tips, exercised a highly deleterious effect on the nervous system."
For many years the instrument was in great vogue, not only in England but on the Continent of Europe, and especially in Saxony, where it was given a place in the court orchestra. And Mozart, Beethoven, Naumann and Hasse all composed music for it.
As time went by, improvements were made; one of which was Franz Leppich's panmelodicon in 1810 that Kreutzer demonstrated all over Germany.
Though nothing now remains of this instrument, there are numerous specimens of Franklin's type in Europe's museums for musical instruments. One specimen by Emanuel Pohl, a Bohemian maker, can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Anyway, back to Kreutzer. He did end up finding some success when he settled in Stuttgart — at least three of his operas were staged there in 1811-1812. He was also awarded the post of Hofkapellmeister. And when political tensions drove Kreutzer from Stuttgart in 1816, he toured repeatedly and took a series of Kapellmeister posts. He ultimately hooked up with theaters in Vienna and was finally able to successfully produce his operas.
A few of Kreutzer's songs are still performed and recorded from time to time, but today he is known (if at all) mainly for his Septet for winds and strings, Op. 62 (which is beautiful, IMHO).
However, if you care to look into some of his other works, you may want to try one of his operas, Das Nachtlager in Granada, or Der Verschwender, both produced in 1834. In fact, Kreutzer owes his fame almost exclusively to Das Nachtlager in Granada because it kept the stage for half a century even though people's musical tastes had changed. It is described as having a beautiful melody with great depth of feeling.
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