Louis Spohr (1784 - 1859) was born and raised in the
North German duchy of Brunswick, and the eldest of six
children, Louis Spohr became one of the towering
talents of the first half of the nineteenth century,
winning a brilliant reputation as virtuoso violinist,
teacher, composer and conductor.
Living through a period of extraordinary musical
development ? indeed, both Mozart's Figaro and Wagner's
Tristan were composed during his lifetime ? Spohr was
considered by his contemporaries t...(+)
Louis Spohr (1784 - 1859) was born and raised in the
North German duchy of Brunswick, and the eldest of six
children, Louis Spohr became one of the towering
talents of the first half of the nineteenth century,
winning a brilliant reputation as virtuoso violinist,
teacher, composer and conductor.
Living through a period of extraordinary musical
development ? indeed, both Mozart's Figaro and Wagner's
Tristan were composed during his lifetime ? Spohr was
considered by his contemporaries to be worthy of a
place in the pantheon of the great musicians, alongside
Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven. He is also credited with
the invention of the violin chin-rest, with being the
first to use the baton when conducting an orchestra,
with the introduction of rehearsal numbers in
orchestral scores, and with his innovative use of a
special compositional technique when writing for the
single-action pedal harp of his time, which he himself
called 'the difference of the keys'.
Until recent years, apart from op 35 and op 36, Spohr?s
compositions for the harp were little known. The legacy
brought to light since the establishment of the Spohr
Gesellschaft in Kassel, the English Spohr Society, the
American Spohr Society and the wonderful Göthel
thematic catalogue (1981) has revealed an important
body of harp music, whether solo, chamber or
concertante works with orchestra, now being extensively
recorded and published.
When Louis Spohr came to Gotha in 1805 as Orchestra
Leader, he met Dorette Scheidler, an excellent and
skilful harpist, who became his wife. Her talent as a
harpist prompted Spohr´s interest in this instrument
and stimulated him into creating many new and diverse
musical compositions, such as, Solo for harp; Sonates
and Concertantes for violin and harp; Trios for violin
and cello etc. Amongst the harp solo works we find the
Fantasy in C-minor, op. 35 -- known as the "most
significant and ingenious musical composition realised
for the harp during these years" (Written in The
Allgem. musikal Zeitung, Leipzig 10/27/1807)
SHEET MUSIC