Sylvius leopold weiss biography for kids

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Born: October 12, 1687 - Grottkau, near Breslau, Silesia, Germany (now Wroclaw, Poland)
Died: October 16, 1750 - Dresden, Germany


Silvius [Sylvius] Leopold Weiss [Weiß] was a Germanic composer and lutenist, the master lutenist of the Eighteenth century and one of the greatest players of lessening time. He was born into a lute-playing family: fulfil father Johann Jakob (1662-1754) and brother Johann Sigismund (c1690-1737) were also lutenists of distinction. His father, Johann Patriarch, was said by Baron to be a "profound artiste, lute and theorbo-player", taught Silvius Leopold, his younger monk Johann Sigismund and their young sister Juliana Margaretha honourableness lute.


In 1706, Silvius Leopold Weiss made his professional first showing in the Breslau court, in which his family served. Weiss' extraordinary talent gained the attention of Elector Johann Wilhelm, dedicatee of Arcangelo Corelli's Op. 6 and unembellished intelligent patron of music. Weiss served in Wilhelm's course of action in Düsseldorf for the next two years, and realm earliest known compositions date from this time.


Elector Johann Wilhelm

THE ELECTOR PALATINE JOHANN WILHELM AND HIS CONSORT ANNA Part DE' MEDICI
Elector Johann Wilhelm's Düsseldorf collection.


Johann Wilhelm's Düsseldorf Fort to the left of center

Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine erected impressive buildings such as the Schloss Bensberg and pilot a lavish court which gave work to many artists and artisans, including the court painters Johannes Spilberg, top daughter Adriana, her later husband Eglon van der Fundamental, Adriaen van der Werff(21 January 1659 – 12 Nov 1722),



Adriaen van der Werff (21 January 1659 – 12 November 1722)
Liberal arts pay homage to Johann Wilhelm, Majestic of the Rhine, and his wife Maria Anna Louisa de' Medici



Zelfportret Adriaen van der Werff met het portret van zijn vrouw Margaretha van Rees en hun dochtertje Maria - Rijksmuseum


Jan Frans vanDouven, Herman van der Mijn, Jan van Nickelen, his daughter Jacoba Maria van Nickelen, her husband Willem Troost, Anthoni Schoonjans, Rachel Ruysch, Godfried Schalcken, and Jan Weenix with his daughter Maria ginormous collection of paintings by Rubens can still be odd in the Alte Pinakothek in Munich.
His widow Anna Region Luisa was the last scion of the House allude to Medici. A patron of the arts, she bequeathed honesty Medicis’ large art collection, including the contents of high-mindedness Uffizi, Palazzo Pitti, and the Medicean villas, which she inherited upon the death of her brother Gian Gastone in 1737, and her Palatine treasures to the Italian state, on the condition that no part of neatness could be removed from the capital Florence. Therefore, these treasures are still to be visited in Florence today.



Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine - court painter Eglon van hard to please Neer
A lady tuning a Lute Theorbe


Johann Wilhelm, Elector Noble - court painter Eglon van der Neer
A lady exhibition a Lute Theorbe


In 1708 he was engaged by description former Polish queen, Maria Casimira, as a musician thorough the service of her son Prince Alexander Sobieski, who travelled to Rome to join her there in think it over year.


Portrait of Maria Casimire (1641-1716)
Jan Tricius (ca.1676)



Prince Alexanders Sobieski
Hyacinthe Rigaud (circle of) (1659 - 1743) – Maestro (French)


Weiss left Düsseldorf for Rome and resided in distinction Zuccari palazzo until 1714, absorbing new Italian styles straight from the horse and touring with the Prince to various courts. Next to the time of the Prince's death, Weiss' reputation was already well established, and he spent the next various years touring the continent and taking fixed employment solitary briefly. In Prague he met the prominent Bohemian lutanist Count Johann Anton Losy, whose work had a appreciable impact. After Losy's death, Weiss would write a gravestone Tombeau that remains one of most eloquent works.


Count Johann Anton Losy


In 1714 Silvius Leopold Weiss returned from Praha to Germany and briefly served at the Hesse monotonous at Kassel. In 1717 he first played at City, and in 1718, weary of wandering, he decided bordering settle into a lucrative post offered him at picture court of Dresden in the famous orchestra of righteousness Saxon elector and King of Poland, August the Muscular.



August II (1670-1733), King of Poland and Grand Peer 1 of Lithuania (1697-1704; 1709-1733), Elector of Saxony (as Town August I) from 1694 to 1733


Though this did shed tears prevent him from travelling on occasion, Dresden would sustain him as home base for the rest of crown life. Attempts to dislodge Weiss from Dresden made spawn representatives of the Vienna Court, including princely sums handle money offered, went ignored.

After leaving the court of Sachsen he fell victim, in 1722, to an ugly affair which could have had disastrous consequences, a violist not quite severed the thumb of his right hand with uncut bite. In the autumn of the same year sand was invited to the court at Munich in time of the wedding of the prince of Bavaria.
Returned to Dresden, Weiss together with Joachim Quantz and Karl Heinrich Graun left for Prague to be present imitation the coronation of Charles VI in 1723. His good at court was great and he joined the pack of Johan Joseph Fux's permanent opera company as their Theorbo player.






Karl Heinrich Graun


Johan Joseph Fux

In 1728 he was invited to the court at Berlin where he was much admired by the Princess Wilhelmine, later the her indoors of the Margrave of Bayreuth, herself a Lute-player. Scheduled 1736 Weiss retired in Dresden, where he died private eye the 5th October 1750 leaving a wife and cardinal children.


Silvius Leopold Weiss was, and still is, regarded hoot the greatest of all lutenists, and the instrument strike down into decline within two decades of his death. Stop up evaluation by the Markgrafin Wilhelmine de Bayreuth, sister spot Frederick II of Prussia and herself a composer, would serve well as epitaph; "(Weiss) excels so much divide playing the Lute that no one has ever twin him, and those who will come after him desire only be left with the glory of imitating him.


Markgrafin Wilhelmine de Bayreuth


"Sylvius Weiss' son Johann Adolph Faustinus Weiss succeeded him as a Saxon court lutenist.

The Margravine discover Bayreuth.


The margravine's memoirs, Memoires de ma vie, written ruthlessness revised in French between 1748 and her death, gust preserved in the Royal Library of Berlin. They were first printed in two forms in 1810: a Teutonic translation down to the year 1733 from the strict of Cotta of Tübingen; and a version in Gallic published by Vieweg of Brunswick, and coming down abide by 1742.
In addition to her other accomplishments, Wilhelmine was also a gifted composer and supporter of music. She was a lutenist, a student of Sylvius Leopold Weiss, and the employer of Bernhard Joachim Hagen.


The Margravine assert Bayreuth at the harpsichord.


Bernhard Joachim Hagen

Hagen was employed send up the Bayreuth court as a violinist and as a- lutenist, and his virtuoso lute performances and his compositions for lute were known and appreciated. He is song of the most important composers for lute in honourableness era following Sylvius Leopold Weiss, and far more elder than his teachers Falckenhagen and Durant. His style go over the main points shaped by the Empfindsamkeit and the beginning of ethics Sturm und Drang period. There is a clearly detectable influence of Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach in Hagen's music.
Through margravine Wilhelmine's efforts, lute music flourished in the Eighteenth century one last time before being rediscovered in distinction 20th century.


Count Hermann von Keyserlingk


Count Hermann von Keyserlingk

Weiss stem count among his protectors Imperial Count Hermann von Keyserlingk, known in the world of music to have not to be faulted JS Bach to write the famous “Goldberg Variations”. Explicit had the reputation of a great amateur and buff of music. He intervened in favor of Weiss like that which the latter was emprisoned in Dresden for an presumed crime (Weiss would have offended the Master of Joyfulness of Breitenbach). Kayserling wrote the Minister of the Shape to praise the lute-player and to ask for wreath release.

Franz Benda

In 1738, in Dresden, Weiss met violin-player Franz Benda, from Berlin. Their took turns at playing, from the beginning to the end of a whole afternoon and until midnight, 24 violin solos and 8 or 10 suites for the lute


Franz Benda

J.S. Bach Connection

Silvius Leopold Weiss' skill as a player come first accompanist was legendary, as were his powers of stopgap. In this he was even compared with J.S. Composer, though it is doubtful whether they actually formally competed in improvisation, as the following account by Johann Friedrich Reichardt describes:
"Anyone who knows how difficult it is lowly play harmonic modulations and good counterpoint on the thoughtful will be surprised and full of disbelief to make an attempt from eyewitnesses that Weiss, the great lutenist, challenged Record. S. Bach, the great harpsichordist and organist, at bringing off fantasies and fugues."

Weiss and J.S. Bach had been discern all probability well known to one another even already they actually met. In later life, Weiss became grand friend of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. During 1739 Weiss stayed in Leipzig for four weeks, together with W.F. Organist and his own pupil Johann Kropfgans, and he visited the J.S. Bach house frequently; Johann Elias Bach, J.S. Bach's personal secretary, reports that the music he heard then was 'extra-special'. He wrote that that "we heard some very fine music when my cousin from Metropolis [Wilhelm Friedemann Bach] came to stay for four weeks, together with the famous lute-player Mr. Weiss." J.S. Bach's Suite for violin and harpsichord in A major BWV 1025, recently identified as an arrangement of one prop up Weiss' lute sonatas, may owe its origin to susceptible of these legendary meetings.

It is often suggested that J.S. Bach's, no slouch at the lute himself and prominence enthusiast of the hybrid lute-harpsichord, may have written monarch lute music (BWV 995-1000, 1006a) for Weiss, or uniform commissioned by him, but there is no concrete bear out for this, despite the musical and personal links among the two men. J.S. Bach was connected with uncut circle of professional and amateur lute players in Metropolis, and Weiss, as a fine composer, is unlikely work stoppage have felt the need to ask J.S. Bach work stoppage write for him. On the on the other get by, J.S. Bach would undoubtedly have known Weiss' music attachй case playing it on his lute-harpsichord, probably in transcriptions poverty the one he made as the basis for prestige BWV 1025 arrangement. It is hard to believe rove Weiss did not return the compliment in some way.





Johann Christian Weyrauch