Franz Gehring

“ He is kindness itself, and a very charming old gentleman.... Just now his whole mind is absorbed in plans for making German music known in Italy.' Santini even composed pieces in five, six, and eight real parts, much praised by Fétis. The Singakademie of Berlin elected him an honorary member. On the death of his sister he sold his valuable collection, stipulating however for the use of it for life. He is no longer living, but the date of his death is not known. ”

“ SCARLATTI, Domenico, or, according to [1] Quadrio, Girolamo, son of Alessandro, born apparently in Naples, 1683, first learned from his father, and later from Gasparini. He has been called a pupil of Bernardo Pasquini, but that seems most improbable, seeing that Pasquini was of the school of Palestrina, and wrote entirely in the contrapuntal style, whereas Domenico Scarlatti's chief interest is that he was the first composer who studied the peculiar characteristics of the free style of the harpsichord. ”

“ He is no good. He has not pluck enough to keep time.' Pluck was a quality which Meyerbeer never possessed, even at the tune of his greatest successes. A fortnight later Tomaschek repeated the visit, and describes it in even greater detail ('Libussa' 1847) . Meyerbeer's 'Two Caliphs' was then being performed, and on Tomaschek saying that it began with a Hallelujah and ended with a Requiem, Beethoven remarked, 'Yes, it is all up with his playing.' And again, 'He knows nothing of instrumental music; singing he does understand, and that he should stick to. ”

“ I felt so shaken that for several days I could not bring myself to touch the piano; indeed it was only my inextinguishable love for the art, that, after much reasoning with myself, drove me back to the instrument with even increased industry.' Before long, however, the critical faculty returned. ”

“ Domenico seems to have accompanied him to Rome, for Cardinal Ottoboni held a kind of competition between the two, at which the victory was undecided on the harpsichord, but when it came to the organ, Scarlatti was the first to acknowledge his rival's superiority, declaring that he had no idea such playing as Handel's existed. The two became fast friends from that day, they remained together till Handel left Italy, and met again in London in 1720. ”

“ TÜRK, Daniel Theophil, writer on theory, born at Clausswitz near Chemnitz in Saxony, son of a musician in the service of Count Schonburg, learned first from his father, and afterwards from Homilius at the Kreuzschule in Dresden. In 1772 he went to the University of Leipzig, where he became the pupil and friend of J. A. Hiller, who procured his admittance to the opera, and the 'Grosses Concert.' About this period he produced two symphonies and a cantata. ”

“ He adopted music as a profession about the time of Beethoven's arrival in Vienna (end of 1792) , and that he early became known as a teacher we gather from an entry in Beethoven's diary for 1794 'Schuppanzigh three times a week, Albrechtsberger three times a week.' Beethoven was studying the viola, which was at that time Schuppanzigh' s instrument, but he soon after abandoned it for the violin. Before he was 21 he had made some name as a conductor, and in 1798 and 99 directed the Augarten concerts. ”

“ Neither did he neglect practical music, but made himself familiar with the works of Mozart and Pleyel, and became acquainted with Winter, Kozeluch, and above all, Beethoven, who exercised a life-long influence over him. In his autobiography, published in a volume called 'Libussa' (1845, etc.) , Tomaschek writes, 'It was in 1798, when I was studying law, that Beethoven, that giant among players, came to Prague. ”

“ They gradually however degenerated into obscene pieces, until in the 16th century Hans Sachs and Jakob Ayrer (both of whom introduced music into their plays) started the movement which ended in the reformation of the German stage. ”

“ Richter also published a 'Catechism of Organ-building.' Of his many compositions de circonstance the best known is the Cantata for the Schiller Festival in 1859. Other works are—an oratorio, 'Christus der Erlöser' (March 8, 1849) , masses, psalms, motets, organ-pieces, string-quartets, and sonatas for PF. He became one of the King's Professors in 1868, died at Leipzig, April 9, 1879, and was succeeded as Cantor by W. Rust. ”

“ He was induced by Dragonetti to come to London, and there he composed the immensely popular 'Triumph of Love' (Drury Lane, 1797) . His first opera buffa, 'Teresa Vedova,' succeeded, and was followed by many others. In 1804 he composed 'Ifigenia in Aulide.' In 1806 he became impresario in Amsterdam, and there produced with great success an oratorio 'The Deluge' (1808) . Soon afterwards he went to Lisbon, also as impresario. ”

“ TURINI, Francesco, learned contrapuntist, born at Prague, 1590, died at Brescia, 1656, son of Gregorio Turini, cornet-player to the Emperor Rudolph II, and author of 'Teutsche Lieder' a 4, in imitation of the Italian Villanelli (Frankfort, 1610) . His father dying early, the Emperor took up the young Francesco, had him trained in Venice and Rome, and made him his chamber-organist. ”

“ He also attempted composition, and produced a mass, a Te Deum, and a cantata, 'Die Vollendung des Erlösers.' In 1798 he founded the 'Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung' (Breitkopf & Härtel) , and edited it till 1818, during which period his articles largely contributed to the improved general appreciation of the works of the three great Austrian composers, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, in North Germany. The best of these were afterwards re-published by himself under the title of 'Für Freunde der Tonkunst'—for friends of music—in 4 vols. ”

“ TONKÜNSTLERVEREIN. A society founded in Dresden in 1854 for the popularisation of good chamber music. It took its rise from Richard Pohl's evenings for the practice of chamber-music, and its first and present president is Herr Fürstenau. ”

“ In 1830 he was one of the committee appointed by the Council of Leipzig to draw up a new hymn-book, and some of the hymns are from his own pen. He also wrote the librettos for Schicht's 'Ende des Gerechten,' Spohr's 'Last Judgment' and 'Calvary,' and for Bierey's opera 'Das Blumenmädchen.' He was a Hofrath of Saxony, and died Dec. ”

“ TIRABOSCHI, Girolamo, a well-known writer on Italian literature, born at Bergamo, Dec. 28, 1731, and educated by the Jesuits, to which order he at one time belonged. He was librarian of the Brera in Milan for some years, and in 1770 removed to a similar post at Modena. ”

“ By Ayrer we still have a 'Schöns neus singets Spiel,' 'Der Münch im Kesskorb,' sung in 1618 by five persons 'entirely on the melody of the English Roland.' This melody is repeated 54 times, and one cannot help suspecting that the English stage was to some extent Ayrer's model. ”

“ Farrenc from Roseingrave's edition, and MSS. then in possession of Rimbault. There are also 130 pieces in Farrenc's 'Tremor des Pianistes' (1864) ; 60 Sonatas are published by Breitkopf; and 18 pieces, grouped as Suites by von Bülow, by Peters. ”