Franz Limmer
Encyclopedia
Franz Limmer was an Austria
n composer
, conductor
and musical performer.
He was born in Matzleinsdorf, a suburb of Vienna
, and died in Temeswar
, the present-day Timişoara
in the Banat
district of Romania
which was then part of Hungary
, which in turn was a part of the Habsburg
empire.
and guitar
with a teacher named Klein, and when he left school he entered the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied the cello
with Josef Hartinger (1811 – 1878) and the clarinet
with Joseph Friedlowsky (ca. 1777 – 1859). On his graduation he received a silver honours medal with a portrait of Mozart, with his name and the date engraved on the back. This honour led to his immediate acceptance in the Viennese circle of performers. Encouraged by his success he took up the study of harmony, figured bass, composition and scoring with two teachers, Erasmus Kessler and Ignaz Ritter von Seyfried (1776–1841).
At age 17 he started work on his first Mass, which was performed in the Augustinerkirche
before he was 18. This drew attention to him as a composer, and a productive period followed.
In 1834 at age 26 Limmer was invited to accept the post of conductor at the German Theater in Timişoara by its director, Theodor Müller. The theater ran up to 15 opera productions a year, including local premieres of Beethoven's Fidelio
and Verdi's Ernani
, Macbeth
, Il Trovatore
and Othello
. He wrote his Grand Quintuor for piano, violin, viola, violoncello and double bass, op.13 in this period among many other works. A year later he was appointed choir director of the Timişoara Cathedral as the successor of the late Joseph Kratochwill.
Limmer stayed in Timişoara until his death.
s blowing military trumpets on 17 July 1842 on the occasion of the laying of the first brick for a new infantry barracks. Also in less experimental performances he liked to set church music to an accompaniment by winds.
He was an accomplished cellist. His works include a trio for three cellos and a quartet for four cellos besides a string quartet and the piano quintet with double bass.
According to his biographer and personal friend Frigyes Pesty, the following compositions by Limmer were in the Temeswar church archives in 1859:
The following works by Limmer have appeared in print:
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, conductor
Conducting
Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
and musical performer.
He was born in Matzleinsdorf, a suburb of Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, and died in Temeswar
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
, the present-day Timişoara
Timisoara
Timișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
in the Banat
Banat
The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...
district of Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
which was then part of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, which in turn was a part of the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
empire.
Life
Franz Limmer was the only son of a businessman who owned a silk mill in Vienna. His father originally meant for him to take over the business, but as Franz was more interested in music than anything else, he was permitted to choose a musical career. From age 10 he studied the violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
with a teacher named Klein, and when he left school he entered the Vienna Conservatory, where he studied the cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
with Josef Hartinger (1811 – 1878) and the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
with Joseph Friedlowsky (ca. 1777 – 1859). On his graduation he received a silver honours medal with a portrait of Mozart, with his name and the date engraved on the back. This honour led to his immediate acceptance in the Viennese circle of performers. Encouraged by his success he took up the study of harmony, figured bass, composition and scoring with two teachers, Erasmus Kessler and Ignaz Ritter von Seyfried (1776–1841).
At age 17 he started work on his first Mass, which was performed in the Augustinerkirche
Augustinerkirche
The Augustinian Church in Vienna is a parish church located on Josefsplatz, next to the Hofburg, the winter palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Vienna. Originally built in the 14th century as the parish church of the imperial court of the Habsburgs, the harmonious Gothic interior was added in the...
before he was 18. This drew attention to him as a composer, and a productive period followed.
In 1834 at age 26 Limmer was invited to accept the post of conductor at the German Theater in Timişoara by its director, Theodor Müller. The theater ran up to 15 opera productions a year, including local premieres of Beethoven's Fidelio
Fidelio
Fidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora...
and Verdi's Ernani
Ernani
Ernani is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Hernani by Victor Hugo. The first production took place at La Fenice Theatre, Venice on 9 March 1844...
, Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)
Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's play of the same name...
, Il Trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
and Othello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
. He wrote his Grand Quintuor for piano, violin, viola, violoncello and double bass, op.13 in this period among many other works. A year later he was appointed choir director of the Timişoara Cathedral as the successor of the late Joseph Kratochwill.
Limmer stayed in Timişoara until his death.
Music
Limmer was not averse to musical innovation. According to the Timişoara journalist and historian Béla Schiff, he conducted a concert of church music by the Cathedral choir with accompaniment by mounted hussarHussar
Hussar refers to a number of types of light cavalry which originated in Hungary in the 14th century, tracing its roots from Serbian medieval cavalry tradition, brought to Hungary in the course of the Serb migrations, which began in the late 14th century....
s blowing military trumpets on 17 July 1842 on the occasion of the laying of the first brick for a new infantry barracks. Also in less experimental performances he liked to set church music to an accompaniment by winds.
He was an accomplished cellist. His works include a trio for three cellos and a quartet for four cellos besides a string quartet and the piano quintet with double bass.
Works
Most of Limmer's works have not appeared in print, and he does not appear to have been very prolific.According to his biographer and personal friend Frigyes Pesty, the following compositions by Limmer were in the Temeswar church archives in 1859:
- Great Mass with complete orchestra in G major
- Mass with chamber orchestra in C major
- Great Mass with orchestra in F major
- Missa brevisMissa BrevisMissa brevis literally means "short mass" and can refer to different types of musical setting of the Mass. Modernly, Missa brevis is generally understood as a setting of parts of the ordinary mass...
with chamber orchestra in B major - OffertoriumOffertoryThe Offertory is the portion of a Eucharistic service when bread and wine are brought to the altar. The offertory exists in many liturgical Christian denominations, though the Eucharistic theology varies among celebrations conducted by these denominations....
with clarinet solo in F major - OffertoriumOffertoryThe Offertory is the portion of a Eucharistic service when bread and wine are brought to the altar. The offertory exists in many liturgical Christian denominations, though the Eucharistic theology varies among celebrations conducted by these denominations....
for horn in E flat major - OffertoriumOffertoryThe Offertory is the portion of a Eucharistic service when bread and wine are brought to the altar. The offertory exists in many liturgical Christian denominations, though the Eucharistic theology varies among celebrations conducted by these denominations....
with obbligato winds in F major - Graduale with orchestra and vocals
- Great Ecce Sacerdos in E flat major
- Small Ecce Sacerdos in D major
- 49 Hymni vespertini for all Sundays and holidays
- 4 Stations for Corpus ChristiCorpus Christi (feast)Corpus Christi is a Latin Rite solemnity, now designated the solemnity of The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ . It is also celebrated in some Anglican, Lutheran and Old Catholic Churches. Like Trinity Sunday and the Solemnity of Christ the King, it does not commemorate a particular event in...
with wind accompaniment - Te Deum with winds
- 2 Hymns “Domine non sum dignum”, in E flat and F major
- 1 Requiem in B major
- Sonata for piano and viola in G minor
- “A very beautiful overture and several short pieces”
The following works by Limmer have appeared in print:
- OffertoriumOffertoryThe Offertory is the portion of a Eucharistic service when bread and wine are brought to the altar. The offertory exists in many liturgical Christian denominations, though the Eucharistic theology varies among celebrations conducted by these denominations....
with Violin solo, published by Diabelli and dedicated to Canonicus Róka - String quartet Op.10 (Vienna: P.Mechetti qm. Carlo, ca.1830; new edition Munich:Musik Südost) (see also klassika)
- Quartet for four celli in E flat major Op.11. Vienna: P.Mechetti qm. Carlo, ca.1830; new edition Amsterdam: A.J.Heuwekemeijer, 1970. (probably no longer in print; see klassika)
- Trio for three celli Op.12. Leipzig : Cranz, 1831 (see klassika)
- Grand Quintuor pour le Pianoforte avec Accompagnement de Violon, Viola, Violoncelle et Basse composé et dedié Monsieur Rémond Härtel par François Limmer Oeuv. 13, Leipzig: Breitkopf und Härtel, 1835 (see klassika) (free score in IMSLP)
External links
- Article by Dr. Franz Metz in German.
- The Nepomuk Fortepiano Quintet has recorded Limmer's piano quintet, playing on period instruments.