Born in Brunswick, April 5, 1784
Died in Kassel, Oct 22, 1859
- Louis Spohr was a violinist, composer, and conductor who was well-known and highly respected during his lifetime. Unfortunately, his music fell into obscurity following his death and has only been resurrected within the last 50 years or so.
- Spohr showed immense talent on the violin from an early age and, after some reservations from his father, was soon encouraged to pursue a musical career. As a musician and conductor, Spohr would go on to serve several prominent positions throughout his career, including leader of the orchestra at Gotha, leader of the orchestra at Theater der Wien in Vienna, director of the Frankfurt Opera, and Hofkapellmeister at the city of Kassel.
- As a composer, Spohr was quite prolific. He wrote 11 operas, nine symphonies, 15 violin concerti, and many other chamber pieces and Lieder (~300 works in total). Like Beethoven, Spohr’s compositions straddle the Classical and Romantic eras:
“[Spohr’s] work looks… towards both the formalism and clarity of the Classical tradition, and the structural and harmonic experimentation associated with 19th-century Romanticism.”
Grove Music Online
- Fun fact – As an important figure in the development of modern violin technique, Spohr invented the violin chinrest.
- Bonus fun fact #1 – Spohr was among the first conductors to use a baton.
- Bonus fun fact #2 – Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde were both composed during Spohr’s lifetime.
- Regarding Spohr’s first name – he was christened as “Ludewig,” but given that French versions of names were more fashionable then, he was always known as “Louis.”1
Learn More
In–depth look into the life and works of the composer from Louis-Spohr.com
Short biography from the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Sources
- Clive Brown, “Spohr, Louis,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed June 20, 2023, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000026446.