Category talk:Austrian composers

Is the distinction of German and Austrian composers really handy? ... at least for the pre-modern composers? Or will people rather consider the likes of Schubert and Bruckner as belonging to the German-language culture and search under "German composers" for them?

And if the distinction is really to be made: Should W. A. Mozart be called a Salzburgian composer, because born in the Archbishopric of Salzburg? Should his father be considered an Augsburgian composer, because born in Augsburg (which was a territory on its own at the time)? Should - in consequence - all German composers before 1871 be split up into Bavarian, Prussian, Saxonian, etc. composers? - That would be quite irritating! Does the Austrian exception here make sense, then?

Please don't get me wrong: I don't intend to make some nationalist claims ... but I think it can hardly be denied that this is a matter of practicability and of common perception ...

Other people have emailed me about this issue. 'Austrian' is misleading for early composers, but it can be a useful distinction if one wished to program a concert of music by Viennese composers. One possible solution is to use multiple categories for some composers. Therefore, Mozart could be labelled under 'German' and 'Austrian' (or even Salzburgian, but I am not sure how useful that is). This would group him in the category of composers who lived in German-speaking areas, and still distinguish him from a composer such as J. S. Bach.

Best, Rafael Ornes,. Manager, CPDL

German or Austrian - continued...

The following comments (by Weissgeo) were moved from the Category page to this Discussion page:

"Johann Ernst Eberlin, Josef von Eybler, Leonhard Lechner, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Johann Baptist Gänsbacher, Gustav Mahler, Franz Joseph Haydn, Paul Hofhaymer, Ignaz Holzbauer, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Anton Webern,… are all Austrian composers although they appear on the „German“ page – this is for those who know the difference between Austria and Germany."

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I just checked Wikipedia and other sources for Johann Ernst Eberlin and found that he was born in Bavaria (Germany) and studied music at the High School of the Jesuiten pc. in Augsburg (Germany). True, he went to university in Salzburg (Austria) but dropped out. He was an organist in Salzburg and, at the peak of his career, organist for the Austrian Andreas Jakob von Dietrichstein. But does this make Eberlin an Austrian composer or a German composer - or both?

ChuckGiffen 15:47, 4 January 2007 (PST)

Leonhard Lechner was a South Tyrolian composer who worked with Orlandus Lassus. ChuckGiffen 15:55, 4 January 2007 (PST)

Although born in Austria, Ignaz Holzbauer was a Mannheim School composer and musician in the "Sturm und Drang" aesthetic of German arts. Probably should be classified only as a German composer. ChuckGiffen 16:16, 4 January 2007 (PST)

Johann Nepomuk Hummel crosses lines amongst Austrian, German, and Slovak composers. ChuckGiffen 16:19, 4 January 2007 (PST)

I have perused the list of composers above and recategorized some as best I could by consulting various sources. ChuckGiffen 16:24, 4 January 2007 (PST)