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First name: Ignaz J.
Last name: Pleyel
Dates: 1757-1831
Category: Quartet
Nationality: French
Opus name: Opus 44
Publisher: Augener
Peculiarities: RCG
Information: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ignace Joseph ]; (18 June 1757 - 14 November 1831) was an Austrian-born French composer and piano builder of the Classical period. He was born in Ruppersthal in Lower Austria, the son of a schoolmaster named Martin Pleyel. He was the 24th of 38 children in the family. While still young, he probably studied with Johann Baptist Vanhal, and from 1772 he became the pupil of Joseph Haydn in Eisenstadt. As with Beethoven, born 13 years later, Pleyel benefited in his study from the sponsorship of aristocracy, in this case Count Ladislaus Erdődy (1746-1786). Pleyel evidently had a close relationship with Haydn, who considered him to be a superb student. Pleyel's first professional position may have been as Kapellmeister for Count Erdődy, although this is not known for certain. Among his early publications was a set of six string quartets, his Opus 1. In the early 1780s, Pleyel visited Italy, where he composed an opera (Ifigenia in Aulide) and works commissioned by the King of Naples. Attracted to the benefits associated with an organist position, Pleyel moved to Strasbourg, France in 1783 to work alongside Franz Xaver Richter the maitre de chapelle at the Strasbourg Cathedral. The Cathedral was extremely appealing to Pleyel as it possessed a full orchestra, a choir, and a large budget devoted to performances. While he was the assistant maître de chapelle at Strasbourg Cathedral, he wrote more works than during any other period in his musical career (1783-1793). At the cathedral, he would organize concerts that featured his symphonies concertantes and liturgical music. After Richter's death in 1789, Pleyel assumed the function of full maitre de chapelle. In 1788 Pleyel married Francoise-Gabrielle Lefebvre, the daughter of a Strasbourg carpet weaver. In 1791, the French Revolution abolished musical performances in church as well as public concerts. Seeking alternative employment, Pleyel traveled to London, where he led the "Professional Concerts" organized by Wilhelm Cramer. In this capacity Pleyel inadvertently played the role of his teacher's rival, as Haydn was at the same time leading the concert series organized by Johann Peter Salomon. Although the two composers were rivals professionally, they remained on good terms personally. Just like Haydn, Pleyel made a fortune from his London visit. On his return to Strasbourg, he bought a large house, the Chateau d'Ittenwiller in nearby St. Pierre. With the onset of the Reign of Terror in 1793 and 1794, life in France became dangerous for many, not excluding Pleyel. Pleyel was brought before the Committee of Public Safety a total of seven times due to the following: his foreign status, his recent purchase of a chateau, and his ties with the Strasbourg Cathedral. He was subsequently labeled a Royalist collaborator. The outcome of the Committee's attentions could easily have been imprisonment or even execution. With prudent opportunism, Pleyel preserved his future by writing compositions in honor of the new republic. All were written in Strasbourg at times surrounding the Terror. Most of these compositions debuted at the Strasbourg Cathedral. However, during the Terror, churches were outlawed and the Strasbourg Cathedral was known as the Temple de l'Etre Supreme (Temple of the Supreme Being). He became a naturalized French citizen and thus came to be known as Citoyen (citizen) Pleyel. In addition to composing the above works for the Strasbourg public, Pleyel also contributed to the Parisian music scene during the Revolution. One example is Le Jugement de Paris, a pantomime-ballet by Citoyen (Citizen) Gardel and performed with Pleyel's music. Pleyel moved to Paris in 1795. In 1797 he set up a business as a music publisher ("Maison Pleyel"), which among other works produced a complete edition of Haydn's string quartets (1801), as well as the first miniature scores for study (the Bibliotheque Musicale, "musical library"). Pleyel visited Vienna on business in 1805, meeting his now elderly mentor Haydn for a final time and hearing Beethoven play. In 1807, Pleyel became a manufacturer of pianos. Pleyel retired in 1824 and moved to the countryside about 50 km outside Paris. He was buried in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.