Haslinger, Carl
Haslinger Tobias, *1 March 1787 Zell, †18 June 1842 Vienna, Austrian music publisher and musician. He was a member of the cathedral choir in Linz, and at the same time he worked in a music store; then he headed the music department of F. Eurich’s books and works of art. In 1810, he appeared in Vienna as an employee in the K. Gräffer bookstore. In 1812–14, he published his youthful compositions, including 2 masses and Musikalischer Jugendfreund. In 1814, he was employed at Chemische Druckerey S.A. Steiner, and in 1815 he became co-owner of the company (S.A. Steiner & Co.). In 1822–23, the Steiner-Haslinger company took over the publishing rights of Kaiserlich-königlicher Hoftheater-Musikverlag, and then of J. Riedel. In 1826, Tobias Haslinger became the sole owner of the plant. In 1830, he received the title of imperial and royal court publisher of art and music, later he was given the title of honorary citizen of the city of Vienna and an honorary member of the Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien in Stockholm. In 1832, he purchased the Tranquillo Mollo publishing house, and in 1835 he moved production to his estate in Trattnerhof. Already during his cooperation with Steiner, he showed extraordinary entrepreneurship and organizational talent. He sought to modernise the publishing process, which had been improved since 1819 and reached its highest level in 1826; thanks to its production, the publishing house gained a global reputation at that time. Steiner, probably on Haslinger’s initiative, gave up the lithographic printing license in 1823 and transferred this part of his production to the Litographische Institut. Tobias Haslinger’s publishing house employed no more than 50 employees and had its own music engraving workshop and a copperplate printing workshop with 14 presses. A register of the company’s publishing production, detailing record numbers, was published from the beginning of its activity in the press (“Wiener Zeitung” 11 May 1805, 8 August 1812), in the catalogue from 1812, in supplements and on the last page of music prints. In 1817–24, the company also published its own magazine “Allgemainemusikalische Zeitung mit besonderen Rücksicht aus den österreichischen Kaiserstaat.” The company’s print list includes, among others: works by Mozart, Beethoven (numerous first editions and the publication of works started in 1828, continued for 17 years until volume 73), Schubert (first editions of opuses 77–83, 89–91), Schumann, as well as Polish composers: M.K. Ogiński, J. Elsner, F. Chopin (several first editions), F. Mirecki, and K. Lipiński. To maintain financial balance, numerous series containing popular works were published, e.g. “Musikalische Blumengalerie,” “Flore theatrale,” “Sammlung der Galoppen” and dance music, whose representatives were strongly supported by Tobias Haslinger. He printed almost all of his father’s works by J. Strauss in many different arrangements, as well as works collected in two series and works by J. Lanner from Op. 170. Haslinger commissioned an exclusive collection of Beethoven’s works, made in 1815–23 by the copyist Mathias Schwarz on English vellum paper, covering 62 volumes; later bought by Archduke Rudolf, after his death, together with the entire library, it was handed over to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. Haslinger maintained friendly relations with the most outstanding Viennese musicians, as evidenced by, for example, his humorous correspondence with Beethoven from 1815–26. After the death of Tobias Haslinger, for 6 years the company Tobias Haslinger Witwe & Sohn was run by his wife Caroline (†1848).
Literature: M. Unger Ludvig van Beethoven und seine Verleger, Berlin 1921; A. Weinmann Wiener Musikverleger und Musikalienhändler von Mozarts Zeit bis gegen 1860, Vienna 1956; F. Zagiba Chopin und Tobias Haslinger, Chopin-Jahrbuchb 1956.