Schuster, Joseph (EN)

Schuster Joseph, *11 August 1748 Dresden, † 24 July 1812 Dresden, German composer, conductor, harpsichordist. He first studied music with his father, a court musician and singer, and with J.G. Schürer in Dresden. Between 1765 and 1768, thanks to a scholarship from the Elector of Saxony, he travelled with F. Seydelmann and J.G. Naumann to Italy, where he studied with G. Pera in Venice; during his second stay in Italy between 1774 and 1777, he furthered his studies with G.B. Martini in Bologna. From 1772 until the end of his life, he was associated with the court of Frederick Augustus III, Elector of Saxony, who reigned from 1763 to 1827 in Dresden, initially (together with F. Seydelmann) as a composer and conductor of church music, and from 1781 (together with Seydelmann, Schürer and Naumann) he also directed chamber and opera music, and in 1787 he was appointed (together with F. Seydelmann) court kapellmeister. He decided on the composition of the court ensembles and their repertoire (he supported performances of works by J. Haydn, W.A. Mozart, and I. Pleyel), while also teaching music to the elector’s children. Between 1778 and 1781, during his third stay in Italy, he staged highly successful operas in Naples and Venice. He also engaged musicians and singers and compiled sheet music for the Dresden ensemble. Schuster took an active part in the musical life of Dresden, gaining considerable recognition and fame as a composer and an effective organiser of concerts and opera performances. His charming manner, careful upbringing and sociability brought him fame and popularity both at home and abroad; apart from his closest friends, he also enjoyed the recognition and friendship of Frederick Augustus III and maintained contacts with, among others, J.A. Hass and W.A. Mozart.

During Schuster’s lifetime, his works were frequently performed and enjoyed great popularity; his music was considered original, fresh, and free from unthinking adherence to prevailing trends; the influence of his education in Italy on his compositional technique was also emphasised. Throughout his life, he composed all genres of religious music, sometimes considered by his contemporaries to be the best in his oeuvre. As an opera composer, Schuster was particularly valued for his opera buffa (e.g. Lo spirito di contradizione), which was the most numerous genre in his oeuvre. He also composed opera seria (Didone abbandonata), gaining fame and recognition almost equal to that of N. Jommelli, with whom he was regarded as a rival, and additionally composed Singspiele (Der Alchymist). His stage works are characterised by the virtuosity of solo and choral vocal parts combined with sentimental elements, wit and musical humour (e.g. the so-called fugue of laughter in Il pazzo per forza), and variation in overtures. Elements of comedy are combined with early Romantic elements in his operas (Rübenzahl). Cantatas (e.g. the famous Lob der Musik) played an important role in the development of Schuster’s compositional style, as did oratorios, in which he combined subtle solo passages with the full sound of the choir and orchestra. Schuster’s instrumental works deserve special attention, both chamber music (quartets, divertimenti, duets), which show the influence of the Viennese school and enjoyed the interest and recognition of W.A. Mozart, as well as solo harpsichord and piano works. Schuster was interested in promoting the newly emerging hammer action piano. Most of his works are preserved in manuscripts at the Sächsische Landesbibliothek in Dresden.

Literature: obituary, “Allgemeine Musikalische” XIV, 1812; R. Engländer Die Opern J. Schusters (1748–1812), “Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft” X, 1927/28; R. Engländer Les sonates de violon de Mozart et les “Duetti” de J. Schuster, “Revue de Musicologie” XX, 1939; R. Engländer Problem kring Mozarts violinsonat and E minor KV 304, “Svenk Tidskrift för Musikforskning” XXXIII, 1951; R. Engländer Die Echtheitsfrage in Mozarts Violinsonaten KV 55–60, “Die Musikforschung” VIII, 1955; R. Engländer Die Dresdner Instrumentalmusik in der Zeit der Wiener Klassik, Uppsala 1956 (includes divertimento/sonata for harpsichord and violin and a thematic catalogue of violin sonatas); R. Engländer Nochmals Mozart und der Dresdner J. Schuster, “Svenk Tidskrift för Musikforskning” XXXIX, 1957; L. Finscher Mozarts “Mailänder” Streichquartette, “Die Musikforschung” XIX, 1966; H.-G. Ottenberg Das Dresdner Singspiel, in: Die italienische Oper in Dresden von J.A. Hasse bis F. Morlacchi, materials from the conference in Dresden 1987, ed. G. Stephan and H. John, Dresden 1988; L. H. Ongley Liturgical Music in Late Eighteenth-century Dresden: Johann Gottlieb Naumann, Joseph Schuster, and Franz Seydelmann, doctoral dissertation, New Heaven 1992; L.H. Ongley The Reconstruction of an 18th-Century Basso Group, “Early Music” XXVII, 1999; G. Poppe Über historisches Gedächtnis in der Kirchenmusik: Zur Bearbeitung zweier Messen von Johann David Heinichen durch Joseph Schuster, “Händel-Jahrbuch” 47, 2001; Joseph Schuster in der Musik des ausgehenden 18. Jahrhunderts, ed. G. Poppe, S. Voss, Dresden 2015.