Vesque von Püttlingen, Johann (EN)

Vesque von Püttlingen Johann, pseudonym J. Hoven, *23 July 1803 Opole Lubelskie, †29 October 1883 Vienna, Austrian composer, singer (tenor), lawyer, diplomat and patron of the arts. He was born on Polish soil, as during the Napoleonic Wars his family had taken refuge at the estate of Prince Aleksander Lubomirski (his father was a senior official in the administration of the Austrian Netherlands in the service of the Habsburgs). In 1804, the family settled in Vienna, where his father took up the post of curator of the Hofbibliothek. From 1816, Vesque von Püttlingen studied piano with M.J. Leidesdorf, I. Moscheles and J.V. Vořiška, and singing, first in the choir of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and subsequently with G. Ciccimarra; in 1828 he took composition lessons with H.E.J. von Lannoy, and in 1833 with S. Sechter. In 1827 he obtained a doctorate in law and began working as a civil servant, eventually becoming one of the most renowned lawyers in Austria (he became famous, among other things, for his treatise on copyright in music).

After entering the diplomatic service, he became head of one of the departments at the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where he worked until 1872. In 1866 he was granted the title of baron, and in 1876 he was appointed by the Emperor as a life member of the House of Lords in the Austrian State Council. In 1880 he was appointed privy councillor.

Vesque von Püttlingen made a significant contribution to the reform and flourishing of the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, where he served successively as a board member and vice-president; towards the end of his life, he became an honorary member. Furthermore, he financed the premieres of works (the first performance in Vienna of F. Mendelssohn’s oratorio *Paulus*, 1839). Concerts and artistic gatherings were held at his home, attended by, amongst others, F. Schubert, C. and R. Schumann, F. Mendelssohn, H. Berlioz and F. Liszt, with whom he maintained close relationships. He supported R. Schumann in his efforts to move to Vienna. Vesque von Püttlingen was awarded the highest honours for his role as an organiser of cultural life.

He composed mainly songs and operas; of the approximately 300 songs (written under the pseudonym J. Hoven), over 120 are based on poems by Berlioz; they are characterised by bold harmonic solutions and expressive rhythms, which serve to emphasise the connection between text and music.

1. Liszt arranged for two of his operas to be staged in Weimar: Der lustige Rath (1852) and Lips Tullian oder Die Ente (1855).

Literature: Johann Vesque von Püttlingen (J. Hoven). Eine Lebensskizze aus Briefen und Tagebuchblättern zusammengestellt, Vienna 1887; H. Schultz Johann Vesque von Püttlingen, 1803–1883, «Forschungsarbeiten des Musikwissenschaftlichen Instituts der Universität Leipzig» I, Regensburg 1931 (contains a catalogue of works); M. Tomaszewski Heine i jego muzyczny rezonans, in: Poeci i ich muzyczny rezonans. Od Petrarki do Tetmajera, «Muzyka i Liryka» iss. 4, Krakow 1994, S. Youens Heinrich Heine and the Lied, Cambridge 2007; M. Wagner and E.W. Partsch Ironie und Satire in Heinrich Heines “Heimkehr” und deren Vertonung durch Johann Vesque von Püttlingen, in: Heinrich Heine in zeitgenössischen Vertonungen: Wissenschaftliche Tagung 6. bis 7. Oktober 2006 Ruprechtshofen, NÖ, ed. A. Harrandt, E. W. Partsch, Vienna 2008; R. Dosch Heinrich Heine in Liedvertonungen von Johann Vesque von Püttlingen: poetische Vielschichtigkeit und semantische Brüche in der Musik am Beispiel eines unbekannten Komponisten unter Berücksichtigung der Ironie-Thematik, thesis at Universität Zürich 2017.