- Johann Kaspar Mertz
Johann Kaspar Mertz (
August 17 ,1806 -October 14 ,1856 ) was a Slovak guitarist andcomposer .Biography
Johann Kaspar Mertz was born in Pozsony. He was active in
Vienna (c.1840~1856), which had been home to various prominent figures of the guitar, includingAnton Diabelli ,Mauro Giuliani ,Wenceslaus Matiegka andSimon Franz Molitor . Avirtuoso , he established a solid reputation as a performer. He toured Moravia, Poland, and Russia, and gave performances in Berlin and Dresden. In 1846 Mertz nearly died of an overdose ofstrychnine that had been prescribed to him as a treatment forneuralgia . Over the following year he was nursed back to health in the presence his wife, a concert pianist,Josephine Plantin whom he married in 1842. Some speculation may lead one to the conclusion that listening to his wife performing the Romantic piano pieces of the day during his period of recovery may have had an influence on the sound and unusual right hand technique he adopted for the Bardenklange (Bardic Sounds) Op.13.Mertz's guitar music, unlike that of most of his contemporaries, followed the pianistic models of Chopin, Mendelssohn,Schubert and Schumann, rather than the classical models of Mozart and Haydn (as did Sor and Aguado), or the
bel canto style of Rossini (as did Giuliani).The "Bardenklänge" (1847) are probably Mertz's most important contribution to the guitar repertoire—a series of deceptively difficult character pieces in the mould of Schumann.
List of works
*Elegy
* 3 Nocturnes op. 4
*Bardenklange (Bardic Sounds) Opus.13 Inspired by the Irish Mythical figure. The work is broken into two parts 1-7, consisting of: "An Malvina
"Romanze"
"Abenlied
""Unruhe
""Elfenreigen"
"An Die Entfernte"
"Etude
""Capriccio
""Gondoliera
""Liebeslied
""Fingals-Hohle
""Gebeth
""Tarantelle
"and 8-15, which contain the following pieces:
"Kindermarchen
"Rondino"
"Romanze"
"Scherzo"
"Sehnsucht"
"Lied on Wohrte"
"Mazurka"
"Polonaise Favorites Nos. 1-7"
"Romanze"
"Walzer in Landlerstyl"Agathe Op. 22
Glockentone Op. 24
Das Blumlein Op. 34External links
heetmusic
* [http://www.muslib.se/ebibliotek/boije/Boije_m.htm Boije Collection] The Music Library of Sweden
* [https://rex.kb.dk/F?func=find-c&ccl_term=(WRD=Mertz%20AND%20WWW=http%20NOT%20WWW=sheetmusicnow%20NOT%20WWW=freehandmusic%20NOT%20WWW=hebeonline)&local_base=mus01&con_lng=ENG Rischel & Birket-Smith's Collection of guitar music] Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Denmark
* [http://catalog.wustl.edu/search/X?(George%20C.%20Krick%20Collection%20of%20Guitar%20Music)+and+(Mertz)&SORT=D George C. Krick Collection of Guitar Music] Washington University
*
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