Konradin Kreutzer - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

KONRADIN KREUTZER (1780-1849), German musical composer, was born on the 22nd of November 1780 in Messkirch in Baden, and died on the 14th of December 1849 in Riga. He owes his fame almost exclusively to one opera, Das Nachtlager von Granada (1834), which kept the stage for half a century in spite of the changes in musical taste. It was written in the style of Weber, and is remarkable especially for its flow of genuine melody and depth of feeling. The same qualities are found in Kreutzer's part-songs for men's voices, which at one time were extremely popular in Germany, and are still listened to with pleasure. Amongst these "Der Tag des Herrn" ("The Lord's Day") may be named as the most excellent. Kreutzer was a prolific composer, and wrote a number of operas for the theatre at Vienna, which have disappeared from the stage and are not likely to be revived. He was from 1812 to 1816 Kapellmeister to the king of Wurttemberg, and in 1840 became conductor of the opera at Cologne. His daughter, Cecilia Kreutzer, was a singer of some renown.