Lobkowitz
Lobkowitz
Lobkowitz, Bohemian family of the nobility and patrons of music:
(1) Philipp Hyacinth (Filipp Hyacint) Lobkowitz, lutenist and composer; b. Neustadt an der Waldnab, Feb. 25,1680; d. Vienna, Dec. 21,1734. In 1729 he settled in Vienna, where he sponsored private concerts at the Lobkowitz-Althan palace; Gluck commenced his career as a composer at these concerts (c. 1735–36). Lobkowitz’s only extant work is a Suite in B-flat major.
(2) Ferdinand Philipp Joseph (Ferdinand Filipp Josef) Lobkowitz, composer, son of the preceding; b. Prague, April 27, 1724; d. Vienna, Jan. 11, 1784. He became the ruling prince of the family in Vienna in 1743. He was a patron of Gluck, who accompanied him to London in 1745. Lobkowitz was later made a member of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, where he studied violin with F. Benda. All of his music is lost.
(3) Joseph Franz Maximilian (Josef Frantisek Maximilian) Lobkowitz, singer, violinist, and cellist, son of the preceding; b. Roudnice nad Labem, Dec. 7, 1772; d. Trebon, Dec. 15, 1816. He was active in the administration of the Vienna court theaters (1807–14), and also founder of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde there. He was a patron of Haydn and Beethoven. Haydn dedicated his String Quartet, op.77, to him, and Beethoven his 3rd, 5th, and 6th syms., the Triple Concerto, the string quartets, opp. 18 and 74, and the song cycle An die feme Geliebte.
(4) Ferdinand Joseph Johann (Ferdinand Josef Jan) Lobkowitz, music patron, son of the preceding; b. Oberhollabrunn, Lower Austria, April 13, 1797; d. Vienna, Dec. 18, 1868. He had a private orch. in Vienna, and also founded a private music school in Eisenberg (1831). He was the patron of Gyrowetz. Beethoven wrote the Lobkowitz Cantata for his birthday in 1823.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire