*1786 Lucerne - †1868 Frankfurt am Main
Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee came from an old patrician family in Lucerne. He worked as a music teacher at Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi’s school in Yverdon, Switzerland, before moving to Frankfurt in 1817 to work as a music teacher and composer, where, with only a few short absences, he lived until his death. It was in Frankfurt that Louis Spohr, in 1818 the conductor of the theatre orchestra, put on the first performance of one of Schnyder’s major works. In 1831, Schnyder’s magical opera Fortunat premiered in the city, followed in 1837 by his Symphony No. 2, and in 1838 by his oratorio Zeit und Ewigkeit.
In 1828, Xaver Schnyder von Wartensee founded the choral society Frankfurter Liederkranz and was involved in the large-scale choral festival Erstes Deutsches Liederfest of 1838 as its president, which also took place in Frankfurt. Schnyder was also one of the founders of the Mozart-Stiftung in Frankfurt am Main, a foundation dedicated to supporting talented young composers (www.mozart-stiftung.de).
Further information:
Zurich Central Library, Music Department, Bequests.
www.zb.uzh.ch/spezialsammlungen/musikabteilung/nachlaesse/einzelne-nachlaesse/003862/index.html.de