Profession: composer

Theodor Adorno

Theodor W. Adorno

philosopher, cultural critic, composer

1903 (Frankfurt am Main) – 1969 (Visp, Switzerland)

He met his most important future colleagues, Horkheimer and Benjamin, while still a student; Benjamin especially becoming a close friend. Horkheimer helped him get a job in the US, where he worked (and clashed) with Lazarsfeld. Habermas became Adorno’s post-war student and then colleague. Berg (with whom he studied composition) and Schoenberg (a strong influence) were both friends, as were Brecht, Goodman, Lang and Scholem. He collaborated on a book about film music with Eisler, brought his musical knowledge to his friend Mann’s ‘Doctor Faustus’, and wrote to Beckett disapproving bare-breasted student disruption.

Theodor Adorno knew…

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

W. A. Mozart

composer

1756 (Salzburg, Austria) – 1791 (Vienna)

Mozart studied counterpoint with Martini, and composed an introduction to a symphony of Michael Haydn’s. He belonged to the same Masonic lodge as his friend Joseph Haydn (as did Stadler, a close friend, and Schikaneder), and dedicated some pieces to him. Hummel lived with Mozart as a pupil; Kelly became a close friend. Da Ponte wrote the libretti to three of his most renowned operas; Süssmayr, Mozart’s assistant and copyist, completed his Requiem after his death. Mozart engaged Salieri to teach his son (there is no clear evidence of ill feeling to Salieri, or that Mozart and the young Beethoven actually met).

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart knew…

Vicente Martín y Soler

composer

1754 (Valencia, Spain) – 1806 (St Petersburg)

Martín y Soler was taught by Martini. Da Ponte collaborated with him in Vienna, and again — after having to flee Vienna on 24 hours’ notice — in London. He knew Haydn, Salieri, Mozart and Kelly from his time as one of three court composers in Vienna.

Vicente Martín y Soler knew…

Thomas Attwood

composer, musician

1765 (London) – 1838 (London)

Attwood — probably better-known as organist than as composer — studied with Mozart. He and Kelly visited Mozart’s father Leopold with a plan hatched with the younger Mozart to visit London, but nothing came of it. Mendelssohn, a much younger friend, twice visited Attwood on the outskirts of London. Potter was among his students.

Thomas Attwood knew…

Sigismond Thalberg

Sigismund Thalberg

musician, composer

1812 (Geneva) – 1871 (Naples, Italy)

Sigismond (or Sigismund) Thalberg studied with Czerny, Hummel and Moscheles, and is widely regarded as a more significant pianist than composer. Mendelssohn engaged him to play in Leipzig. Schumann played duets with him. Liszt was his great rival as a virtuoso pianist; the two were brought together for a famous salon show-down in Paris.

Sigismond Thalberg knew…

Serge Gainsbourg

composer, singer

1928 (Paris) – 1991 (Paris)

Léger briefly taught Gainsbourg, before he turned to music. He became Vian’s protégé — they met while Gainsbourg was working as a piano-player in a bar. Under Vian’s influence, he stirred together Baudelairean poetry and oblique jazz in the vein of chanson. Gréco invited the young Gainsbourg to write for her — several hits resulted. Brel, originally met while both were touring a popular stage-show, suggested he sing his compositions more himself, rather than writing for others.

Serge Gainsbourg knew…

Robert Schumann

composer, critic

1810 (Zwickau, Germany) – 1856 (Enderich)

Schumann met Heine the year he left school. Clara was his teacher’s daughter; he eloped with her when she was 15, staying in touch with Mendelssohn, whom he had met at her father’s house. He corresponded with Hiller before taking over his post in Düsseldorf, and with Heller, who contributed frequently to Schumann’s ‘Neue Zeitschrift für Musik’ without ever meeting him. Schumann and Andersen enchanted one another, whereas he and Wagner were temperamentally mismatched. He met Chopin in Leipzig, and championed Brahms before meeting him, Brahms continuing to visit Schumann in the asylum where he spent his last years.

Robert Schumann knew…

Richard Wagner

composer, writer

1813 (Leipzig, Germany) – 1883 (Venice)

The older Spontini was an early collaborator; Wagner was impressed by his conductor’s baton. Meyerbeer tried but failed to get Wagner’s operatic work staged in Paris, despite Wagner’s personal hostility. Baudelaire admired and wrote about his music; Gautier was a correspondent. Schumann thought Wagner talked too much, while he thought Schumann had nothing to say. Nietzsche, a regular visitor, was much influenced by Wagner, and dedicated his first book to him. Liszt helped him get a fake passport, and get his operas performed; they stayed professional friends despite Liszt’s displeasure at becoming his father-in-law.

Richard Wagner knew…

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabīndranāth Ṭhākur

poet, essayist, composer

1861 (Calcutta, now Kolkata) – 1941 (Calcutta)

Yeats and Pound met Tagore when he first brought his poetry to England, and led the adulation that ensued: Yeats wrote a preface for him, though he later recanted his enthusiasm. Elmhirst and Tagore set up a progressive school in Bengal, Tagore later staying with Elmhirst in Dartington and helping get that school started. He held widely-reported conversations with Wells in Geneva and Einstein in Berlin. Ocampo put him up in Buenos Aires, where they became close friends, though probably not lovers. Zweig only met him for half an hour, when Tagore changed trains in Salzburg, but was deeply affected.

Rabindranath Tagore knew…