Anton Diabelli facts for kids
Anton Diabelli (born September 6, 1781 – died April 7, 1858) was an important Austrian musician. He was a music publisher, editor, and composer. While he was very well-known as a publisher during his lifetime, today people mostly remember him because of a short waltz he wrote. This waltz became super famous when the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven wrote 33 amazing variations based on it. These are known as the Diabelli Variations.
Early Life
Anton Diabelli was born in a town called Mattsee, near Salzburg, which is now in Austria. He was a musical child from a young age. He sang in the boys' choir at Salzburg Cathedral. Many believe he learned music there from a famous composer named Michael Haydn. By the time he was 19, Diabelli had already written several important pieces, including six masses (religious music).
Diabelli originally trained to become a priest. In 1800, he joined a monastery in Bavaria. He stayed there until 1803, when all monasteries in that area were closed down.
Career in Music
In 1803, Diabelli moved to Vienna, a big city famous for music. He started teaching piano and guitar. He also found a job as a proofreader for a music publisher. This job helped him learn all about the music publishing business. He kept composing his own music too. In 1809, he wrote a funny opera called Adam in der Klemme.
In 1817, Diabelli started his own music publishing business. A year later, in 1818, he teamed up with Pietro Cappi to create a new company called Cappi & Diabelli.
Cappi & Diabelli became very popular. They were known for making arrangements of famous songs. These arrangements made it easy for regular people to play popular music at home. Diabelli was very good at promoting music. He chose popular opera tunes, dance music, and new songs from funny plays. This made music accessible to many people.
The company also became respected for publishing serious music. They strongly supported the works of Franz Schubert, a brilliant composer. Diabelli saw how talented Schubert was. He was the first to publish one of Schubert's most famous songs, "Erlkönig", in 1821. Diabelli's company continued to publish Schubert's music until 1823. At that time, an argument between Cappi and Schubert ended their business relationship.
The next year, Diabelli and Cappi went their separate ways. Diabelli started a new publishing house called Diabelli & Co. in 1824. After Schubert sadly died young in 1828, Diabelli bought a huge collection of his unpublished music from Schubert's brother, Ferdinand Schubert. Schubert had hundreds of pieces that no one had ever heard. Because of this, Diabelli's company was able to publish "new" Schubert works for more than 30 years after the composer's death!
Diabelli's publishing house grew bigger and bigger throughout his life. He retired in 1851 and left the business to Carl Anton Spina. When Diabelli died in 1858, Spina kept running the company. He published many works by famous composers like Johann Strauss II and Josef Strauss. The company changed hands a few more times over the years.
Diabelli passed away in Vienna when he was 76 years old.
Compositions
Diabelli wrote many well-known classical music pieces. These include a short opera called Adam in der Klemme, several masses, songs, and many pieces for piano and classical guitar. Most of his compositions were for the guitar. His pieces for two people playing one piano (called piano four hands) are also quite popular.
One of Diabelli's interesting compositions is Pleasures of Youth: Six Sonatinas. This is a collection of six short sonatas. They seem to tell a story about a struggle between unknown forces. This is shown by the music changing quickly from loud (forte) to soft (piano). When the music is loud, it might make you think of a strong, perhaps "wicked" character. When it's soft, it could represent a more gentle, "good" character.
Diabelli Variations
The piece Diabelli is most famous for today actually came from a clever idea he had. In 1819, he wanted to promote his publishing business. He decided to publish a book of variations on a simple waltz he had written. He asked many important Austrian composers to each write one variation on his waltz. He also invited some famous non-Austrian composers. The collection was going to be called Vaterländischer Künstlerverein (which means "Patriotic Artists' Association").
Fifty-one composers sent in their pieces. These included Beethoven, Schubert, and even the eight-year-old Franz Liszt! However, Ludwig van Beethoven did something unexpected. Instead of just one variation, he wrote 33 variations on Diabelli's waltz! These amazing variations became Part I of the Vaterländischer Künstlerverein. They are now considered one of Beethoven's greatest piano works. They are simply known as the Diabelli Variations, Op. 120. The other 50 variations by the other composers were published as Part II.
See Also
In Spanish: Anton Diabelli para niños
