Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz explained

Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz
Prince of Lobkowitz
Birth Date:8 December 1772
Birth Place:Vienna
Death Place:Třeboň, South Bohemia
Father:Prince Ferdinand Philipp Joseph von Lobkowicz
Mother:Princess Maria Gabriella di Savoia-Carignano
House:Lobkowicz

Joseph Franz Maximilian, 7th Prince of Lobkowitz (also spelled Lobkowicz) (8 December 1772 – 16 December 1816[1]) was an aristocrat of Bohemia, from the House of Lobkowicz. He is known particularly for his interest in music and as a patron of Ludwig van Beethoven.

Early life

He was born in Vienna, son of Ferdinand Philipp Joseph, 6th Prince Lobkowicz (1724–1784) and Princess Maria Gabriella di Savoia-Carignano (1748–1828). In 1786 Emperor Joseph II made him Duke of Roudnice (Herzog von Raudnitz in German, vévoda roudnický in Czech).[2]

His paternal grandparents were Phillip Hyacinth, 4th Prince of Lobkowicz, and Countess Anna Maria von Althann. Joseph Franz's father succeeded his brother, Wenzel Ferdinand, as reigning Prince of Lobkowitz in 1739. His maternal grandparents were Louis Victor, Prince of Carignano and Princess Christine of Hesse-Rotenburg (daughter of Ernst II Leopold, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg).[3]

Patron of music

The prince was an amateur musician, playing violin and cello, and sang with a bass voice. Countess Lulu Thürheim, sister-in-law of Prince Razumowsky, said of him: "This Prince was as kindhearted as a child and the most foolish music enthusiast. He played music from dusk to dawn and spent a fortune on musicians. Innumerable musicians gathered in his house, whom he treated regally."[4]

He was a member of the Gesellschaft der Associierten, an important concert-sponsoring organization of his time which sponsored, among other events, the 1798 premiere of Joseph Haydn's The Creation.

In 1799, Lobkowitz commissioned a set of six string quartets from Haydn. The composer was both busy and in ill health, and he managed to complete only two of them; these were published as the composer's Opus 77 and were the last quartets he was to complete.[5]

Lobkowitz had a private orchestra at his palace in Vienna, the Palais Lobkowitz; in the hall of the palace, this orchestra performed in 1804 Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 (which was dedicated to the Prince) before the first public performance.[6]

In 1808, Beethoven was offered the post of Kapellmeister at Cassel, where Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, had his court. Prince Lobkowitz, together with Archduke Rudolph and Prince Kinsky, successfully persuaded Beethoven to stay in Vienna by offering a yearly pension of 4,000 florins. In 1811 Prince Lobkowitz, in financial difficulty, discontinued paying his share. However, he eventually resumed payment, which continued past his death in 1816 until Beethoven's own death in 1827.

Beethoven dedicated several works to the Prince: his third, fifth and sixth symphonies; his String Quartets Op. 18 and String Quartet Op. 74; the Triple Concerto and the song cycle An die ferne Geliebte.

Beethoven composed a Birthday Cantata for Prince Lobkowitz (WoO 106); it was written for the composer's friend Karl Peters, tutor for the Lobkowitz family. It was intended to be sung by the young Princes on their father's birthday in 1816. However, the prince was seriously ill at that time, and died a few days later.

Personal life

In 1792 he married Maria Karolina von Schwarzenberg (1775–1816), daughter of and Countess Maria Eleonore zu Oettingen-Wallerstein (a daughter of Count Philipp Karl von Oettingen-Wallerstein).[7] They had twelve children, including:[1] [8]

He died 1816 in Třeboň in South Bohemia, and was buried in Roudnice nad Labem.

Notes and References

  1. http://www.geni.com/people/Joseph-Franz-Maximilian-VII-F%C3%BCrst-zu-Lobkowicz/6000000012747637808 Joseph Franz Maximilian, VII. Fürst zu Lobkowicz
  2. http://www.lobkowicz.com/en/collections-about/ Family History
  3. Book: Steinforth . Dirk H. . Rozier . Charles C. . Britain and its Neighbours: Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Medieval and Early Modern Europe . 17 May 2021 . . 978-1-000-36537-5 . 206 . 19 August 2024 . en.
  4. Paul Nettl. "Lobkowitz, Prince Josef Max". Beethoven Encyclopedia. Philosophical Library, New York, 1956.
  5. Grave, Grave, and Margaret G. Grave (2006) The string quartets of Joseph Haydn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 17. Excerpts viewable at Google Books: https://books.google.com/books?id=KS85lr30qNYC&dq=Lobkowitz+Haydn&pg=PA335.
  6. http://www.beethoven-haus-bonn.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=&template=dokseite_digitales_archiv_en&_dokid=bi:i3113&_seite=1 Friedrich Oelenhainz (1745–1804), Franz Joseph Maximilian Fürst von Lobkowitz (1772–1816)
  7. Book: Hofstaat . Österreich-Ungarn . Handbuch des Allerhöchsten Hofes und des Hofstaates seiner K. u. K. Apostolischen Majestät: für das Jahr ... . 1898 . Verlag d. K. K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei . 107 . 19 August 2024 . de.
  8. http://www.lobkowitz.de/weitere_Infos_ueber_Lobkowitz/Beethoven/Ludwig_van_beethoven.htm Franz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz
  9. Book: Deutsche Adelsproben aus dem Deutschen Ordens-Central-Archive . 1888 . W. Braumüller . 148 . 19 August 2024 . de.
  10. Book: Neu . Peter . Die Arenberger und das Arenberger Land: Das 19. Jahrhundert: Adelsleben, Besitz, Verwaltung . 1989 . Verlag der Landesarchivverwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz . 978-3-922018-70-4 . 51 . 19 August 2024 . de.
  11. Book: Pisano . Sandra . Collections . Lobkowicz . The Lobkowicz Collections . 2007 . Scala Publishers Limited . 978-1-85759-520-8 . 4, 55 . 19 August 2024 . en.
  12. Book: Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels . 1997 . C.A. Starke . 381 . 19 August 2024 . de.
  13. Book: Pálmány . Béla . A reformkori országgyűlés történeti almanachja (1825-1848) . 2011 . Argumentum . 978-963-446-613-0 . 562 . 19 August 2024 . hu.
  14. Book: Monarchy . Austro-Hungarian . Handbuch des allerhöchsten Hofes und des Hofstaates seiner K. und K. Apostolischen Majestät ... . 1912 . K. K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. . 405 . 19 August 2024 . de.
  15. Book: Wurzbach . Constant von . Biographisches lexikon des kaiserthums Oesterreich, enthaltend die lebensskizzen der denkwürdigen personen, welche seit 1750 in den österreichischen kronländern geboren wurden oder darin gelebt und gewirkt haben . 1866 . K. K. Hof- und staatsdruckerei . 325 . 19 August 2024 . de.
  16. Book: Gates-Coon . Rebecca . The Charmed Circle: Joseph II and the 'Five Princesses,' 1765-1790 . 15 January 2015 . . 978-1-61249-370-1 . 9 . 19 August 2024 . en.
  17. Book: Konegen . Carl . High Life Almanach Adreßbuch der Gesellschaft Wiens und der österreichischen Kronländer . 1913 . Vienna . 269 . 19 August 2024 . de.
  18. Book: Almanach de Gotha: annuaire généalogique, diplomatique et statistique. 1893 . 1893 . Dieterich . 427 . 19 August 2024 . fr.
  19. Book: Österreichisch-kaiserlicher Hofkalender: für das Jahr ... . 1879 . Ghelen . 72 . 19 August 2024 . de.

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