Programs · Episode

Louis Spohr – Medium Obscurity

Aired: Friday, March 30, 2018 @ 9:00 am
Hosted by Miles Hoffman

Sic transit Gloria mundi, thus passes worldly glory. Louis Spohr was born in Braunschweig, Germany in 1784 and during his lifetime he was one of the most famous musicians in all of Europe: renowned as a great violinist, a distinguished conductor, and an extremely prolific composer.

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Sic transit Gloria mundi, thus passes worldly glory. Louis Spohr was born in Braunschweig, Germany in 1784 and during his lifetime he was one of the most famous musicians in all of Europe: renowned as a great violinist, a distinguished conductor, and an extremely prolific composer.  He wrote ten symphonies, ten operas, eighteen violin concertos, four clarinet concertos, and 36 string quartets among dozens of other works. Along the way he found time teach a couple of hundred violin students, write an influential book about violin technique, invent the violin chin rest, and pioneer the use of the baton for conducting orchestras.

Some of his music is quite appealing and is still played or has been rediscovered. Louis Spohr isn’t one of those composers who fell into complete obscurity but for better or for worse the majorities of his works remain unknown to modern audiences.

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