View source for Franz Lachner

{{Short description|German composer and conductor (1803–1890)}}
{{One source|date=May 2020}}
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[[Image:Franz Lachner.jpg|thumb]]
'''Franz Paul Lachner''' (2 April 1803{{Snd}}20 January 1890) was a [[Germans|German]] composer and [[conducting|conductor]].<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/franz-lachner-mn0001518495|title=Franz Lachner|author=Joseph Stevenson|work=AllMusic|access-date=13 March 2016}}</ref>

==Biography==
Lachner was born in [[Rain am Lech]] to a musical family (his brothers [[Ignaz Lachner|Ignaz]], {{Ill|Theodor Lachner|lt=Theodor|nl}} and [[Vinzenz Lachner|Vinzenz]] also became musicians). He studied music with [[Simon Sechter]] and [[Maximilian Stadler]]. He conducted at the [[Theater am Kärntnertor]] in [[Vienna]]. In 1834, he became ''[[Kapellmeister]]'' at [[Mannheim]]. As a result of composers' aesthetic comparisons of [[Beethoven]]'s symphonic output with efforts afterwards, in 1835, there was a competition in Vienna for the best new symphony sponsored by [[Tobias Haslinger]] of the music publishing firm with no fewer than 57 entries. Lachner received first prize with his 5th Symphony ''Sinfonia passionata, or Preis-Symphonie'' and became royal ''Kapellmeister'' at [[Munich]], becoming a major figure in its musical life, conducting at the opera and various concerts and festivals. His career there came to a sudden end in 1864 after [[Richard Wagner]]'s disciple [[Hans von Bülow]] took over Lachner's duties. Lachner remained officially in his post on extended leave for a few years until his contract expired.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

==Work==
{{Main|List of compositions by Franz Lachner}}
[[File:Lachner-Wagmüller-Mutter Erde fec.jpg|thumb|150px|Bust of Lachner on his grave at the [[Alter Südfriedhof]] in [[Munich]]]]

Lachner was a well-known and prolific composer in his day, though he is not now considered a major composer. His work, influenced by Beethoven and his friend [[Franz Schubert]], is regarded as competent and craftsman-like, but is now generally little known.<ref name=allmusic/> Among his greatest successes were his opera ''Catarina Cornaro'' (1841, preceding [[Gaetano Donizetti|Donizetti]]'s [[Caterina Cornaro (opera)|opera]] by three years), his ''[[Music for the Requiem Mass|Requiem]]'', and his seventh [[orchestral suite]] (1881).

In the present day it may be his [[organ (music)|organ]] [[sonata]]s (Opp. 175, 176, 177) and [[chamber music]], in particular his music for [[Wind instrument|wind instruments]], that receive the most attention, though his string quartets and some of his eight symphonies have been performed and recorded. His songs, some of which are set to the same texts that Schubert used, contributed to the development of the German ''[[Lied]]''.

For performances of [[Luigi Cherubini|Cherubini]]'s ''[[Médée (Cherubini)|Médée]]'' in Frankfurt in 1855, Lachner composed [[recitative]]s to replace the original spoken dialogue, and it was this version, translated into Italian, which was used in many twentieth-century revivals and recordings of that opera, most notably those with [[Maria Callas]] in the title role.

==References==
<references/>

==Further reading==
*{{Cite AmCyc|wstitle=Lachner, Franz}}

==External links==
*{{IMSLP|id=Lachner, Franz Paul}}

{{Bayerisches Staatsorchester conductors}}
{{Romantic music}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lachner, Franz}}
[[Category:1803 births]]
[[Category:1890 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century German classical composers]]
[[Category:19th-century German conductors (music)]]
[[Category:Composers for harp]]
[[Category:Composers for piano]]
[[Category:German string quartet composers]]
[[Category:German male conductors (music)]]
[[Category:German opera composers]]
[[Category:German Romantic composers]]
[[Category:German male opera composers]]
[[Category:People from Rain, Swabia]]
[[Category:Musicians from the Kingdom of Bavaria]]
[[Category:Music directors of the Bavarian State Opera]]