Lobkowicz Collections Spotlight

Lobkowicz Kapellmeister No. 2: Antonio Cartellieri

Dr. Petr Slouka, Musicologist & Curator of Lobkowicz Music Archive
September 5, 2022, 16:00
Lobkowicz Palace

27 September, 2022 marks exactly 250 years since the birth of the composer, Kapellmeister and violinist Antonio Casimir Cartellieri (1772–1807), who connected a significant part of his creative life with the Lobkowicz family. Cartellieri came from a musical family; both of his parents were opera singers. Therefore, he probably received the foundations of his musical education directly from them. At the age of nineteen, he entered the service of Count Oborsky as his musical director. In 1792, he staged his first two operas in Berlin. At that time he also began to study with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger and Antonio Salieri. In 1798, the composer entered the service of Franz Joseph Maximilian, 7th Prince Lobkowicz, first as a violinist and singing teacher, and later as second Kapellmeister. His duties included, in particular, composing operas and church music. He made his mark in Czech musical history by staging and performing Haydn's oratorio Die Schöpfung (The Creation) in the Czech language, which was performed by order of ​the 7th Prince Lobkowicz in Roudnice in 1805. Cartellieri died at the age of only 34 in Libčeves as a result of a heart attack that struck him on his way from Roudnice to Jezeří.