Johann Joseph Fux
A baroque musician’s career
| The baroque musician Johann Joseph Fux was one of the greatest masters of his time. He composed numerous works, including operas and sacred music. But his most famous legacy is his textbook on counterpoint, which continued to be highly valued by musicians until long after his death.
1660 Johann Joseph Fux is born in Hirtenfeld in Styria.
1690-1695 The young musician works as an organist at the Schottenkirche (Scottish church) in Vienna.
1696 Emperor Leopold I. employs Fux in his castle as composer to his court. This post is a particularly high honour for the Styrian as it had previously been reserved almost exclusively for Italian musicians.
1711 After holding the post of director of music at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna for some time, Fux is appointed as music director at the Imperial court.
1725 The composer publishes what is probably his most widely known work: „Gradus ad Parnassum“. However, this is not a piece of music but a textbook on counterpoint.
1741 Johann Joseph Fux dies at the age of 81 in Vienna.
Johann Joseph Fux (*1660 +1741)
| Very little is known about the childhood of the composer, who was born in Hirtenfeld in eastern Styria. What is certain is that he came from a family of farmers and went to study in Graz when he was about 20 years old. What happened next is, once again, largely unknown, though it is likely that he spent a considerable time in Italy and presumably studied there.
At the Imperial court
Records show that Fux was the organist of the Schottenkirche (Scottish church) in Vienna during the 1690s. There he came to the attention of the Austrian Emperor, and Fux became court composer in 1696, two years after his wedding. This post had always been effectively reserved for Italian musicians, but Fux was able to win the respect of Emperor Karl VI through his extraordinary talent. Only a few years later, in 1706, Johann Joseph Fux was appointed as the music director at the Imperial court – probably the highest post open to a musician in Europe at the time. Many operas, oratorios and smaller works by Fux date from this period. These include his most famous opera, „Costanza e Fortezza“, which was performed in 1723 in the Palace of Prague on the occasion of Karl VI’s coronation as the King of Bohemia.
Most famous works
| However, Fux’ most famous work was published in 1725. „Gradus ad Parnassum“ is not a work of music but a textbook on counterpoint which continued to be highly valued by musicians until long after his death. Even Johann Sebastian Bach is said to have had a copy in his library.
Fux died at the age of 81, six years after the death of his wife. In his last years, the widower devoted himself largely to composing sacred music.
Köchel catalogue
It was these pieces which were most popular with posterity and which were performed over and over again. Additionally, his music was resurrected in the mid-19th century, when Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, who compiled the catalogue of Mozart’s works, turned his attention to Fux too. He produced a biography of the Baroque musician and a catalogue of his musical works.