Franz Ignaz von Beecke


Franz Ignaz von Beecke was a classical music|classical] music composer born in Wimpfen am Neckar, Holy Roman Empire.

Life

Von Beecke served in the Bavarian Dragoon Regiment of Zollern from 1756, during which time he fought in the Seven Years' War. He served with distinction and was promoted to Captain. He was known at the time chiefly for his great skill in playing the harpsichord, although he composed a wide range of music as well, having studied with Christoph Willibald Gluck. He died in Wallerstein, Germany.
In 1775, von Beecke met the 19-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Munich and the two engaged in a piano playing competition at the well-known inn Zum Schwarzen Adler. The poet and composer Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, who was in the audience, wrote in his Teutsche Chronik that in his opinion, von Beecke played far better than Mozart: "In Munich last winter I heard two of the greatest clavier players, Mr Mozart and Captain von Beecke. Mozart’s playing had great weight, and he read at sight everything that we put before him. But no more than that; Beecke surpasses him by a long way. Winged agility, grace and melting sweetness."
Von Beecke’s students included Anna von Schaden.

Selected works

Stage works

  • Roland - 1770?
  • Claudine from Villa Bella - 1780
  • The jubilee wedding - 1782
  • The grape harvest - 1782
  • List against List - c.1785
  • The heart retains its rights - 1790
  • The destroyed pastoral celebration - 1790
  • Nina - 1790

Instrumental music