Johann Jean Sedlatzek (also Johann John Sedlaczek;Zduniak, Maria (1977). Przycznek do biograffi muzyka slasiego Johanna Sedlatzka, Muzyka, no. 1 as cited by Rowe in Situating Schubert. Zduniac notes in her biography that Johann, in signatures, posters, and press announcements, alternated between the two spellings of his surname throughout his career. "Sedlaczek" is the Polish spelling of the Silesian family name. 6 December 1789 – 11 April 1866) was a Silesian flautist born in Głogówek (Oberglogau),History of Oberglogau in Brief. "http://www.smarzly.de/6.html". Smarzly 2003. Retrieved on 16 September 2012 Kingdom of Prussia,"Sedlaczek Winiarnia" currently located in Tarnowskie Gory, Poland near Glogowek (Johann's birthplace) is named for an unspecified "Johann Sedlaczek" who purchased the property in the early 1800s, according to town histories. into a family of tailors,Clements, Gretchen Rowe(2007). Situating Schubert: Early Nineteenth-Century Flute Culture and the "Trockne Blummin" Variations "https://books.google.com/books?id=MCiq4rBnxVEC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false", ProQuest 2007. Retrieved on 16 September 2012. often referred to as "The Niccolò Paganini of Flute".Polewicz, Zdzislaw (2012). "Johann Sedlatzek: Flute Master, Found!". Maestro.net.pl 9 November 2012. http://maestro.net.pl/index.php/5818-johann-sedlatzek-odnaleziony-mistrz-fletu retrieved on 23 November 2012.
After beginning his career in the family trade as an apprentice to parents Johanna and Josephy,Rostropowicz, Joanna (2007). "http://glogowek-online.pl/component/content/article/8-sylwetki/61-sedlatzek-johann.html ". "[Glogowek Online]" Sobota, 14 September 2007. Retrieved on 16 September 2012. Sedlatzek taught himself to play flute and eventually toured throughout Europe as an admired master of the instrument,Medicus, Emil (1922). The Flutist, Volume 3–4, page 1037. "John Sedlaczek, born 1789 in Schlesian (Silesia). He worked himself up from a tailor's assistant to one of the finest flute virtuosi. We see Sedlaczek among the industrious concert givers of Vienna." playing on a unique thirteen-key Viennese flute.Powell, Ardal (11 August 2003) The Flute. Yale University Press.
Sedlatzek served in the Royal Court Orchestra of Count Franz von Oppersdorff of Oberglogau and as Royal Chamber Virtuoso to Prince Paul III Anton Esterházy of Austria.Obituary of Johann Sedlaczek printed in Vienna Newspapers 17 April 1866. Acquired from the National Archives of the City of Vienna on 27 September 2012. He also gave several successful concert tours through Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, and England as featured performer.
During his tour of Italy, Sedlatzek not only survived the Palermo earthquake of 1823Guidoboni, Mariotti, Giammarinaro & Rovelli (2003). Identification of Amplified Damage Zones in Palermo, Sicily. Bulletin of the Seismological Society, August 2003. bssa.geoscienceworld.org/content/93/4/1649.short (which canceled his second performance in Sicily), he also performed for the King of Prussia, Frederick William III of the Order of the Black Eagle, in Verona, for Pope Pius VII in Rome, and played alongside violin virtuoso Niccolò PaganiniLondon Literary Gazette (1831) Volume 15, page 381. H. Colburn, publisher. in Genoa.Scheurmann, Gustov (1855) Catalog of the Universal Circulating Musical Library. London. Gustov Scheurmann & Co. 1855 His Paris tour of 1826 included performances with the Italian Soprano Giuditta Pasta, with whom he would perform again, along with other prominent musicians, after his move to London.Bloom, P.H. (2011) La Pasta! Op. 36. Gossett Collection, Noteworthy Sheet Music, 2011
Johann Sedlatzek was a friend and collaborator to Ludwig van BeethovenBeethoven, Ludwig Van. 15 November 1825. The Complete Letters of Beethoven. Published by Wein, C.W. Stern, 1907. Call Number AAJ-4885. Digitized by the Internet Archives 2011 from an original held at the Toronto Library. http://www26.us.archive.org/stream/smtlichebriefe05beet/smtlichebriefe05beet_djvu.txt Retrieved on 7 October 2012.University of Louisville Library Archives (1940). Louisville Symphony Orchestra Program. and played several times with the universally known composer; most notably as the principal flautist in the world-premier of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 in Vienna's Kärntnertortheater in 1824 under the direction of Beethoven himself.
Early life and career
While working as a tailor's apprentice to his father, Johann, and playing flute on the side, Johann Sedlatzek came to the attention of Count Franz von Oppersdorff, a nobleman of OberGlogau known for his intense love of music. Oppersdorff valued music so highly, in fact, that he would not hire any help who could not play a musical instrument.Rodda, Richard (2009). The Kennedy Center, US: Beethoven's Symphony no. 4 in B flat Major. Program Notes, January 8–10, 2009. www.kennedy-centerOrg/calendar.org/calendar/?fuseaction=composition&composition_id=3742. Retrieved on 30 September 2012. The Symphony No. 4, composed during Beethoven's stay in Silesia in 1806, was commissioned by, and dedicated to Count Franz von Oppersdorff.
The young tailor and budding flautist suited von Oppersdorff's requirements and soon was invited to study music formally with the musicians of the Royal Court of OberGlogau. By September 1806, the sixteen-year-old Sedlatzek had become a full member of the Royal Court Orchestra of Count Oppersdorff, affording Johann the opportunity to play for Ludwig van Beethoven during his visit to the Count's Castle that year with the orchestra's performance of Beethoven's own 2nd Symphony.Rodda, Richard (2009). The Kennedy Center, US: Beethoven's Symphony no. 4 in B flat Major. Program Notes, January 8–10, 2009. www.kennedy-centerOrg/calendar.org/calendar/?fuseaction=composition&composition_id=3742. Retrieved on 30 September 2012.Beethoven's 4th Symphony is dedicated to Count Franz von Oppersdorff.
In March 1810, Sedlatzek left his family home to pursue his musical aspirations in Opava, the cultural heart of Silesia at the time, earning his living as Master Tailor while also working as a doorman at the local theater. He then traveled to Brno, Moravia and later to Vienna, Austria repeating this occupational strategy in each new city.
Johann Sedlatzek was finally able to put aside the family trade and focus on music exclusively when he was hired as first flute to the "Theater an der Wien" in September 1812.
A joint concert with the well-established Viennese musician Raphael Dressler in 1816 at Karntnertortheater, where Dressler was principal flautist, brought Johann to wider attention. The first printed review of a Sedlatzek performance appeared shortly after this event when the "Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung" gave the first of many positive reviews that would follow him throughout his long career in music.
Sedlatzek joined the Vienna Society of Musicians (Tonkünstler-Societät) in 1817. That same year, after Dressler moved to London, Sedlatzek was chosen to replace the eminent performer as principal flautist at the Karntnertortheater, a position he would hold for the next eight years while also performing concerts in Germany, conducting a lengthy tour of Italy, and playing around Vienna with his own ensemble, the "Sedlatzek Harmonie Quintet".Hoeprich, Eric(2008). The Clarinet. Yale University Press. 14 May 2008.Rosenbaum, M.(1821). The Diary of Miss Rosenbaum. Entry dated 4 April 1821 refers to attending the "First private subscription concert of the vocal quintet of Johann Sedlatzek". Vienna, 1821. German author of "Faust" and other notable works, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), mentions in his diaries hearing Johann Sedlaczek perform on more than one occasion in Austria during this period.
Sedlatzek's early years in Vienna culminated in the premier of Beethoven's 9th Symphony on 7 May 1824 at Karntnertortheater, where Sedlatzek served as principal flautist. Certain passages of Beethoven's score required the use of the particular Viennese flute which Sedlatzek was known to play with exceptional virtuosity. Only the Viennese flute was capable of playing as low as G, which was required for the proper interpretation of Beethoven's symphony.
Other notable musicians who performed in the Vienna premier of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in 1824 included soprano Henriette Sontag, contralto Caroline Unger, tenor Anton Haizinger, and pianist Conradin Kreutzer. Among the violinists performing that evening were Joseph Bohm, Leopold Jansa, and Joseph Mayseder. In the wind section, playing along with Sedlatzek, were Karl Scholl, Joseph Friedlowsky, Wenzell Sedlak, Thobold Hurth, and Edward Levy. Beethoven, too hard of hearing at this point in his life to conduct, directed the presentation while Ignaz Schuppanzigh led the orchestra and Michael Umlauf conducted the whole.Kelly, Thomas Forrest(2000) "First Nights: Five Musical Premiers", Chapter 3, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Yale University Press, USA, 2000.
Tours of Austria, Germany, Swtitzerland, and Italy
Between the years after his appointment as Principal Flautist at Karntentor Theater in 1817, and his performance with Beethoven in the premier of the 9th Symphony in 1824, Sedlatzek managed a busy schedule which included tours through Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, while also performing (by private subscription) in Vienna with his Harmonie Quintet.
After his March 1818 performance with Carl Czerny in Vienna, Sedlatzek embarked on his first European tour as a featured performer. The first stop was in Zurich, where he performed with the pianist Johann Peter Pixiusem, prompting the "Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung" to write about the flautist "with great delight". In the summer of 1820, Sedlatzek performed in Prague. The Wiener Allgemeine Theaterzeitung wrote of this performance: "Sedlatzek captivated the audience with his variations on 'God Save the King' and captured the hearts of all!"
Sedlatzek gave two shows in Berlin in July 1821. The first was to accompany Carl Maria von Weber. The second was as the featured player.
Back in Vienna, 1 August 1821, Sedlatzek performed with cellist Vincez Schuster and pianist Karl Maria von Bocklet. Sedlatzek and Schuster performed together portions of "Schone Minke, op. 78". And, as a bonus, at the end of the show, Johann Sedlatzek performed publicly, for the first time, on the newly invented Viennese Flute with which he would become synonymous during his later career.
In 1822, Sedlatzek embarked on a two-year tour of Italy, which began with his performances to the Congress of Verona (where he performed for the Prussian King, Frederick William III), and continued through Sicily, Parma, Milan, Naples, and Genoa, where he performed alongside Niccolò Paganini. The Gizetta di Miliano said Sedlatzek "captured his audience", and also noted that "even with Paganini performing in town, Sedlatzek's Halls were "bursting at the seams".
In a letter to his parents, Johann wrote of his Italian tour and his stay in Sicily:
"Once again, as in every city, I have been enthusiastically received. I have meals each day with General Field Marshal, Graf von Wallmoden, and in the evening, I go to parties. My first show was a good one, but the second was unfortunately prevented by the terrible earthquake ."
The Palermo earthquake of 5 March 1823 was the worst earthquake in the area of Sicily in the 19th century and one of the worst in Italy's history since such records have been kept.
Sedlatzek left Sicily after the earthquake and traveled to Rome, where he performed for The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church at that time, Pope Pius VII.
Sedlaczek and Ludlam's Cave