Asplmayr, Franz

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Asplmayr, Franz

Asplmayr, Franz, Austrian composer and violinist; b. Linz (baptized), April 2, 1728; d. Vienna, July 29, 1786. Following training from his father, he settled in Vienna and joined the Hofkapelle. He served as secretary to Count Morzin (1759–61), and then was a court composer from 1761. Asplmayr became particularly known for his ballet pantomimes, including Agamemno vengé (1771), Ifigenie (1772), Acis et Galathée (1773), and L’espiègle du village (1774). He composed the first German-language melodrama, Pygmalion, after Rousseau (Vienna, Feb. 19, 1772). Among his other works were the Singspiel Der Kinder der Natur (Vienna, July 15, 1778), incidental music, orch. pieces, and chamber works.

Bibliography

H. Riessberger, F. A. (diss., Univ. of Innsbruck, 1954).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire