Lobkowitz, (Prince) Joseph Franz Maximilian

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Lobkowitz, (Prince) Joseph Franz Maximilian (b Roudnice nad Labem, 1772; d Třeboň, 1816). Member of Bohemian aristocratic family who had a tradition of patronage of music. Sang bass in Handel's Alexander's Feast in Vienna in 1812. Also violinist and cellist. On board of administrators of Vienna court theatres, 1807–14, being sole dir. of opera. Founder-member of Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. Commissioned Haydn's Op.77 str. qts. F.p. of Beethoven's ‘Eroica’ Sym. given in his home 1804. Beethoven dedicated his Op.18 str. qts., the 3rd, 5th, and 6th Syms., the Triple Conc., the str. qt. Op.74, and the song-cycle An die ferne Geliebte, to him.