Mertz, Caspar Joseph

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Mertz, Caspar Joseph

Mertz, Caspar Joseph, Austrian guitarist and composer; b. Pressburg, Aug. 17, 1806; d. Vienna, Oct. 14, 1856. He moved to Vienna in 1840, giving concerts there and in Germany, using a 10-string guitar. His works for the guitar enjoyed a modicum of popularity, and his Concertino received 1st prize at the International Competition in Brussels in 1856. He was married to the pianist Josephine Plantin.

Bibliography

A. Stempnik, C.J. M., Leben und Werk des letzten Gitarristen im össteichischen Biedermeier: Eine Studie über den Niedergang der Gitarre in wien um 1850 (Frankfurt am Main, 1990).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire