Józef Elsner

Józef Antoni Franciszek Elsner (sometimes Józef Ksawery Elsner; baptismal name, Joseph Anton Franz Elsner; 1 June 1769 – 18 April 1854) was a Polish composer, music teacher, and music theoretician, active mainly in Warsaw.¹ He was one of the first composers in Poland to weave elements of folk music into his works.²

Elsner composed many symphonic, chamber, solo, and vocal-instrumental works, and works for the stage, including over 100 religious works (masses, offertories, oratorios, cantatas), eight symphonies, three concertos, three ballets, and thirty-eight operas.² He is perhaps best known as the principal composition teacher of the young composer Frédéric Chopin.

Life

Józef Elsner was born 1 June 1769 in Grottkau (Grodków), Herzogtum Neisse (Duchy of Nysa), near Breslau (Wrocław), Kingdom of Prussia, to German Silesian Catholic parents Franz Xaver Elsner and Anna Barbara Matzke. His mother was from the famous Matzke family of Glatz, which had intensive contact with Czech culture in Bohemia. Józef Elsner was initially educated for the priesthood at Breslau's Dominican monastery school, St. Matthew's Gymnasium, and a local Jesuit college, but chose the music field. In 1832–37 he would compose nineteen religious pieces for Breslau Cathedral.

After completing his studies at Breslau (Wrocław) and being a violinist at (), in 1792 he became 2nd at the German Opera in Austrian-ruled (Lviv/Lwów). There, in 1796, he married Klara Abt, who died a year later. In 1799, with , he went to (Prussian-ruled Poland) and became the principal conductor, first at the German Theatre, then at the Polish in .