Editing Simon Mayr

{{Short description|German composer (1763–1845)}}
{{For|the 17th-century astronomer named Simon Mayr in German|Simon Marius}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Johann Simon Mayr
| image         = Johann Simon Mayr.jpg
| birth_date    = June 14, 1763
| birth_place   = Mendorf, Bavaria, Germany
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1845|12|02|1763|06|14}}
| death_place   = [[Bergamo]], Italy
| occupation    = Composer
| notable_works =  
}}
'''Johann(es) Simon Mayr''' (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as '''Giovanni Simone Mayr''' or '''Simone Mayr''' (14 June 1763 &ndash; 2 December 1845), was a German [[composer]]. His music reflects the [[Transition from Classical to Romantic music|transition]] from the [[Classical period (music)|Classical]] to the [[Romantic music|Romantic]] musical era. In 1805 he founded the [[Bergamo Conservatory]]. He was an early inspiration to [[Rossini]] and taught and advocated for [[Donizetti]].

== Life ==
He was born in [[Mendorf]] near [[Altmannstein]], [[Eichstätt (district)|Landkreis Eichstätt]], [[Bavaria]], and studied [[theology]] at the [[University of Ingolstadt]], continuing his studies in Italy from 1787. He was closely associated with the [[Illuminati]] of [[Adam Weishaupt]] while a student in Ingolstadt, and the ideals of the [[Age of Enlightenment|French Enlightenment]] were a strong influence on his philosophy as a musician as corroborated by his famed ''Zibaldone'' or "Notebooks" compiled toward the end of his career.

Shortly thereafter, he took music lessons with [[Carlo Lenzi]], and later with [[Ferdinando Bertoni]]. He moved to [[Bergamo]] in 1802 and was appointed ''[[maestro di cappella]]'' at the [[Cathedral of Bergamo]], succeeding his old teacher Lenzi. He held the post until his death, and became a central figure in the city's musical life, organizing concerts and introducing [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s music there. In 1805 he founded the [[Bergamo Conservatory]]; then known as the Lezioni Caritatevoli di Musica.<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |author=Jerome Roche, revised by Rodobaldo Tibaldi|date=2002 |entry=Bergamo |encyclopedia=Grove Music Online|publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.02774}}</ref>  One of his pupils at the conservatory was [[Gaetano Donizetti]]. By the end of his life, he was [[blindness|blind]]. He died in [[Bergamo]] and is buried in the [[Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo|Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore]] there, just in front of the tomb of his famous pupil.

Mayr's works, among which there are almost seventy [[opera]]s, are rarely performed today.

== Works ==
See '''[[List of compositions by Simon Mayr]]''' and '''[[List of operas by Simon Mayr]]'''

==Recordings==
*''[[Ginevra di Scozia]]'' - [[Elizabeth Vidal]] (soprano); [[Daniela Barcellona]] (mezzo-soprano); Antonino Siragusa (tenor); Luca Grassi (baritone); Giuseppina Piunti (soprano); [[Marco Lazzara]] (countertenor); Orchestra del [[Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi|Teatro Verdi di Trieste]]; Tiziano Severini (conductor). Label: [[Opera Rara Records|Opera Rara]] ORC23
*''[[Fedra (Mayr)|Fedra]]'' (Chiaudani, Nelsen, Zagorski, Lee; Schaller) OEHMS Classics 920
*''Verter'' (Herrmann, Gemmabella, Cicchetti, [[Salsi (opera singer)|Salsi]], Zarelli; Terracini). Bongiovanni GB 2343–4.
*''[[Medea in Corinto]]'' ([[Jane Eaglen|Eaglen]], Kenny, [[Bruce Ford (tenor)|Ford]], Miles; Parry), Opera Rara ORC11 [1993]
* ''Konzert mit Schnitte von Werken von Johann Simon Mayr.'' Wilhelm Schmailzl, Karlskron [1996]
* ''Samuele'' Fono-Schallplattengesellschaft, Laer [1997]
* ''Grande messa da requiem'' Orchestra Stabile di Bergamo, Agora [1997]
* ''Stabat Mater No.3 in C-minor'' Incontri Europei con la Musica, Bongiovanni [1999]
* ''Che Originali! ossia La Musicomania'' Georgisches Kammerorchester, Guild [1999]
* ''Mass in C-minor'' Guild [2001]
* ''La Passione'' Kammerorchester Ingolstadt, Guild [2002]
* ''Atalia'' Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik Guild [2003]
* ''Vespri per il Corpus Domini 1802'' Orchestra da Camera Milano Classica, Bongiovanni [2004]
* ''Sisara'' Accademia I Filarmonici di Verona, Simon Mayr Chor conducted by Franz Hauk Guild GmbH 2004
* ''L'Armonia'' and ''Cantata for the Death of Beethoven''. Ingolstadt Georgian Chamber Orchestra and Simon Mayr Choir,  Naxos [2006]
*''[[La rosa bianca e la rosa rossa|La Rosa Bianca e la Rosa Rossa]]'' ([[Anna Caterina Antonacci|Antonacci]], Anselmi, Serraicocca, [[Luca Canonici|Canonici]], Facini; Briccetti) Fonit Cetra RFCD 2007
* ''David in Spelunca Engaddi'', Naxos [2008]
* ''[[L'amor coniugale]]'',  Naxos, [2008]
* ''[[Tobiae matrimonium]]'' Simon Mayr Chor + Ensemble, Naxos [2009]
* ''[[Medea in Corinto]]'' [[Theater St. Gallen]], Oehmsclassic [2010]
* ''[[La Lodoiska]]'' Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Oehmsclassic [2011]
* ''[[Amor ingegnoso (Mayr)|Amor ingegnoso]]'', Bongiovanni GB 2456-2 [2012]
* ''Samuele'', Naxos [2012]
* ''Demetrio, Re di Siria'', Oehmsclassic [2012]
* ''Innalzamento al trono del giovane re Gioas''. Cantata, Naxos [2012]
* ''Il sagrifizio di Jefte'', Oratorio,  Naxos [2013]
* ''Piano Concerto in C-major''
* ''Ginevra di Scozia'', Oehmsclassic [2014]
* ''Gran messa di requiem in G-minor'', Naxos [2015]
* ''Messa di Gloria in E-minor'', Naxos [2021]
* ''Messa di Gloria in F-minor'', Naxos [2021]
* ''L'accademia di musica'', Naxos [2022]

== References ==
{{reflist}}
;Sources
* Heinrich Bauer: ''Simon Mayr 1763–1845, Meister der italienischen Oper aus der bayerischen Oberpfalz''. Munich: Bayer. Vereinsbank, 1983
* Franz Hauk: ''Johann Simon Mayr und Venedig''. (Munich: Katzbichler), 1999. - {{ISBN|3-87397-153-4}}
* John Stewart Allitt: ''Giovanni Simone Mayr: Vita, musica, pensiero''. (Villa di Serio (BG), Edizioni Villadiseriane), 1995
* Mahan Esfahani, ''Giovanni Simone Mayr's 'Ginevra di Scozia' and the Classical Aesthetic in Early Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera Seria''. (BA thesis, Stanford University), 2005

==Film==
* Martin Pfeil: ''Der vergessene Musiker: Johann Simon Mayer (1763–1845)''. INTV Media Ingolstadt, 1995 (VHS, 30 Min.)

== External links ==
* [http://www.simon-mayr.de/ Simon-Mayr-Gesellschaft]
* {{ChoralWiki|Johann Simon Mayr}}
* {{IMSLP|id=Mayr, Giovanni Simone}}
* [http://www.simon-mayr-chor.de/ Simon Mayr Chor]
* John A. Rice, [https://www.academia.edu/7020775/Gli_Sciti_Voltaires_Play_Berettis_Ballet_Mayrs_Opera "Gli Siiti: Voltaire's Play, Beretti's Ballet, Mayr's Opera"]

{{Simon Mayr}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayr, Johann Simon}}
[[Category:1763 births]]
[[Category:1845 deaths]]
[[Category:German Classical-period composers]]
[[Category:Italian people of German descent]]
[[Category:German opera composers]]
[[Category:German male opera composers]]
[[Category:People from Eichstätt (district)]]
[[Category:German Romantic composers]]
[[Category:19th-century German classical composers]]
[[Category:19th-century German male musicians]]
[[Category:18th-century German composers]]