- Thomas Baltzar
Thomas Baltzar ("c". 1631 –
July 24 ,1663 ) was a Germanviolin ist and composer. He was born inLübeck to a musical family; his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all musicians.Holman, Peter. "Baltzar, Thomas". " [http://www.grovemusic.com Grove Music Online] " (subscription required). ed. L. Macy. Retrieved onMay 31 2008 .] Sources suggest an array of music teachers who may have taught him in his early years. According to the writings ofSamuel Hartlib , composer and violinistJohann Schop was one of those instructors. Baltzar may have studied the violin withGregor Zuber and composition withFranz Tunder . He may have also received instruction from composer and violinistNicolaus Bleyer , who taught Baltzar's younger brother.Walls, Peter (2004). " [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/1253 Baltzar, Thomas (c.1630–1663)] ". "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography " (subscription required).Oxford University Press . Retrieved onMay 31 ,2008 .]Through contacts at Germany's embassy in Sweden (where, by 1653, Baltzar was employed), he may have come in contact with English musicians accompanying
Bulstrode Whitelocke 's mission to Queen Christina. This possible encounter may have been the impetus for Baltzar's decision to emigrate to England in 1655, leaving behind his newly attained position of "Ratslutenist" of Lübeck (he had returned briefly to his home city, probably shortly after Christina's abdication in June 1654). Hartlib's writings indicate that the Swedish ambassador to England,Christer Bonde , took in Baltzar.Baltzar's arrival in England was met with acclaim. On
March 4 ,1656 , he performed the violin at the residence ofRoger L'Estrange , whereJohn Evelyn was in attendance. Evelyn wrote in his diary that night:This night I was invited by Mr. Rog: L'Estrange to heare the incomperable "Lubicer" on the Violin, his variety upon a few notes & plaine ground with that wonderfull dexterity, as was admirable, & though a very young man, yet so perfect & skillfull as there was nothing so crosse & perplext, which being by our Artists, brought to him, which he did not at first sight, with ravishing sweetenesse & improvements, play off, to the astonishment of our best Masters: In Summ, he plaid on that single Instrument a full Consort, so as the rest, flung-downe their Instruments, as acknowledging a victory.
In September 1656, Baltzar was listed as one of the musicians who helped premiere "
The Siege of Rhodes " inLondon , thought to have been the first all-sung English opera. [Price, Curtis. "Siege of Rhodes, The.". " [http://www.grovemusic.com Grove Music Online] " (subscription required). ed. L. Macy. Retrieved onMay 31 2008 .] Two years later, according toAnthony Wood , he was employed as a private musician for Sir Anthony Cope atHanwell House inBanbury . Wood, who had heard Baltzar play at a performance inOxford , described his "very great astonishment" at the German's skill. " [I] saw him run his fingers to the end of the finger-board of the violin, and run them back insensibly," he wrote, "and all with alacrity and in very good tune, which [I] nor any in England saw the like before." Also in attendance was John Wilson, a professor of music at theUniversity of Oxford , who, according to Wood, bowed at Baltzar's feet after the performance.On
December 23 ,1661 , Baltzar entered Charles I's service as a member of the king's private music ensemble with an annual salary of £110, a high figure for the time. Some of Baltzar's surviving compositions, including a work in C major that may be the earliestsuite for three violins, require virtuosity and technical mastery. According to Wood, Baltzar's drinking habits contributed to his death. He was buried in thecloisters ofWestminster Abbey onJuly 27 ,1663 .References
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