André
André
André, family of German musicians of French descent:
(1) Johann André, composer and music publisher; b. Offenbach, March 28, 1741; d. there, June 18, 1799. He was born into a family of silk manufacturers, and was only 10 when he inherited the business. He received some thorough bass training from an itinerant musician, but was basically autodidact. In 1771–72 he worked as a tr. of French comic operas into German for the Theobald Marchand troupe. He then wrote the libretto and music to his first stage work, the comic opera Der Töpfer (Hanu, Jan. 22, 1773). In 1774 he founded his own music publishing firm in Offenbach. His collaboration with Goethe on the Schauspiel mit Gesang Erwin und Eltnire(Frankfurt am Main, May 1775) established André’s reputation as a composer for the theater. His Heder setting of G. A. Bürger’s Lenore (1775) brought him further notice. From 1777 to 1784 André was music director of Theophil Döbbelin’s theater in Berlin, where he brought out the successful works Claudine von Villa Bella (1778), Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Ser ail (May 25, 1781), and Der Barbier von Bagdad (Feb. 19, 1783). In 1784 he returned to Offenbach to take control of his music publishing business.
(2) Johann Anton André, composer, music publisher, teacher, and music theorist, son of the preceding; b. Offenbach, Oct. 6, 1775; d. there, April 6, 1842. He received training in piano, violin, and singing at an early age. In 1787 he became a violin pupil of his brother-in-law, Ferdinand Fränzl, and composed his first Violin Sonata. In 1789 he became a student of Ignaz Fränzl in Mannheim, where he then took composition lessons with G. J. Vollweiler in 1792–93. After studying fine arts at the Univ. of Jena (1796), he took full control of the family music publishing business upon his father’s death in 1799. That same year, he acquired the rights to Senefelder’s and Gleissner’s lithographic process in Munich and purchased the so-called “Mozart-Nachlass” from Mozart’s widow in Vienna. From 1800 he publ. many editions of Mozart’s works. His edition of Mozart’s autograph catalog (1784–91) was publ. as Thematisches Verzeichnis sämtlicher Kompositionen von W. A. Mozart (Offenbach, 1805; 2nd ed., 1828, as W.A. Mozarts thematischer Catalog). H. Henkel ed. André’s Thematisches Verzeichnis derjenigen Original-Handshcriften von W.A. Mozart, welche Hofrath André in Offenbach besitzt (Offenbach, 1841). André planned a grand Lehrbuch der Tonsetzkunst in 6 vols., but only 2 vols, were completed (Vol. 1, 1832; Vol. II ed. by H. Henkel, 1842). Among his numerous works were the operas Rinaldo und Alcina and Die Weiber von Weinsberg, 9 syms., 3 overtures, concertos, chamber music, piano pieces, including didactic works, organ music, choral pieces, and songs. His large family included 15 children, of whom the following should be noted:
(3) Carl August André, music dealer and piano manufacturer; b. Offenbach, June 15, 1806; d. Frankfurt am Main, Feb. 15, 1887. He was director of the music shop established by his father in Frankfurt am Main, where he manufactured pianos from 1839, including the Mozartflügel series from 1853. He was the author of Der Klavierbau und seine Geschichte (1855).
(4) (Peter Friedrich) Julius André, pianist, organist, and composer; b. Offenbach, June 4, 1808; d. Frankfurt am Main, April 17, 1880. He was employed in his brother’s music shop in Frankfurt am Main from 1864. He wrote an organ method and composed piano, organ, and vocal music.
(5) Jean Baptiste (Andreas) André, pianist and composer; b. Offenbach, March 7, 1823; d. Frankfurt am Main, Dec. 9, 1882. After several tours of Europe as a pianist, he went to Berlin as teacher to Count Bolko von Hochberg. He later was court Kapellmeister to the Prince of Bernburg. His works included choral pieces, many songs, and piano pieces in salon style. For some of his works he used the pseudonym “de St. Gilles.”
Bibliography
A. André, Zur Geschichte der Familie A.—Offenbach am Main (Offenbach, 1962); idem, Zur Geschichte der Familie A. (Garmisch, 1963); W. Matthàus, J. A. Musikverlag zu Offenbach am Main: Verlagsgeschichte und Bibliographie 1772–1800 (Tutzing, 1974); K. Hortschansky, U. Unverricht et al. J. A. Musikverlag (Offenbach, 1974); B. Constapel, Der Musikverlag J. A. in Offenbach am Main Studien zur Verlagstatigkeit von J.A. A. und Verzeichnis der Musikalien von 1800 bis 1840 (Tutzing, 1998).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire