Schmitt, Aloys

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Schmitt, Aloys

Schmitt, Aloys, German pianist and composer, brother of Jacob Schmitt and father of Georg Aloys Schmitt; b. Erlenbach, Aug. 26, 1788; d. Frankfurt am Main, July 25, 1866. He studied composition with André at Offenbach, and in 1816 went to Frankfurt am Main, where he remained all his life with the exception of short stays in Berlin and Hannover (1825–29). He composed 4 operas, Der Doppelgänger (Hannover, 1827), Valeria (Mannheim, 1832), Das Osterfest zu Paderborn (Frankfurt am Main, 1843), and Die Tochter der Wüste (Frankfurt am Main, 1845), 2 oratorios, Moses and Ruth, church music, etc., but he is principally known and appreciated for his numerous piano compositions, including 4 piano concertos, several piano quartets, piano trios, a number of attractive character pieces for piano, and studies for school.

Bibliography

H. Henkel, Leben und Wirken von Dr. Aloys Schmitt (Frankfurt am Main, 1873).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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