Schürmann, Georg Caspar
Schürmann, Georg Caspar
Schürmann, Georg Caspar, eminent German composer; b. Idensen, near Hannover, 1672 or 1673; d. Wolfenbüttel, Feb. 25, 1751. He went to Hamburg, where he became a male alto at the Opera and in various churches when he was 20; after appearing with the Hamburg Opera at the Braunschweig court of Duke Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig-Lüneburg in 1697, the duke engaged him as solo alto to the court; was also active as a conductor at the Opera and at the court church. After the duke sent him to Italy for further training (1701–2?), he was loaned to the Meiningen court as Kapellmeister and composer; in 1707 he resumed his association with the Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel court, where he was active as a composer and conductor for the remainder of his life. Schurmann was a leading opera composer during the Baroque era. He wrote over 40 operas, only 3 of which survived in their entirety after their Braunschweig premieres: Heinrich der Vogler (part I, Aug. 1, 1718; part II, Jan. 11, 1721), Die getreue Alceste (1719), and Ludovicus Pius, oder Ludewig der Fromme (1726). He was also a noted composer of sacred music.
Bibliography
G. Schmid, Die frühdeutsche Oper und die musikdramatische Kunst G.C. S.s (2 vols., Regensburg, 1933–34).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire