Joseph Franz Maximilian, 7th Prince of Lobkowitz (also spelled Lobkowicz) (8 December 1772 – 16 December 1816[1]) was an aristocrat of Bohemia, from the House of Lobkowicz. He is known particularly for his interest in music and as a patron of Ludwig van Beethoven.
The prince was an amateur musician, playing violin and cello, and sang with a bass voice. Countess Lulu Thürheim, sister-in-law of Prince Razumowsky, said of him: "This Prince was as kindhearted as a child and the most foolish music enthusiast. He played music from dusk to dawn and spent a fortune on musicians. Innumerable musicians gathered in his house, whom he treated regally."[4][5]
In 1799, Lobkowitz commissioned a set of six string quartets from Haydn. The composer was both busy and in ill health, and he managed to complete only two of them; these were published as the composer's Opus 77 and were the last quartets he was to complete.[6]
Lobkowitz had a private orchestra at his palace in Vienna, the Palais Lobkowitz; in the hall of the palace, this orchestra performed in 1804 Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 (which was dedicated to the Prince) before the first public performance.[4][7]
In 1808, Beethoven was offered the post of Kapellmeister at Cassel, where Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, had his court. Prince Lobkowitz, together with Archduke Rudolph and Prince Kinsky, successfully persuaded Beethoven to stay in Vienna by offering a yearly pension of 4,000 florins. In 1811 Prince Lobkowitz, in financial difficulty, discontinued paying his share.[5][7] However, he eventually resumed payment, which continued past his death in 1816 until Beethoven's own death in 1827.
Beethoven composed a Birthday Cantata for Prince Lobkowitz (WoO 106); it was written for the composer's friend Karl Peters, tutor for the Lobkowitz family. It was intended to be sung by the young Princes on their father's birthday in 1816. However, the prince was seriously ill at that time, and died a few days later.[5]
Personal life
In 1792 he married Maria Karolina von Schwarzenberg (1775–1816), daughter of Johann I, Prince of Schwarzenberg [de] and Countess Maria Eleonore zu Oettingen-Wallerstein (a daughter of Count Philipp Karl von Oettingen-Wallerstein).[8] They had twelve children, including:[1][4]
Princess Gabriella von Lobkovicz (1793–1893), who married Prince Vincenz Nepomuk von Auersperg, youngest son of Prince Wilhelm I of Auersperg.[9]
Prince Johann Nepomuk Karl Philipp von Lobkovicz (1799–1878), who married Karolina von Wrbna und Freudenthal, a daughter of Eugen von Wrbna und Freudenthal.[12][13]
Prince Joseph Franz Karl von Lobkowicz (1803–1875), who married Countess Antonie Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau.[14] After her death in 1835, he married Maria "Sidonia" von Lobkowicz, a daughter of August, Prince von Lobkowicz and Bertha, Princess of Schwarzenberg.[15]
Prince Ludwig Johann Karl Alois Carl von Lobkowicz (1807–1882), who married Léopoldine von Liechtenstein, also a daughter of Moritz Joseph von Liechtenstein.[16]
^ a b c dJoseph Franz Maximilian, VII. Fürst zu Lobkowicz Geni, accessed 31 December 2014.
^ a bFamily History Archived 2018-06-12 at the Wayback Machine Lobkowicz, accessed 25 February 2017.
^Steinforth, Dirk H.; Rozier, Charles C. (17 May 2021). Britain and its Neighbours: Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Routledge. p. 206. ISBN 978-1-000-36537-5. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^ a b cFranz Joseph Maximilian von Lobkowitz Kulturfreunde Lobkowitz Neustadt a.d. Waldnaab, accessed 30 December 2014.
^ a b cPaul Nettl. "Lobkowitz, Prince Josef Max". Beethoven Encyclopedia. Philosophical Library, New York, 1956.
^Grave, Grave, and Margaret G. Grave (2006) The string quartets of Joseph Haydn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 17. Excerpts viewable at
Google Books: [1].
^ a b cFriedrich Oelenhainz (1745–1804), Franz Joseph Maximilian Fürst von Lobkowitz (1772–1816) Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback MachineBeethoven-Haus Bonn, accessed 30 December 2014.
^Hofstaat, Österreich-Ungarn (1898). Handbuch des Allerhöchsten Hofes und des Hofstaates seiner K. u. K. Apostolischen Majestät: für das Jahr ... (in German). Verlag d. K. K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. p. 107. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Deutsche Adelsproben aus dem Deutschen Ordens-Central-Archive (in German). W. Braumüller. 1888. p. 148. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Neu, Peter (1989). Die Arenberger und das Arenberger Land: Das 19. Jahrhundert: Adelsleben, Besitz, Verwaltung (in German). Verlag der Landesarchivverwaltung Rheinland-Pfalz. p. 51. ISBN 978-3-922018-70-4. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Pisano, Sandra; Collections, Lobkowicz (2007). The Lobkowicz Collections. Scala Publishers Limited. pp. 4, 55. ISBN 978-1-85759-520-8. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels (in German). C.A. Starke. 1997. p. 381. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Pálmány, Béla (2011). A reformkori országgyűlés történeti almanachja (1825-1848) (in Hungarian). Argumentum. p. 562. ISBN 978-963-446-613-0. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Monarchy, Austro-Hungarian (1912). Handbuch des allerhöchsten Hofes und des Hofstaates seiner K. und K. Apostolischen Majestät ... (in German). K. K. Hof- und Staatsdruckerei. p. 405. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Wurzbach, Constant von (1866). Biographisches lexikon des kaiserthums Oesterreich, enthaltend die lebensskizzen der denkwürdigen personen, welche seit 1750 in den österreichischen kronländern geboren wurden oder darin gelebt und gewirkt haben (in German). K. K. Hof- und staatsdruckerei. p. 325. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Gates-Coon, Rebecca (15 January 2015). The Charmed Circle: Joseph II and the 'Five Princesses,' 1765-1790. Purdue University Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-61249-370-1. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Konegen, Carl (1913). High Life Almanach | Adreßbuch der Gesellschaft Wiens und der österreichischen Kronländer (in German). Vienna. p. 269. Retrieved 19 August 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Almanach de Gotha: annuaire généalogique, diplomatique et statistique. 1893 (in French). Dieterich. 1893. p. 427. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Österreichisch-kaiserlicher Hofkalender: für das Jahr ... (in German). Ghelen. 1879. p. 72. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
^Kent, Princess Michael of (13 September 2005). The Serpent and the Moon: Two Rivals for the Love of a Renaissance King. Simon and Schuster. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-7432-5106-8. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
External links
Media related to Joseph Franz, 7th Prince of Lobkowicz at Wikimedia Commons