Nikolaus Simrock (1751–1832)

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Anonymous oil painting of Nikolaus Simrock, ca. 1820. Reproduced from the original at the Beethoven-Haus, Bonn

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Exhibited: The Beethovens on the Rhine (2020). Exhibition text: Nikolaus Simrock (1751–1832) was a horn player who joined the Bonn court orchestra in 1774. He also established a music dealership business, trading in sheet music and keyboard instruments, which he later expanded into a music publishing house. Beethoven was on friendly terms with Simrock and they continued to correspond after he moved to Vienna. Simrock was a respected horn virtuoso, and he may have been one of the horn players Beethoven had in mind with his Sextet Opus 81b for two horns and string quartet, whose horn parts are particularly challenging. Some sketches for the Sextet survive from around 1795, but Simrock’s publishing firm produced the first edition of the work in 1810. Simrock was well connected within the musical world, and he used his connections to secure music for his growing publishing business. When Joseph Haydn passed through Bonn in 1790 on his way to London, Simrock met him and later published several of Haydn’s works, including three of the “London” symphonies. Simrock was also interested in publishing the works of J. S. Bach, whose music was not yet widely known, and he printed the Well-Tempered Clavier in 1800 as well as the solo violin sonatas in 1802.

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This work may not be in the public domain and may be protected by copyright laws of the country of the copyright holder. The digital images attached to this record may be used for teaching or research purposes under the provisions of the fair-use statute of the copyright law of the United States. For further information see the Beethoven Center's website at https://www.sjsu.edu/beethoven/collection/library-materials/index.php

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