Ferdinand Kauer

Ferdinand Kauer (born 18 January 1751 in Kleintajax in Znojmo, † April 13, 1831 in Vienna) was an Austrian composer and conductor.

The son of a school teacher in the western Slovakia Trnava, he began to study medicine. Without an end to this, he moved to Vienna and devoted himself exclusively to music. At the beginning he lived from piano lessons and studied music in passing. When Leopoldstadt theater by Karl von Marinelli he became Kapellmeister in 1795 and first violinist and also took over the management of the singing school.

Throughout his life, he created over 200 operas and musical comedies, such as " The Donauweibchen " (1798 ) and other works, such as more than 20 trade fairs, requiems, symphonies, quartets, concertos and the like. Thus Kauers " New Hungarian Dances " the earliest documents for string ensemble in the history of Verbunkos music and were written in 1792 for the coronation of Emperor Francis I, King of Hungary.

Despite Kauers great musical productivity he impoverished from 1820. Danube at the big flood on 1 March 1830 his apartment was flooded and destroyed all its factory union records. A year later he died as a beggar.

In his honor were Rudolf -Fuenfhaus ( 15th District ) named the Kauergasse in Vienna. Kauer is considered a model for the figure of the " poor minstrel " by Franz Grillparzer. Indirectly, the minstrel street is named after him in the 20th district Brigittenau since 1968.