Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel

Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel (Würzburg, 1750 – Würzburg, 1817) was a German composer, pianist and organist whose career unfolded between the court at Mainz, travels through Italy and the courts of Regensburg and Aschaffenburg. His figure is useful for understanding the transition from Central European Classicism towards the modern chamber piano, although his name has been overshadowed by that of other contemporaries.

From a young age he received a solid musical training in Würzburg, with the court organist A. Kette and with Weismandel. He entered the university of his native city in 1764 and, after taking holy orders, served as organist at the collegiate chapter of Neumünster, rising through the ecclesiastical ranks to the priesthood in 1774. This religious vocation provided him with a stable livelihood without significantly compromising his musical career.

A performance at the court in Würzburg opened the doors to Mainz for him, where in 1778 he took up a post in the chapter of Liebfrauen and was appointed court chaplain. Mozart heard him in Mannheim in 1777 and criticised his excessive tempi. Around 1779 the Elector Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal sent him, together with his half-brother, the violinist F. Lehritter, on an extended journey through Italy. There he toured the principal cities, frequently performed as a pianist and, in Naples, composed for the queen the only opera known to be by him, Il Farnace, premiered at the San Carlo in January 1782. After spending several weeks with Padre Martini in Bologna, he returned to Mainz and, on the way, visited Stein's piano workshop in Augsburg, whose instruments he later defended.

In 1791 came his well-known encounter with Beethoven, recounted by Simrock and Wegeler: Sterkel played one of his sonatas, and Beethoven replied by improvising on Sterkel's own variations on Righini, in a light style that he imitated with skill. After the French invasion of 1792 and the dissolution of the royal chapel in 1797, Sterkel lived in Würzburg, where he composed a substantial amount of sacred music, and later in Regensburg, where he founded a choir school. In 1810 he followed Karl Theodor von Dalberg to Aschaffenburg as musical director, until the city's annexation by Bavaria dissolved the court in 1814. According to tradition, Beethoven called him the “royal composer”, on account of the nobility listed in his dedications.

His output is extensive, chiefly chamber music: sonatas for piano with violin or with violin and cello, trios, quartets with piano and short pieces, as well as a number of symphonies, concertos and lieder. His contemporaries praised his lyricism, although he also received criticism. His legacy lies in his role in shaping the pianistic style and in spreading the chamber music with piano, as well as in the teaching he gave to pupils such as C. P. Hoffmann and G. C. Zulehner.