be present at the Erfurt Musical Celebration given by Napoleon in
Honor of the Allied Sovereigns.--Becomes Director of Opera in
Vienna.--Incidents of his Life and Production of Various Works.--First
Visit to England.--He is made Director of the Cassel Court
Oratorios.--He is retired with a Pension.--Closing Years of his
Life.--His Place as Composer and Executant.


I.

"The first singer on the violin that ever appeared!" Such was the
verdict of the enthusiastic Italians when they heard one of the greatest
of the world's violinists, who was also a great composer. The modern
world thinks of Spohr rather as the composer of symphony, opera, and
oratorio than as a wonderful executant on the violin; but it was in
the latter capacity that he enjoyed the greatest reputation during the
earlier part of his lifetime, which was a long one, extending from the
year 1784 to 1859. The latter half of Spohr's life was mostly devoted
to the higher musical ambition of creating, but not until he had
established himself as one of the greatest of virtuosos, and founded
a school of violin-playing which is, beyond all others, the most
scientific, exhaustive, and satisfactory. All of the great contemporary
violinists are disciples of the Spohr school of execution. Great as a
composer, still greater as a player, and widely beloved as a man--there
are only a few names in musical art held in greater esteem than his,
though many have evoked a deeper enthusiasm.

Ludwig Spohr was born at Brunswick, April 5, 1784, of parents both of
whom possessed no little musical talent. His father, a physician
of considerable eminence, was an excellent flutist, and his mother