Anton Diabelli
• Born September 06, 1781 in Mattsee
• Died April 07, 1858 in Vienna
Biography
Anton Diabelli, a competent and very productive composer of attractive music, is best known as the author of a musical idea from which another composer made a masterpiece.
He was a choir boy in Salzburg Cathedral and is reputed to have had lessons with Michael Haydn there. Before he was 20 he wrote notable compositions, including six masses. In 1800 he joined the monastery at Raitenhaslach, Bavaria. There he might have remained, but Bavaria closed all its monasteries in 1803. He went to Vienna, where he taught piano and guitar, made arrangements, and continued to compose. He got work proofreading for a music publishing firm, which gave him knowledge of the process and business of publishing music, and continued to compose; among his works is the comic opera Adam in der Klemme (1809). In 1817 he started in business for himself, partnering the following year with a dealer named Pietro Cappi to create the firm of Cappi & Diabelli.
The partners were astute in their choices of music. Primarily, they specialized in popular music for home music making, including opera tune arrangements, dance music, collections for guitar or piano, and their most popular series, 429 volumes of the Latest Popular Comic Theater Songs.
Diabelli retired in 1851; Spina continued to run the firm.
