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Christoph Willibald Gluck

Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (German: [ˈkʁɪstɔf ˈvɪlɪbalt ˈɡlʊk]; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he gained prominence at the Habsburg court at Vienna. There he brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices for which many intellectuals had been campaigning. With a series of radical new works in the 1760s, among them Orfeo ed Euridice and Alceste, he broke the stranglehold that Metastasian opera seria had enjoyed for much of the century. Gluck introduced more drama by using orchestral recitative and cutting the usually long da capo aria. His later operas have half the length of a typical baroque opera. Future composers like Mozart, Schubert, Berlioz and Wagner revered Gluck.

The strong influence of French opera encouraged Gluck to move to Paris in November 1773. Fusing the traditions of Italian opera and the French (with rich chorus) into a unique synthesis, Gluck wrote eight operas for the Parisian stage. Iphigénie en Tauride (1779) was a great success and is often considered to be his finest work. Though he was extremely popular and widely credited with bringing about a revolution in French opera, Gluck's mastery of the Parisian operatic scene was never absolute, and after the poor reception of his Echo et Narcisse (1779), he left Paris in disgust and returned to Vienna to live out the remainder of his life.

Birth and Death Data: Born July 2, 1714 (Erasbach), Died November 15, 1787 (Vienna)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1903 - 1940

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 117 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor C-622 12-in. 11/2/1903 Away with mourning and crying Louise Homer Contralto vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-623 12-in. 11/2/1903 Che farò Louise Homer Contralto vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-4670 10-in. 7/11/1907 Mélodie Maud Powell Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-4731 12-in. 7/30/1907 Ach! Ich habe sie verloren Ernestine Schumann-Heink ; Victor Orchestra Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-7023 12-in. 4/29/1909 J'ai perdu mon Euridice Jeanne Gerville Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-8105 10-in. 7/13/1909 Gavotte from Paris and Helena Victor String Quartet String quartet composer  
Victor C-8609 12-in. 2/7/1910 Su e con me vieni cara Johanna Gadski ; Louise Homer ; Victor Orchestra Vocal duet (soprano and contralto), with orchestra composer  
Victor C-8610 12-in. 2/7/1910 Che fiero momento Johanna Gadski ; Louise Homer Vocal duet (soprano and contralto), with orchestra composer  
Victor C-8611 12-in. 2/7/1910 Che farò senza Euridice Louise Homer Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-9872 10-in. 1/31/1911 Mélodie Mischa Elman Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-9872 12-in. 10/6/1915 Mélodie Mischa Elman Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-9873 12-in. 1/31/1911 Melodie Mischa Elman Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-9911 12-in. 2/6/1911 Divinités du Styx Louise Homer ; Victor Orchestra Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-10508 12-in. 6/5/1911 Ye awful Stygian powers Myrna Sherlow Vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-10561 10-in. 6/20/1911 Spiagge amate Umberto Sorrentino Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-12318 10-in. 8/14/1912 Iphegenie in Aulis : Lento from ballet Victor Concert Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor B-12729 10-in. 12/18/1912 Mélodie Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-13731 12-in. 9/8/1913 Bourée Maud Powell Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-16587 10-in. 10/4/1915 Menuett William H. Reitz Bells solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-19634 10-in. 4/27/1917 Musette : Ballet Victor Concert Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor C-19851 12-in. 5/14/1917 Reigen seliger Geister Victor Concert Orchestra Orchestra, with flute solo composer  
Victor C-21066 12-in. 11/8/1917 Dance of the spirits Philadelphia Orchestra ; Leopold Stokowski Orchestra composer  
Victor C-21223 12-in. 12/4/1917 Strings Victor Orchestra Instructional composer  
Victor B-22935 10-in. 6/27/1919 Melodie Guiomar Novaës Piano solo composer  
Victor C-22935 12-in. 6/23/1919 Melodie Guiomar Novaës Piano solo composer  
(Results 1-25 of 117 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Gluck, Christoph Willibald," accessed March 28, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102604.

Gluck, Christoph Willibald. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 28, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102604.

"Gluck, Christoph Willibald." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 28 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/102604

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