Biography
Leopold Koželuh (born Jan Antonín Koželuh; also spelled Kotzeluch; 26 June 1747 – 7 May 1818) was one of the foremost Czech composers active in late-18th-century Vienna. He achieved considerable success as a pianist, composer, and teacher, and became an important figure in Viennese musical life during the Classical period.
Koželuh was born in the town of Velvary in Bohemia (in present-day Czechia), the son of the shoemaker Antonín Bartholomäus Koželuh. He received his earliest musical training from his cousin, also named Jan Antonín Koželuh. To avoid confusion between the two, he later adopted the name Leopold Koželuh, dropping his given name entirely.
In 1770 he studied composition with František Xaver Dušek and wrote his first major work, a ballet for the National Theatre in Prague. Over time, he would compose more than twenty-five works for the Prague stage. Although already established as a virtuoso pianist, Koželuh initially pursued the study of law at the University of Prague, continuing his musical education alongside his legal studies.
During this period he married Josepha, and together they had a daughter, Katharina Koželuh Cibbini, who would later become a noted pianist and composer of piano music in early-19th-century Vienna. Koželuh eventually abandoned plans for a legal career, devoting himself fully to music and continuing to write popular theatrical scores until 1778.
In that year he relocated to Vienna, where he studied with Johann Georg Albrechtsberger. Vienna proved decisive for his career: he quickly established himself as a leading composer, pianist, and pedagogue. Among his most distinguished pupils was the blind Archduchess Elisabeth, daughter of Maria Theresa, whose instruction he undertook by imperial appointment.
Koželuh’s success as a teacher brought him considerable financial security, enabling him to found his own publishing house, Musikalisches Magazin, in 1785. Around 1790 he joined a Freemasons’ lodge in Vienna, an affiliation that contributed to the wide acceptance and dissemination of his music. His reputation reached its peak in 1792 when he was appointed Imperial Chamber Conductor and Court Composer.
That same year, under Franz II, he was named Royal Orchestra Master and Court Composer. His works circulated widely, appearing not only in his own publications but also through publishers abroad, particularly in England. Koželuh remained a central figure in Viennese musical life until his death.
Leopold Koželuh died in Vienna on 7 May 1818 at the age of seventy, remembered as a respected and influential composer, pianist, and teacher of the Classical era.
