Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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SCHETKY SCHIEDMAYER 261
any more than is the second movement of his
' Dramatic ' Symphony.
Unlike Schubert and Beethoven, Brahms
seldom wrote a really bright Scherzo, but he
published one for PF. solo (op. 4) which is very
odd and striking. [It was the work which undoubtedly
persuaded Liszt to include Brahms
among the partisans of the 'advanced school,'
a mistake which had many curious consequences.
The PF. sonata (op. 5) has a Scherzo of wonderful
vigour.] The Second Symphony has a
movement which is a combination of Minuet
and Scherzo, and certainly one of his most
charming ideas. On somewhat the same principle
is the Scherzo of the second String Sextet
(op. 36) which begins in 2-4 as a kind of
Gavotte, while the Trio is 3-4 Presto, thus reversing
the ordinary practice of making the
Trio broader and slower than the rest of the
piece.
Quite on a pedestal of their own stand the
four Scherzos for piano by Chopin. They are
indeed no joke in any sense ; the first has been
entitled 'Le Banquet infernal,' and all four are
characterised by a wild power and grandeur
to which their composer seldom attained.
Among other productions may be noticed the
Scherzo for orchestra by Goldmark,.the so-called
Intermezzo of Goetz's Symphony, the Scherzos
in Dvorak's Sextet, and other chamber works.
We have omitted mention of the strangely instrumented
Queen Mab ' ' Scherzo of Berlioz
more of a joke in orchestration than anything.
The position of the Scherzo in the Symphony
—whether second or third of the four movements—is
clearly a matter of individual taste,
the sole object being contrast. Beethoven, in
the large majority of cases, places it third, as
affording relief from his mighty slow movements,
whereas most modern composers incline to place
it as a contrast between the first and slow movements.
The matter is purely arbitrary. F. S-
SCHETKY, JoHANN Geokg Cheistofp, a
composer, and an excellent performer on the
violoncello. He was born at Hesse-Darmstadt
in 1740, and was the son of Louis Schetky,
secretary and musiojan to the Landgrave there.
J. 6. C. Schetky was intended for the law, but
developed musical abilities and became locally
famous. He travelled to Italy and France, and
obtained recognition and patronage at various
courts. He returned to Hesse-Darmsfaidt, but
after the death of the Landgrave set out for
London. Robert Bremner, the music-publisher,
having been commissioned by the gentlemen
directors of St. Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh, to
engage a first violoncellist for the concerts
held there, met Schetky at Lille, and brought
him to Edinburgh, where he arrived in Feb.
1772, and there spent the remainder of a long
life. He played at the Edinburgh concerts,
and became associated with the musical life
there. He was a friend of Robert Bums, and
at the latter's request set to music his song,
'Clariuda, mistress of my soul,' printed with
the music in the second volume of Johnson's
Scots Museum, 1788. In 1774 Schetky married
the daughter of Joseph Reinagle, senior,
the Austrian musician, who was then settled in
Edinburgh. He had several children by this
marriage, one of whom, John Christian Schetky,
was marine painter to George IV. and to Queen
Victoria. Schetky, the musician, died in Edinburgh
on Nov. 29, 1824, aged eighty-four, and
was buried in the Canongate burial-ground.
His published works consist of concertos, duets,
trios, etc., for strings, and some harpsichord
sonatas. They were principally, if not all,
published by Robert Bremner. A MS. oratorio,
' Die versohmachtende Verspottung des
zum Tode verurtheilten Heylandes,' is at Darmstadt.
For some details of his life see Life of
John C. Schetky, late Marine Fainter, by his
daughter, and St. Cecilia's Hall, by David
Eraser Harris, Edinbuigh, 1899. F. K.
SCHICHT, JoHANN Gottfried, born at
Reichenau, Zittau, Sept. 29, 1753, owed his
education to an uncle ; went to Leipzig University
in 1776, intending to study law, but
gradually adopted music, and was soon chosen
by Adam Hiller as solo clavier player at his
He died Feb. 16, 1823, leaving many
concerts. On Hiller's retirement he succeeded
him in 1785, and at length in 1810 rose to the
head of his profession as Cantor of the Thomasschule.
large works (three oratorios, much chmch and
chamber music), as well as a translation of the
PF. Schools of Pleyel and Clementi, and of Pellegrini-Celoni's
Singing Method, etc. , but only
one which will live, his edition of J. S. Bach's
motets (Breitkopf & Hartel, 1802-3). G.
SCHICKHARD, or SCHICKARD, Johann
Christian, a composer resident at Hamburg
about 1730.
His works were chiefly published
at Amsterdam, but were republished by tlie
elder John Walsh in England. They compi'ise
instrumental pieces, including : solos for a flute
and bass, op. 17 ;
concertos for flutes, op. 19 ;
solos for German flute, hautboy, or violin, op.
20 ; sonatas for two violins and a bass, op. 5 ;
sonatas for two German flutes and a bass, op.
10 ; and some others. These were all published
by Walsh, and reissued by Randall. F. K.
SCHICKSALSLIED (' Song of Destiny '), a
short cantata or ode for chorus and orchestra,
words by Friedrioh Holderlin, music by Brahms,
op. 54. It was first performed from manuscript
by the Carlsruhe Philharmonic Society, under
the composer's direction, Oct. 18, 1871. It
was published by Simrock in the following
December, and was performed early in 1872
at Leipzig, Bremen, Breslau, Frankfort, and
Vienna. First performed in England by the
Cambridge University Musical Society, March
•
8, 1877. M.
SCHIEDMAYER. There are now two firms