Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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STEIBELT STEIBELT 685
issued very even
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Laitiere' (produced Jan. 26, 1805). It seems
' as Steibelt of London.' faulty editions of his works,
very oharaoteristic of the composer that his work going so far as to annex his name to compositionsby
other people, and announces his intention
was not ready on either occasion. In the former
case several airs had to be written at a very of having all his future works published by
short notice by Winter, who was also responsible Breitkopf & Hartel, an intention that was not
for the scoring of the second act ; ' in the latter very consistently carried out. Even after leaving
case an apology was circulated for the omission Leipzig he lingered at Breslau and "Warsaw to
give concerts, so that he could hardly have
of the ditumeinettit of the piece, Mr. ' Steibelt not
having finished that part of the music' ^ Both reached St. Petersburg till the beginning of the
ballets were, nevertheless, received with great spring of 1809.
favour, the march in the first act of Le ' Jugement
' and the pastoral scene in the second act He was appointed, it is not very clear when,
Here, at last, his wanderings came to an end.
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of La belle Laitiere ' obtaining special applause. director of the Opera Fran9ais, and when Boieldieu
left, at the close of 1810, Steibelt received
He also played his Pianoforte Concerto No. 5
(' a la Chasse,' op. 64) at the Opera concerts, the title of Maitre de Chapelle ' ' to the Emperor
apparently in the summer of 1802, with great in his place. It was, however, a title to which
success. After his return to Paris Steibelt no emolument was attached, and which in no
followed up his dramatic achievements in way relieved its possessor from professional
England with an Intermezzo, La ' Fete de Mars, duties. In managing and writing for the Opera,
composed in celebration of the Austerlitz campaign,
and in teaching and composing for the piano-
and performed at the Op&-a on March forte, the remaining years of Steibelt's life were
4, 1806. Encouraged by these successes he spent. About the year 1814 he ceased to play
again tried his hand on a larger work, La
' in public, and did not appear again for six years,
Princesse de Babylone,' an opera in three acts. when the production of his Eighth Pianoforte
This was accepted by the Academic, and was in Concerto induced him to come forward once
active preparation when the importunity of his more as a performer on March 16, 1820. Meanwhile
creditors compelled the composer to leave Paris
his pen was not idle. His early years at
suddenly in the autumn of 1808. But his St. Petersburg were marked by the ballets La
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energies were by no means confined to writing Fete de I'Empereur ' in 1809, and 'Der blode
for the stage. Several of his chief sonatas date Ritter ' (before the end of 1812) ; and the three
from these years. Still more important are the Concertos for pianoforte, Nos. 6, 7, and 8,
two Concertos in Eb (Nos. 4 and 5) for the appear to belong to the period of his abstention
pianoforte, and the M^thode ' ' for that instrument
from playing in public. For the theatre he
published in French, German, and Spanish, wrote two operas, each in three acts, 'Cendrillon'*
in which he claims to have invented the signs and • Sargines ; a third,
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Le Jugement de
for the use of the Pedals adopted by Clementi,
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Midas, ' he did not live to finish. He also spent
Dussek, and Cramer. [See Sordino, ante, p. some time in revising 'Romte et Juliette.' In
622b.'\ Above all, it was on his return to Paris in the midst of these avocations he was seized with
1805 that he published his !&tude—a collection a painful disease, of which, after lingering some
of fifty studies in two books,—undoubtedly the time, he died on Sept. 20, 1823. A number
best of -his pianoforte works. In the midst of of his friends combined to honour him with a
all this occupation he found time to meditate quasi-public funeral, and the military governor
further travels. Eussia, a country that in the of St. Petersburg, Count Milarodowitsch,
previous century had attracted Galuppi, Paisiello, organised a subscription-concert for the benefit
Sarti, Cimarosa, and Clementi, had just furnished of his family, who were left in very straitened
an asylum to Boieldieu and a home to Field, circumstances.
was then a sort of Promised Land to French Comparatively little has been recorded of
musicians, and it is not strange that Steibelt Steibelt's personal character, but the traits
should have been more than willing to go there, preserved are, to say the least of it, far from
when he received in 1808 the offer of a very prepossessing. Almost the only occurrence
advantageous appointment from the Emperor that presents him in a pleasing light is his
Alexander. Owing to causes already mentioned death-bed
Eom6o
dedication of the
King
revised score of
he left Paris for St. Petersburg in October 1808.
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et Juliette to the of Prussia, in
His journey was not, however, very speedy when token of gratitude for the kindnesses received
he felt himself out of the reach of his creditors. from that monarch's father. He appears to
He stopped at Frankfort to give a great concert have been perfectly eaten up with vanity, which
on Nov. 2,3 and at Leipzig made a stay of some exhibited itself unceasingly in arrogance, incivility,
weeks and repeated the programme of the
and affectation. His respect for his
Frankfort concert. During his sojourn in Leipzig art, never too great, was destroyed by the
he put forth (Nov. 24, 1808) a notice in which quantity of worthless music that he wrote
he complains that some German publishers had hastily to meet temporary difficulties, and he
1 Itamiru, Chrmicle. May 25, 1804. ^ ySM. Jan. 28. 1806.
s The coireapondeiit of th^ A.M.Z. (xl. 170) oddly describes him It is worijh noting that some autliorities declare this was written
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for Paris. This opera has been considered his greatest worlc.