Franz Xaver Süssmayr

Franz Xaver Süssmayr (German: Franz Xaver Süßmayr or Suessmayr in English; 1766 – September 17, 1803) was an Austrian composer and conductor. Popular in his day, he is now known for his completion of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor. In addition, there have been performances of Süssmayr’s operas at Kremsmünster, and a new version of his cantata "Der Retter in Gefahr" was performed. There are also CD recordings of his unfinished clarinet concerto (completed by Michael Freyhan), one of his German requiems, and his Missa Solemnis in D.

He was born in Schwanenstadt, Upper Austria, the son of a sacristan and teacher (who spelled the name Seissmayr, reflecting the Austrian pronunciation). His mother died when he was 6, and he left home at 13. He was a student and cantor in a Benedictine monastery (from 1779 to 1787) in Kremsmünster. When his voice changed, he became a member of the orchestra as a violinist.

The abbey performed operas and Singspiele, so he had the opportunity to study the operas of Christoph Willibald Gluck and Antonio Salieri. He composed a number of stage works and a good deal of church music for the abbey.

He became (after 1787) a student of Salieri in Vienna. In 1791 he assisted Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a copyist with La clemenza di Tito and Die Zauberflöte and is presumed to have written the secco recitatives in the first. Their relationship was close and playful, to judge by surviving letters to Constanze, whom Süssmayr accompanied to Baden.

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