Biography
Gregor Joseph Werner (28 January 1693 – 3 March 1766) was an Austrian composer.
Werner was born in Ybbs an der Donau.[1] He served from 1715 to either 1716 or 1721 (unknown) as the organist at Melk Abbey.[1] During the 1720s he was in Vienna, where he may have studied with Johann Fux and was married on 27 January 1727.[1]
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On 10 May 1728 he took up the position he was to hold for the rest of his life, as Kapellmeister at the Esterházy court in Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt.[1] The appointment "opened a new era for music"[2] at the court; previously, there had been seven years of relative inactivity following the death of Prince Joseph in 1721; his widow Maria Octavia, serving as co-regent for her young son Paul Anton, had instituted economies in the musical establishment.[3] Robbins Landon and Jones suggest that Werner was hired at the then 17-year-old prince's instigation.[3]
Werner set to work, bringing new music to the court from Vienna and composing prolifically.[2] He remained in full charge of the Esterházy musical establishment until 1761, when he entered a period of semi-retirement, his responsibilities limited to church music.[1] Throughout this time he worked for a prince who was himself highly musical: Paul Anton had received musical training from the court musicians as well as from music masters imported from abroad; he played the violin and the flute.[4]
Werner died in Eisenstadt on 3 March 1766.[1
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.