DANIEL

See also:

• DANIEL STEIBELT (c. 1764-1823)

STEIBELT (c. 1764-1823)  , German pianist and composer, was born at the earliest in 1764 or 1765 in Berlin . He was indebted to the crown prince Frederick William for his musical education . Very little is known of his artistic life before 1790, when he settled in Paris and attained great popularity as a virtuoso by means of a pianoforte sonata called La Coquette, which he composed for Queen Marie Antoinette; his dramatic opera entitled Romeo et Juliette, produced at the Theatre • Feydeau in 1793, was equally successful . In 1796 Steibelt removed to London, where his pianoforte-playing attracted great attention . In 1798 he produced his concerto (No . 3, in E flat) containing the famous " Storm Rondo "—a work that ensured his popularity . In the following year Steibelt started on a professional tour in Germany; and, after playing with some success in Hamburg, Dresden, Prague and Berlin, he arrived in May 1800 at Vienna, where he challenged Beethoven to a trial of skill . His discomfiture was complete and he retired to Paris . During the next eight years he lived alternately in that city and in London . In 18o8 he was invited by the emperor Alexander to St Petersburg, succeeding Boieldieu as director of the royal opera in 1811 . Here he resided in the enjoyment of a lucrative appointment until his death on the 20th of September 1823 . Besides his dramatic music, Steibelt left behind him an enormous number of compositions for the pianoforte .

His playing, though brilliant, was wanting in the 'higher qualities which characterized that of his contemporaries,

John Cramer and Muzio Clementi; but he was gifted with talents of a high order; and the reputation he enjoyed was fully deserved .