Adagio & Rondo-Polacca, Op. 214

Karl Gottlieb Reissiger (1798-1859) was a German composer, conductor, and teacher. His first teacher was his father, with whom he studied piano and violin. By the age of ten he was performing publicly, giving piano recitals and accompanying hymn-singing on the organ. As a pupil at the Thomasschule in Leipzig from 1811 to 1818, Reissiger studied piano and composition with Johann Gottfried Schicht (music director of the Gewandhaus Concert Society from 1785 to 1810 and Cantor of the Thomasschule from 1810). He also took classes in violin, viola and singing. He played violin in the Gewandhaus Orchestra from 1819 to 1820 after he left the Thomasschule. In 1821 he left for Vienna to study theory with Salieri, and in 1822 moved to Munich to study composition and singing with Peter von Winter. In 1826 Reissiger became Music Director of the Hofoper in Dresden, replacing Heinrich Marschner. After successful performances of Oberon and Euryanthe, he was appointed second Kapellmeister, succeeding Weber in 1828. The Dresden Opera became known as the best in Germany under his direction. Reissiger was a composer of more than 200 works in a multitude of different genres. Today he is mainly known as a composer of opera (eight) even though it was but a small portion of his total output.