Wenzel Thomas Matiegka

Matiegka was an Austrian composer of Czechoslovakian descent. He was a master of the guitar and the piano which served him well when he moved to Vienna to make a living in music. He had studied with Gelinek in Prague after having studied law. The guitar was his favorite of the two instruments which can easily be discerned from the compositions and arrangements he scored for that instrument. He arranged music by Beethoven, Zumsteeg and Mozart for the guitar and Schubert in turn arranged one of Matiegka's Nocturnes into a quartet. As the Kappelmeister of St Leopold's church in Leopoldstadt, Matiegka composed sacred music in formal structures. His guitar transcriptions and compositions were widely published in Austria.
© Keith Johnson /TiVo