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Johann Kaspar Mertz
August 17, 1806 - October 14, 1856
born in Pozsony, Hungary, composed during the Romantic period
Biography
Johann Kaspar Mertz, perhaps more than any other Central European musician of his time, was associated with the guitar, both as a composer and performer. He was a virtuoso player of the first rank, regularly touring Europe to great acclaim, and an esteemed composer whose guitar works, most of which were transcriptions or arrangements of famous Classical pieces from opera, song, and other sources, are still highly regarded today. His best-known and admired original effort was Bardenklänge (1847), a two-part collection of pieces said to carry the spirit of Schumann, with echoes of works like Carnival and Kreisleriana. Among his better known transcriptions are the (6) Schubertian Songs (1845). While the works of Mertz have gained rightly deserved attention since the 1990s, they are mostly still far from standard-repertory status. But fortunately, a good portion of Mertz's better efforts have been widely available via recording in the past couple of decades.

Johann Kaspar Mertz was born in Pozsony, Hungary, on August 17, 1806. He exhibited remarkable talent as a child on both the guitar and flute, but the family's dismal financial circumstances inhibited his development. By 12 he was contributing to the family income by giving music lessons.
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