MusicatlasNews for Keller
- Photograph from 1840 shows Mozart's widow
[posted 7 July 2006]The only photograph ever taken of Mozart's widow Constanze, was found back in the town archives of a Bavarian city.
The daguerreotype was taken at the home of the Swiss composer Max Keller in 1840. Constanze then was 78 years old. Two years later she died. The found photograph is a 19th century copy of the original daguerreotype. When Mozart died at the age of 35, Constanze was only 29. She later married the Danish diplomat Nissen. The image shown here is just the fragment of the original photo that shows Constanze. [Source: news.bbc.co.uk]
Music
Max Keller’s best known works are:
- Missa Solemnis No. 6, Op. 103 (1828)
- Organ works for mass, Op. 120 (1839)
Life
Max Keller started his musical carreer in the Seeon Benedict monastry, first as a chorister, and later (1788) as an organist. From there he frequently travelled to Michael Haydn in Salzburg for music lessons. In 1799, he became the church organist in Burghausen. From 1801 till his death he was resident organist at Altötting.
