April 5, 1784:
Ludwig Spohr is born in Braunschweig (now Spohrplatz 7), Duchy of Braunschweig, the first of six children born to Karl Heinrich Spohr, a physician, and Juliane Ernestine Luise Henke.
April 30, 1802:
In Hamburg, Louis Spohr (18) begins taking violin lessons with Franz Eck, one of the last representatives of the Mannheim School.
May 5, 1802:
Jan Ladislav Dussek (42) makes the acquaintance of Ludwig Spohr (18) in Hamburg, at a dinner at the home of Herr Kiekhöver.
March 3, 1805:
Louis Spohr (20) gives his first concert in Berlin. He asks the young virtuoso Jacob Meyer Beer (Giacomo Meyerbeer) (13) to take part, thus swelling the audience with interested Jews.
August 5, 1805:
Louis Spohr (21) is appointed Konzertmeister in Gotha, the youngest person to hold that position in Germany.
February 2, 1806:
Konzertmeister Louis Spohr (21) marries Dorothea Scheidler, the daughter of a court singer, in the court chapel of Gotha, in the presence of Duchess Carolina Amalie.
October 12, 1807:
Louis Spohr (23) is admitted to the newly reconstituted Masonic lodge “Ernst zum Kompass” in Gotha.
January 4, 1810:
Louis Spohr’s (25) concert tonight in Berlin attracts a large audience once it becomes known that the recently returned Queen of Prussia has requested tickets.
June 22, 1810:
The Clarinet Concerto no.2 by Louis Spohr (26) is performed for the first time, in Frankenhausen.
November 15, 1811:
Der Zweikampf mit der Geliebten, an opera by Louis Spohr (27) to words of Schink, is performed for the first time, in Hamburg to great success.
February 18, 1812:
Carl Maria von Weber (25) and Heinrich Baermann perform a private recital for the royal family in Dresden. Their public performance in Dresden is not successful, as Weber’s music is compared to that of Louis Spohr (27) and found lacking.
December 8, 1813:
A benefit for wounded Austrian and Bavarian soldiers at the University of Vienna features the first performance of two works by Ludwig van Beethoven (42): the Symphony no.7 and Wellington’s Victory. The works cause ecstatic applause and critical raves. The concert is so successful it will be repeated 12 December. Wellingtons’s Victory is directed by Beethoven with the assistance of Ignaz Moscheles, and Antonio Salieri (63). The violins include Louis Spohr (29), Ignaz Schuppanzigh, and Joseph Mayseder. Playing bass drum are Meyer Beer (Giacomo Meyerbeer) (22) and Johann Nepomuk Hummel (35). Besides the Beethoven works, the concerts also include two marches, one by Jan Ladislav Dussek (†0), one by Ignace Joseph Pleyel (56), performed by Mälzel’s Mechanical Trumpeter with orchestral accompaniment.
February 27, 1814:
Symphony no.8 by Ludwig van Beethoven (43) is performed for the first time, in the Redoutensaal, Vienna. The response is warm but not uproarious. One member of the violin section is Louis Spohr (29).
December 11, 1814:
The overture to Louis Spohr’s (30) unperformed opera Faust is performed for the first time, in Vienna. See 1 September 1816.
February 19, 1815:
Violin Concerto no.7 by Louis Spohr (30) is performed for the first time, in Vienna. It is judged among the best in that form yet composed.
September 1, 1816:
Faust, an opera by Louis Spohr (32) to words of Bernhard, is performed for the first time, in Prague, conducted by Carl Maria von Weber (29). See 11 December 1814.
September 27, 1816:
Concerto for violin and orchestra no.8 by Louis Spohr (32) is performed for the first time, in Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
October 18, 1816:
Louis Spohr (32) performs on the violin today in Venice. Here he will meet Nicolò Paganini (33) and, although he does not hear him play, Spohr is impressed by all the things Venetians, laymen and connoisseurs alike, have to say about him. “No instrumental player has ever captivated the Italians as he has done...”
April 4, 1819:
Zemire und Azor, an opera by Louis Spohr to words of Ihlee after Marmontel, is performed for the first time, in Frankfurt-am-Main, on the eve of the composer’s 35th birthday.
September 30, 1819:
Louis Spohr’s (35) resignation as Director of Opera in Frankfurt goes into effect.
March 6, 1820:
Louis Spohr (35) appears as soloist in a concert with the Philharmonic Society Orchestra, delayed because of the death of King George III. He is judged one of the great violinists and composers of the age.
April 10, 1820:
The Symphony no.2 by Louis Spohr (36) is performed for the first time, in London under the direction of the composer. Spohr “conducts” the Philharmonic Society by waving his bow at them.
January 14, 1822:
Louis Spohr (37) arrives in Kassel to take up his position as Hofkapellmeister.
July 28, 1823:
Jessonda, an opera by Louis Spohr (39) to words of Gehe after Lemierre, is performed for the first time, in the Kassel Hoftheater.
November 22, 1823:
Hymne an die heilige Cäcilie for soprano, chorus and organ by Louis Spohr (39) to words of von Calenberg is performed for the first time, in Kassel. The solo part is sung by the composer’s daughter Emilie.
March 24, 1825:
Der Berggeist, an opera by Louis Spohr (40) to words of Döring, is performed for the first time, in the Kassel Hoftheater as part of celebrations surrounding the marriage of the daughter of Elector Wilhelm II of Hesse-Kassel to Duke Bernhard Erich of Saxe-Meiningen.
November 22, 1825:
Die letzten Dinge, an oratorio by Louis Spohr (41) to words of Rochlitz, is performed for the first time, in Kassel, directed by the composer with piano accompaniment.
July 28, 1827:
The University of Marburg confers an honorary doctorate on Louis Spohr (43).
October 13, 1827:
Pietro von Abano, a romantic opera by Louis Spohr (43) to words of Pfeiffer after Tieck, is performed for the first time, in the Kassel Hoftheater.
August 21, 1829:
Nicolò Paganini (46) arrives in Frankfurt-am-Main from Kassel where he was the guest of Louis Spohr. He gave one concert in Kassel, without great success.
July 28, 1830:
Der Alchymist, an opera by Louis Spohr (46) to words of Pfeiffer (pseud. of Schmidt) after Irving, is performed for the first time, in the Kassel Hoftheater.
January 9, 1831:
A new constitution is announced in Hesse-Kassel. During the celebrations, Louis Spohr's (46) Jessonda is performed as is a play by Niemeyer. In the play is a new hymn by Spohr: Hessens Feiergesang for chorus and winds to words of Wolf.
November 4, 1832:
Symphony no.4 “Die Weihe der Töne” by Louis Spohr (48) is performed for the first time, in Kassel.
November 20, 1834:
Dorothea (Dorette) Spohr, wife of Louis Spohr (50) for 28 years, dies in Kassel. The composer is devastated by the loss.
January 3, 1836:
Louis Spohr (51) marries Marianne Pfeiffer, the sister of his late friend Carl Pfeiffer, in Kassel. It is his second marriage, her first. She is 28.
March 1, 1838:
Symphony no.5 by Louis Spohr (53) is performed for the first time, in Vienna to raves from public and press.
January 9, 1839:
Incidental music to Birnbaum’s play Der Matrose by Louis Spohr (54) is performed for the first time, in Kassel.
April 6, 1840:
At the first London performance of Louis Spohr’s (56) Symphony no.5, the work is hissed by the audience. See 1 March 1838.
November 21, 1841:
At his second concert in Kassel, Franz Liszt (30) has his head circled with a wreath by Louis Spohr (57). The audience approves.
January 1, 1845:
Die Kreuzfahrer, an opera by Louis Spohr (60) to words of L.&M. Spohr after Kotzebue, is performed for the first time, in the Kassel Hoftheater.
August 11, 1845:
Today begins three days of celebrations surrounding the unveiling of the Beethoven (†18) monument in Bonn. Attenders include King Friedrich Wilhelm IV and Queen Elisabeth of Prussia, Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Famous musicians include Louis Spohr (61), Giacomo Meyerbeer (53), Hector Berlioz (41), Franz Liszt (33), Pauline Viardot (24), and Jenny Lind. This evening, during dinner, a small concert is given, directed by Meyerbeer and featuring Jenny Lind.
December 22, 1847:
Symphony no.8 by Louis Spohr (63) is performed for the first time, in Kassel. It is warmly, but not enthusiastically, received.
January 22, 1850:
Louis Spohr (65) falls on the ice in Kassel and receives a concussion. He will not fully recover for weeks.
June 25, 1853:
A performance of Benvenuto Cellini in an Italian translation conducted by Hector Berlioz (49) at Covent Garden before Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and King Georg V and Queen Marie of Hannover is hissed from beginning to end by a group opposed to foreign composers and musicians in what is considered an Italian house. Berlioz cancels a performance scheduled for tomorrow. Also in the audience are Crown Prince Carl Alexander of Weimar, Pauline Viardot (31), Louis Spohr (69), and George Eliot.
November 12, 1857:
Louis Spohr (73) receives a message from the Hesse-Kassel court that he is being “allowed to retire” due to his age, at three-quarters of his present salary.
November 22, 1857:
Louis Spohr (73) directs a performance of his opera Jessonda in Kassel. It is his last act as Hofkapellmeister in Kassel, a post he has held for 35 years.
December 27, 1857:
Retired for only a month, Louis Spohr (73) trips over the steps at the museum in Kassel and suffers a broken arm. Although he will recover, he will never perform on the violin in public again.
October 16, 1859:
Depressed over his advancing age, Louis Spohr (75) takes to his bed in Kassel. He will not rise from it again.
October 25, 1859:
An elaborate funeral in memory of Louis Spohr takes place in Kassel, at public expense. His mortal remains are laid to rest in the Hauptfriedhof in Kassel.