František Xaver Dušek

František Xaver Dušek (bapt. December 8, 1731 in Chotěborky - February 12, 1799 in Prague) was a Czech composer and one of the most important harpsichordists and pianists of his time. Dušek was taught on the harpsichord in Vienna by Georg Christoph Wagenseil and established himself around 1770 in Prague as a successful keyboard teacher. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was his guest in his Villa Bertramka in Košíře in Prague, and finished at least two of his major works there: in 1787 the opera Don Giovanni and probably also La clemenza di Tito in 1791. Dušek was one of the teachers of Mozart's son Karl Thomas Mozart, who became a gifted pianist, although he did not pursue a career in music. Dušek's wife Josepha Hambacher (7 March 1753 – 8 January 1824) had been taught by him and was a famous pianist and soprano. She sang important soprano roles in Mozart operas in early performances, and Mozart's concert aria Bella mia fiamma (catalogued as Köchel-Verzeichnis 528) was written for her. Dušek composed sonatas, variations and concertos for harpsichord and piano and several symphonies and string quartets. Much of his music is in the galant style of the early Classical period. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.