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In more than three hundred years of lute literature, from the mid-fifteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, only a select few composers, such as Francesco da Milano, John Dowland, and Silvius Leopold Weiss, have had their fame exceed their lifetime.

The transient nature of a musician’s fame was primarily due to the impossibility of preserving sound content for future generations, leading to a fate shared by almost all. Music existed only in the present moment, more than any other artistic manifestation. For lutenists, the challenge was exacerbated by the use of tablature, an ancient script that indicated the finger positions needed to produce a sound rather than the actual notes themselves. This script could only be read by those who played the instrument, making its contents inaccessible to other musicians.

While paintings, sculptures, and books outlived their authors, music remained a dead letter on score paper. It is not difficult to understand why, in spite of all this, Silvius Leopold Weiss was still remembered and mentioned many years after his demise. He was a world-famous virtuoso, admired, highly sought after, and among the highest paid of his time. Silvius Leopold Weiss was born on 12 October 1687 in Grottkau near Breslau, the capital of Silesia (today Wroclaw in Poland). His father, Johann Jacob, was also a lutenist of some renown. Johann Jacob was probably the sole person responsible for his, his brother Johann Sigismund’s, and his sister Juliana Margaretha’s education. While still in his teens, Silvius Leopold started playing the violin at the courts of Breslau and Innsbruck.

Evangelina Mascardi – lutes