Hermann Raupach

Hermann Friedrich Raupach (December 21, 1728 – December 12, 1778) was an 18th-century German composer. Biography Hermann Raupach was born at Stralsund in Germany, the son and pupil of composer and organist (1686–1744) and the nephew of Lutheran church historian (1682–1745). Raupach was a harpsichordist, who became the assistant of Vincenzo Manfredini, at the Russian Imperial Court Orchestra in Saint Petersburg in 1755. In 1758 he was appointed a Kapellmeister and court composer. Some of his operas were performed in Russian. His Alceste (Альцеста, 1758) is regarded as “the second Russian opera” (after Araja’s Tsefal i Prokris, 1755). The role of Admet in this opera was sung by Dmitry Bortniansky, called the “Orpheus of the Neva River”. In 1762 Raupach left Saint Petersburg for Hamburg and then to Paris, where he met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and improvised with him on harpsichord in 4 hands. Mozart arranged some movements from his sonatas for piano and string orchestra. The Sonata for Piano and Violin in A major, that was listed as K. 61, first appeared under Mozart’s name in the Breitkopf & Härtel OEuvres in 1804. It had been in Baron Taddäus von Dürnitz collection, and was mistakenl