page_title: Georg Österreich
section_title: Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1686–1689)
hierarchical_section_title: Georg Österreich / Life / Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (1686–1689)
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Schloss Wolfenbüttel als Merian Stich 1654
context_page_description: Georg Österreich was a German Baroque composer and collector. He is regarded as the founder of the so-called Bokemeyer collection which is now housed in the Staatsbibliothek in Berlin and is considered one of the most important music collections of the late 17th and early 18th century.
context_section_description: Critical for Österreich's career was his lifelong friendship with Johann Theile.  When the arts-lover Anton Ulrich was appointed co-regent of the Duchy of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel and made funds available for the fine arts, it was Theile who attached Österreich to the Wolfenbüttel court, took him into his house, and gave him lessons in composition. Alongside this, Österreich continued his voice studies with two Italian castrati who were also at the court, Giuliano Giuliani and Vincentino Antonini.  His time at Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was a formative period in every respect and marked the beginning of his activity as a composer.  His first works date from the years 1687 and 1688. These three religious concertos, "Laetatus sum in his," "Levavi oculos meos," and "Ich will den Hern Loben allezeit" more strongly reflect the contrapuntal tradition of Johann Theile.  His official duties at court were limited to participation as a tenor in the ducal choir and duties as a "Cammer-Diener", a page (servant) or valet.  He had no official duties as a composer, though his works of the time were almost certainly performed in the court church.
  In Wolfenbüttel, he married Magdalena Darnedden, the daughter of a brewer, on 15 October 1689, shortly before his move to Schleswig. His father-in-law, Hans Darnedden, was successful and respected and left the couple a house, a garden, and a considerable sum of money at his death in 1702.
caption: Engraving of Wolfenbüttel Castle in 1654
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