Gluck

GLUCK, Christoph' Willibald, Rrrrra vox,• German composer : in the upper Palatinate, 2 July 1714; d. Vienna, 15 Nov. 1787. After studying six years at the Jesuit school at Komotow, where his musical talents were especially encouraged, he supported himself for a time by giving music lessons. Later he at tracted the notice of Prince Lobkowitz, who en abled him to complete his musical education at Vienna. At 26 he was desired to write an opera for the court theatre at Milan and the result was his 'Artaserse,) which achieved a great success in spite of many innovations in com position introduced into the work. In 1742 he wrote Wemofoonte) for Milan; 'Demetrio ed Ipermnestra' for Venice; in 1743 'Artamene' for Cremona, and cSiface) for Milan; in 1744 was produced in Paris after a considerable amount of opposition from the musical critics of the old Italian and French school, at that time rep resented in Paris by Piccini. The most intense

excitement prevailed; all Paris took sides, and for a long time the Gluckists and Piccinists con tended with the same bitterness as did formerly the Jansenists and Jesuits, and in our own day Wagner and his opponents. The victory re mained with the Gluckists. Shortly after the production of the (Iphigenie,' the 'Ode& was adapted for and put on the French stage, and was followed by the in 1777, and by the (Iphigenie en Tauride in 1779, his last important work, and by many considered his greatest. It ends the series of works which directed the operatic genius of Maul and Cherubini in France, and of Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner in Germany. Consult 'Lives' by Marx (1863), Desnoiresterres (1872), Reiss mann (1882) ; d'Undine (1906) ; Tiersot (1910).

GLtJCKSTADT, gliikistit, Prussia, town of the province of Schleswig-Holstein, on the Elbe, 31 miles from Hamburg and 28 miles northwest of Altona. It has a fine town hall, a gymnasium, a provincial prison and a peni tentiary. Commerce and fishing constitute the chief employments of the people. The city has railroad repair shops, shipyards, furniture, wagon, shoe, soap, cigar, brick factories, etc. It was founded in 1617 by Christian IV of Denmark, who fortified it. In 1815 its forti fications were destroyed. It receives consider able shipping at periods when Hamburg is con gested. Pop. 6,500.