A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Randhartinger, Benedict
RANDHARTINGER, Benedict, an Austrian musician, memorable for his connexion with Schubert. He was born at Ruprechtshofen, in Lower Austria, July 27, 1802; at 10 years old came to the Konvict school at Vienna, and was then a pupil of Salieri's. He afterwards studied for the law, and for ten years was Secretary to Count Széchényi, an official about the Court. But he forsook this line of life for music; in 1832 entered the Court Chapel as a tenor singer: in 1844 became Vice-Court-Capellmeister, and in 1862, after Assmayer's death, entered on the full enjoyment of that dignity. His compositions are more than 600 in number, comprising an opera, 'König Enzio'; 20 masses; 60 motets; symphonies; quartets, etc.; 400 songs, 76 4-part songs, etc. Of all these, 124, chiefly songs, are published; also a vol. of Greek national songs, and a vol. of Greek liturgies. His acquaintance with Schubert probably began at the Konvict, and at Salieri's; though as he was Schubert's junior by five years, they can have been there together only for a short time; but there are many slight traces of the existence of a close friendship between them. He was present, for example, at the first trial of the D minor String Quartet (Jan. 29, 1826), and he was one of the very few friends if not the only one who visited Schubert in the terrible loneliness of his last illness. But for Randhartinger it is almost certain that Schubert's 'Schöne Müllerin' would never have existed. He was called out of his room while Schubert was paying him a visit, and on his return found that his friend had disappeared with a volume of W. Müller's poems which he had accidentally looked into while waiting, and had been so much interested in as to carry off. On his going the next day to reclaim the book, Schubert presented him with some of the now well-known songs, which he had composed during the night. This was in 1823. It is surely enough to entitle Randhartinger to a perpetual memory.
He had a brother Josef, of whom nothing is known beyond this that he was probably one of the immediate entourage of Beethoven's coffin at the funeral. He, Lachner, and Schubert are said to have gone together as torch-bearers (Kreissle von Hellborn's 'Schubert,' p. 266).[ G. ]