In his youth Seyfried served as the assistant conductor for Emanuel Schikaneder's opera troupe at the Theater auf der Wieden in Vienna, becoming musical director in 1797 and serving (in its new building, the Theater an der Wien) until 1826.[3] His memoirs offer accounts of the first production, under Schikaneder's auspices, of Mozart's The Magic Flute, as well as a curious anecdote concerning the composer's death a few weeks later; see Death of Mozart.[4]
In 1805, Seyfried conducted the première of the original version of Beethoven's Fidelio. Seyfried's memoirs also include some striking tales about Beethoven, and the information he provides on Beethoven in the appendix to Studien im Generalbasse are "of great biographical value",[5] containing "everything [that] is known about the circumstances of the adored master and (are) authentic fact".[6] Also see Piano Concerto No. 3 (Beethoven) and Choral Fantasy (Beethoven).
Of his musical works, the Grove Dictionary says: "his versatility won him a unique place in Vienna's musical life; however, almost none of his music is marked by real originality or distinction."[citation needed]
As arranger
He made arrangements of Beethoven's Three Equals for four trombones, WoO 30, for four-part men's chorus, performed at Beethoven's funeral; re-scored Michael Haydn's Deutsche Messe, for men's voices only;[7] and arranged over twenty operas by others for various wind band combinations.
^Regarding personal names: Ritter is a rank of nobility, not a first or middle name.
^David J. Buch, "Three posthumous Reports concerning Mozart in his late Viennese Years", Eighteenth-Century Music 2/1, (Cambridge University Press, 2005), 127.
Beethoven: Die Seyfried Papiere. Reproduction and transcription of the autograph manuscripts for Biographical Notes and Character Traits & Anecdotes with exposé. BoD, Norderstedt, 2019. ISBN978-3-748-16746-4.