Franz Beyer
German musicologist, teacher and viola player Franz Beyer was born in Weingarten on 26 February 1922. After training as a viola player he joined the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, which was conducted by Karl Münchinger.
He played in the legendary Max Strub String Quartet, and in early music ensembles such as the Collegium Aureum and Cappella Coloniensis. He joined the Melos Quartet when they needed an extra viola player for Mozart's string quintets.
He was professor of viola and chamber music at Munich's Hochschule für Musik und Theater (1962-95).
He edited the Henle Urtext edition of Max Reger's solo viola suites.
But he was best known for his restorations and revisions of the works of Mozart and other composers, including the unfinished Mozart Requiem K 626, producing in 1972, requested by Bruno Walter, a version in keeping with Mozart's style but respectful of Sussmayr's traditional completion.
Franz Beyer died in Munich on 29 June 2018, aged ninety-six.
A selection of articles about Franz Beyer
Ensemble. A Wonderful Sound - Mozart's Requiem at Canterbury Cathedral, praised by Pippa Hare