František Xaver Brixi (German: Franz Xaver Brixi; 2 January 1732 – 14 October 1771) was a Czech classical composer. He was the son of composer Šimon Brixi.
Brixi was born on 2 January 1732 in Prague, the son of composer Šimon Brixi. He received his musical education at the Piarist gymnasium in Kosmonosy. His teachers included Václav Kalous, a significant composer himself.
In 1749, Brixi left Kosmonosy and returned to Prague, where he worked as an organist at several churches. In 1759, he was appointed regens chori (choir director) and Kapellmeister of St. Vitus Cathedral, thus attaining, at age 27, the highest musical position in the city; this office he held till his early death. He wrote some 290 church works (of the most varied type), cantatas and oratorios, chamber compositions, and orchestral compositions. He was a prolific composer of music for the liturgy, and wrote more than 100 masses, vespers and motets, among others. He also composed secular music such as oratorios and incidental music, concertos and symphonies. His organ concertos, which have been recorded several times each, are his best-known pieces today.
Brixi died of tuberculosis in Prague in 1771, at the age of 39.
Brixi was an important composer at the junction between the Baroque and Classical periods. Brixi's style is distinguished from that of his contemporaries by its fresh melodic writing, vivacious rhythm and lively bass lines, and from that of his predecessors by its simple yet effective instrumentation.
Brixi's music made Prague's people receptive for Mozart's music (where Mozart was in high esteem even during times where he was shunned elsewhere).
Brixi composed 500 works, in which sacred music dominated. None of his compositions were published during Brixi's lifetime.
Novák, Vladimir (1969). "Zur Katalogisierung von Werken der Familie Brixi". Die Musikforschung. 22 (3). Bärenreiter: 335–337. ISSN 0027-4801. JSTOR 23230930.
Novák, Vladimir (24 October 2022). "Brixi family". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.04019. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. (subscription, Wikilibrary access, or UK public library membership required)
"Brixi". MGG Online. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
"Brixi, František Xaver". Česká Divadelní Encyklopedie (in Czech). 5 June 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
"ALO docView – 02 Biographisches Lexikon des Kaisertums Österreich (1857)". Austrian Literature Online (in German). Retrieved 5 June 2022.
"František Xaver Brixi", (in Czech)
Free scores by František Brixi in the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
Free scores by František Xaver Brixi at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)