FUX, JOHANN JOSEPH

born 1660, Hirtenfeld, Styria, Austria died Feb. 13, 1741, Vienna Austrian composer known for his theoretical work on counterpoint, Gradus ad Parnassum. Fux became organist at the Schottenkirche in Vienna in 1696 and court composer to the Holy Roman emperor Leopold I in 1698. In addition, he held the post of chapelmaster at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna (170515). Fux was a prolific composer of vocal and instrumental music. His works include 19 operas, of which Costanza e fortezza (1723) is notable; 29 partitas, including the Concentus musico-instrumentalis (1701); 10 oratorios; and 50 masses, of which the Missa canonica, (1708), written in canon throughout, is particularly admired. His book Gradus ad Parnassum (1725; Steps to Parnassus) attempted to systematize contrapuntal practices. It was long the standard textbook on counterpoint and was studied by Wolfgang A. Mozart, Joseph Haydn, and other 18th-century composers.