Swieten, Gottfried van, Freiherr#

b. Leiden (Netherlands), Oct. 29, 1733, d. Vienna, March 29, 1803, librarian, patron of the arts, diplomat, composer, son of Baron Gerard van Swieten. 1755-1777 diplomat, 1777 prefect of the Imperial Library in Vienna, the possessions of which he expanded considerably with his own collections; 1781-1791 head of the Imperial Study and Book Censorship Commission (like his father). Translated and worked out the lyrics for the oratorios "The Creation" ("Die Schoepfung") and "The Seasons" ("Die Jahreszeiten") by J. Haydn. Friend and patron of W. A. Mozart and of L. van Beethoven, both of whom created many compositions for the "Gesellschaft der Associierten", which he had founded (exclusive musical society with members coming from the higher nobility, a predecessor of today´s Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde). For a long time some of his symphonies were considered works by J. Haydn.

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