German composer and conductor. He was born into a musical family. His father, Anton, was an organist and also his first teacher. His brothers Ignaz and Vinzenz as well as his stepbrother Theodor were also composers.
He attended the gymnasium in Neuburg an der Donau and studied composition under Eisenhofer at the same time. After the death of his father in 1822, Lachner went to Munich to continue his studies. He was active in the university singing group and worked as a music teacher. In 1823 he became the organist of the Lutheran Stadtkirche church in Vienna and studied there under Simon Sechter and Maximilian Stadler. He was accepted into Franz Schubert and Moritz von Schwind’s circle and became a close friend of Schubert. He also had contact with Beethoven.
In 1827, Lachner became vice-director and then in 1829 director of music of the Kärntnertortheater in Carinthia. From 1834 to 1836 e served as court orchestra director in Mannheim. In 1836 he returned to Munich where he was the conductor for the court opera, the music academy and the royal choir. He owed his position to the success of his Sinfonia Passionata, which won a prize in 1835 in Vienna. When Ludwig II summoned Wagner to Munich in 1865, Lachner retired. His students include Joseph Rheinberger and Franz Wüllner. Lachner’s interpretations of Beethoven are considered exemplary. He also successfully staged Wagner’s operas although he did not care for the music.
