Vinzenz Lachner (* 19. July 1811 in Rain am Lech; † 22. January 1893 in Karlsruhe) was a German composer, conductor and music teacher. Vinzenz Lachner was born into a musical family. His father Anton was a watchmaker and organist in Rain; he received his first music lessons from him. His brothers Franz and Ignaz as well as his stepbrother Theodor were also composers, the two sisters were active as organists.
From 1822 he attended the Gymnasium zu Augsburg, which he did not finish for unknown reasons. From 1830 he worked as a music teacher for Count Mycielski zu Cosvitz in Posen after the intervention of his brother Franz. Vinzenz Lachner received in 1834 the position of his brother Ignaz at the Reformed Church and at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. In 1836 he went - now in succession of his brother Franz - as Kapellmeister to the Nationaltheater in Mannheim and remained there with short interruptions until his early retirement in 1873. In 1842 he was conductor of the Deutsche Operngesellschaft in London, 1848 he took over the position of music director in Frankfurt am Main for a short time. After his retirement from the position of conductor in Mannheim, Lachner moved to Karlsruhe. Here he first worked as a private teacher, from 1884 as a music teacher at the Grand Ducal Baden Conservatory.
Among his contemporaries he was appreciated by Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann. Among his pupils in Mannheim were the conductor Hermann Levi and in Karlsruhe the pianist Max von Pauer.
His native town Rain honours him with a street name, the Gebrüder-Lachner-Museum, which is housed in the birthplace, and the name of the Gebrüder-Lachner-Mittelschule. In Karlsruhe and Mannheim, streets were also named after Vinzenz Lachner.
Vinzenz Lachner's compositional oeuvre, which was hostile to the New German School, comprises mainly vocal works, mainly songs, but also two symphonies, overtures and chamber music. He also wrote music for Schiller's Turandot. A festive overture and a piano quartet were awarded prizes. He also acquired a reputation as an outstanding conductor. With the exception of his comic male choirs, his works have largely fallen into oblivion today.
