Claus Schall

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Claus Nielsen Schall (April 28, 1757 - August 10, 1835) was a Danish violinist and composer. As a boy little Claus danced and played the violin at his father’s dancing lessons. The bright lad managed to win a wealthy patron over, resulting in a sort of apprenticeship in the central administration; but the boy was more inclined towards the stage. Fifteen years old, he joined the ballet as a figurant. The sound basis created in his father’s establishment was of great use to him, and soon he had learned to dance small solo parts. On 20 October 1775 the ballet master Galeotti, who had just arrived in the country, found himself in a tight corner: His first ballet “The King Goes Hunting” was to be performed in the evening, and a rehearsal was to be held in the morning. The rehearser had, however, suddenly fallen ill, and the music was nowhere to be found. Enter eighteen-year-old Claus Schall, who had on occasion worked as a supplementary musician; he was able to play the entire ballet on his violin by heart; the rehearsal was saved. But in the evening the problem remained: the orchestra was usually conducted by the rehearser at ballet performances, and he was none the better in the course of the day. Nobody dared take responsibility for the performance, but - again - in came young Schall to save everybody’s bacon. He succeeded with flying colours, and when Galeotti’s second ballet was performed, the composer of the music was the very Claus Schall. Instrumentation was carried out

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