Pavel Vranický (also germanized to Paul Wranitzky, because he moved to Vienna) was born in Nová Říše in Moravia on December 30, 1756 and died in Vienna on September 29, 1808. At age 20, Pavel, like so many other Czech composers of that period, moved to Vienna to seek out opportunities within the Austrian imperial capital. Oldier brother of composer Antonín Vranický. Pavel Vranický played a prominent role in the musical life of Vienna; from 1790, he served as conductor of both royal theater orchestras. He was on friendly terms with and highly respected by Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven; the latter two preferred him as the conductor of their new works. Vranický was, as so many of his contemporaries, a prolific composer. His output comprises ten operas, fifty-one symphonies, at least 56 string quartets (some sources give a number as high as 73) and a large amount of other orchestral and chamber music. His opera Oberon - the fairy king from 1789 was a popular favorite in this genre and inspired Schikaneder to write The Magic Flute; in the mid-1790s, Goethe sought unsuccessfully to collaborate with Vranický on a sequel to the Mozart opera.