Franz Xaver Frenzel

Franz Xaver Frenzel is the artist name of Austrian composer Friedemann Katt. "Franz Xaver Frenzel – from myth to reality No one has ever seen the mythical Frenzel – although his name can be found on various documents. But his music is real and more than just beautiful – this would actually be a sufficient attribute. The music is full of life, maybe even in the sense of Nietzsche’s “survival” (Überleben). One of the most astonishing facts about Frenzel research is a very close relation between the mythical Master Frenzel and the contemporary composer Friedemann Katt, who is always present when a work of Frenzel appears. Even more stupefying is Katt’s comment on his works: “Some of my works are attributed to Frenzel, whereas all his works are mine.” This can easily be explained by a very common practice in the Baroque period: Famous composers frequently exchanged their works and published them as their own. Would this mean that Katt’s works were passed on to Frenzel and then re- attributed to him? Katt’s reply is a suggestive silence. And even more mysterious: nobody has ever seen the mysterious Frenzel."