Johannes Spech

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Johannes Spech (also János Spech) lived from 10 December 1767 to 24 November 1836. He was a Hungarian composer from the Classical era, born in Bratislava. Some scholars think the city's rich musical life inspired him to study music. He received basic music training and also studied law, becoming a law clerk in Buda in 1792. He later went to Vienna to study with Haydn. Biographers disagree about the next decades: some say he returned to Hungary and worked as a civil servant while conducting theater and composing; others claim he spent four years at the Paris Conservatory before returning to Hungary to focus on music. He died in Oberlimbach (now Grad).

Spech's main works are Hungarian song settings, but his style blends late Mozart and Schubert with French and Italian influences and Hungarian rhythms. His music is rarely recorded; one known recording was made by the Festetics String Quartet for Hungaroton in the early 2000s.