During that period, in Italy, the position (Italian: maestro di capella) largely referred to directors of music assigned to cathedrals and sacred institutions rather than those under royal or aristocratic patronage.
When the 18th-century actor and musician Joachim Daniel Preisler heard the famous soprano Aloysia Weber (Mozart's sister-in-law) perform in her home, he paid her the following compliment in his diary: The well-known Mozardt is her brother-in-law and has taught her so well that she accompanies from a score and plays interludes like a Kapellmeister.
[5] But Prince Anton was hardly alone in doing this; during this same period, "the steady decline in the number of orchestras supported by aristocratic families represented a ... change that affected all composers and their works.
For instance, Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) never worked as a Kapellmeister but was supported by a somewhat unreliable combination of noble patronage, publication, and concert income.
[7] In April 1791, Mozart applied to become the Kapellmeister at St. Stephen's Cathedral and was designated by the City Council to take over this job following the death of the then-ailing incumbent, Leopold Hofmann.
[8] Variant spellings capellmeister and capelle, to refer to the orchestra or choir,[9] are sometimes encountered in English language works about composers who held the title.
In fact, Thielemann, who is fully aware of the historical usage of the term, would himself prefer to be called a "Kapellmeister": "it implies such virtues as knowledge of a work, great ability, and dedication to the cause of music".
[19] The term "Kapellmeister Tradition" is commonly used to describe these qualities, as exemplified by such historically important conductors as Otto Klemperer, Clemens Krauss, and Erich Kleiber, in the sense that they have "paid their dues" on their way to international fame.