Claus Schall

Claus Nielsen Schall (28 April 1757 – 10 August 1835) was a Danish violinist and composer living much of his life as a subject of Denmark–Norway.

In 1780, when Galeotti planned to compose The Power of Love and Suspicion, he encouraged Schall to write the music, which received general acclaim.

However, this prompted Schall to acknowledge his lack of formal theory and composition knowledge, leading him to seek guidance from concertmaster Johann Hartmann.

Nevertheless, his primary education was through self-study; he never gained a deep understanding of music theory, and Kuhlau's critique that "he couldn't write 8 bars without error" was not entirely unfounded.

His initial work, Claudina of Villa Bella (1787), received little acclaim, and subsequent efforts like The Chinamen (1792), The Evening (1795), The Canon in Milan (1802), Niels Lembak (1804), and Alma and Elfride (1813) did not achieve significant recognition.