formally appointed. By the end of the 1720s, in his mid-sixties, Österreich was gradually withdrawing from the musical events in Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, likely not least due to the growing popularity of Italian composers and the changes in fashionable tastes. On 9 May 1735, Georg Caspar Schürmann was sent into retirement by the new Duke, Ferdinand Albert II, who found his style too old-fashioned. Österreich was supposed to remain in his position as court cantor, but died a few weeks later. His death is recorded in the court's church register for 6 June 1735: "in the evening at 10 o'clock, after a short illness, died gently and peacefully, and was buried on the 10th." Children Österreich had four children with his wife Magdalena: Johann Samuel (25 May 1691 – 27 May 1712) Anton August (19 December 1692 – 1745) Georg Christoph (5 November 1694 – 1762) Sophie Amalie (20 June 1696 – ?) The social standing which he attained in his position as court Kapellmeister is apparent in the list of his children's godparents. Among them are found such prominent names as Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel; crown prince and later duke Augustus William of Brunswick-Lüneburg; and Augustus William's second wife, Sophie Amalie, born Duchess of Holstein-Gottorf, in addition to Österreich's predecessor and teacher Johann Theile. Österreich's sons all pursued careers in the church and held high ecclesiastical offices in northern Germany. Only his daughter, Sophie Amalie, devoted herself to music and became a celebrated opera singer at the Brunswick Theater. Biographical sources Österreich's family tree was reconstructed in the 20th century. His last known direct descendant was the wife of a major general in the German Army who lived in Blankenburg (Harz). She died childless in the 1950s. In the possession of the family were several letters of Österreich's along with a handwritten autobiography in his own hand. A student at the time, Adam Soltys, was writing his dissertation on Österreich in 1922. This document came to his attention and he cited it several times in his work. Despite intensive searches, the present whereabouts of the manuscript have not been ascertained. The only reliable sources of information about Österreich's life are letters and the records of the courts where he was employed. The state archive in Schleswig maintains many valuable documents from Österreich's time in Gottorf, while a majority of the archive of Brunswick-Wolfenbūttel was lost in World War II. Another