Klemens von Metternich
Klemens Metternich was born into the House of Metternich on 15 May 1773 to Franz George Karl Count Metternich-Winneburg zu Beilstein, a diplomat who had passed from the service of the Archbishopric of Trier to that of the Imperial court, and his wife Countess Maria Beatrice Aloisia von Kageneck. He was named in honour of Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony, the archbishop-elector of Trier and the past employer of his father. He was the eldest son and had one older sister. At the time of his birth the family possessed a ruined keep at Beilstein, a castle at Winneberg, an estate west of Koblenz, and another in Königswart, Bohemia, won during the 17th century. At this time Metternich's father, described as "a boring babbler and chronic liar" by a contemporary, was the Austrian ambassador to the courts of the three Rhenish electors (Trier, Cologne and Mainz). Metternich's education was handled by his mother, heavily influenced by their proximity to France; Metternich spoke French better than German. As a child he went on official visits with his father and, under the direction of Protestant tutor John Frederick Simon, was tutored in academic subjects, swimming, and horsemanship.
Clemens Schmalstich
Born on 8 October 1880 in Posen, Clemens Carl-Otto Schmalstich was originally a student attending the Posen Friedrich-Wilhelm Gymnasium on the wishes of his father (who would not hear of his having a serious course of musical education), and then had four semesters in Philosophy at Bonn. In 1902 the young student was able to attend the Königliche Hochschule (Royal High school) for Music at Berlin. There he 'learnt' piano with Professor Ernst Rudorff, but then two years later he transferred as a student of composition to the master-class of Engelbert Humperdinck (best known as the creator of the opera "Hänsel and Gretel"), who became a fatherly friend to him and arranged for him to obtain a position as conductor at the New Theatre in Berlin, where, among other works, he conducted Humperdinck's music for Shakespeare's "The Tempest". Soon after this Schmalstich won a whole range of Academy awards. In 1910 his friend Leo Blech summoned him to the Royal Opera in Berlin, where Schmalstich worked as Kapellmeister (orchestral conductor) until 1919 alongside Blech, Richard Strauss and Karl Muck.