Birth of Classical Music 2: Galante - Classical

 

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A Birth of Classical 3

A VF History of Music & Recording

Galant - Classical

Group & Last Name Index to Full History:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Composers are listed chronologically. Tracks are listed alphabetically.

Find on Page = F3. Not on this page? See history tree below.

 

 

Alphabetical

Carl Friedrich Abel    Johann Georg Albrechtsberger
 
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach    Johann Christian Bach    Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach    Wilhelm Friedemann Bach    Georg (Jirí) Antonín Benda
 
Christian Cannabich    Armand-Louis Couperin
 
Louis-Claude Daquin
Frederick II
Christoph Willibald Gluck
 
Johann Michael Haydn    Franz Joseph Haydn    Leopold Hofmann
 
Niccolò Jommelli
 
Karel Blažej Kopřiva    Leopold Koželuch     Jan Křtitel Kuchař
 
Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg   Giovanni Battista Martini   Metastasio   Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart   Josef Mysliveček
 
Giovanni Battista Pescetti    Niccolò Piccinni
 
Franz Xaver Richter    Jean-Jacques Rousseau
 
Antonio Salieri    Giovanni Sammartini    Giuseppe Sammartini    Josef Seger    Georg Andreas Sorge    Carl Stamitz    Johann Stamitz
 
Giuseppe Tartini

 

Chronological

Featured on this page in order of the composer's birth date.

 

1692 Giuseppe Tartini
   
1694 Louis-Claude Daquin
   
1695 Giuseppe Sammartini
   
1698 Metastasio
   
1700 Giovanni Sammartini
   
1703 Georg Andreas Sorge
   
1704 Giovanni Battista Pescetti
   
1706 Giovanni Battista Martini
   
1709 Franz Xaver Richter
   
1710 Wilhelm Friedemann Bach
   
1712 Frederick II    Jean-Jacques Rousseau
   
1714 Christoph Willibald Gluck    Niccolò Jommelli
   
1716 Josef Seger
   
1717 Johann Stamitz
   
1718 Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg
   
1722 Jiří Antonín Benda
   
1723 Carl Friedrich Abel
   
1727 Armand-Louis Couperin
   
1728 Niccolò Piccinni
   
1731

Christian Cannabich

   
1732 Franz Joseph Haydn    Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach
   
1735 Johann Christian Bach
   
1736 Johann Georg Albrechtsberger
   
1737 Josef Mysliveček    Johann Michael Haydn
   
1738 Leopold Hofmann
   
1745 Carl Stamitz
   
1747 Leopold Koželuch
   
1750 Antonio Salieri
   
1751 Jan Křtitel Kuchař
   
1756 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart    Karel Blažej Kopřiva

 

  This page indexes the Galant [1, 2, 3] and Classical periods of classical music beginning w composers who bridged from the Baroque. Galant is the brighter and lighter version of baroque transitioning toward classical. The Classical period is generally considered to stretch from 1730 to 1820 w the Baroque sometimes dated to as late as 1750. The Galant merges into those time frames as a sibling of Rococo in art and architecture [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], also to coincide w the European Age of Enlightenment [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Among the more apt examples of galant may be the composer, Georg Christoph Wagenseil [b 1715 d 1777: 1, 2; audio]. See also 'Music in European Capitals: The Galant Style, 1720-1780' by Daniel Heartz (WW Norton & Company 2003); 'Opera in the Age of Rousseau' by David Charlton (Cambridge U Press 2012); 'Chronology of the Classical Era'. The classical pages are structured differently from the other YouTube histories. Due that specific dates are largely impossible with early classical music we keep the convention of indexing works on those pages by alphabetical order only. That is, they are not in chronological order. Dates are noted by appendage and refer the year of publication if not composition. As for brackets (: [Part 1]), they indicate sections made by YouTube channels. If the composer you're seeking isn't on this page he may bridge Baroque or Romantic. As the history of classical music is largely European until its later arrival to the United States in the 19th century, helpful in the use of these accounts may be chronological maps of Europe and its monarchs mentioned throughout [1, 2, 3, 4]. The earliest major European temporal power to which this history refers throughout is the Roman Catholic Church and the Papal States. Much of the history of Europe is likewise that of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) from the 9th to the 19th centuries [1, 2, 3; HMEA]. France was a major player alongside the Church in medieval music prior to the Renaissance and became the major European check to the HRE. Venice didn't acquire a lot of territory but became a major cultural center during the Renaissance alike Italy of which it became a part in 1866. Other European nations important to these accounts include in alphabetical order Austria, England [GB UK: 1, 2], Germany, Poland [1, 2], Prussia [1, 2], Russia and Spain. Also much affecting European music was northern Europe or, Scandinavia [1, 2, 3], particularly as an adversarial check to Russia. Quick dates for monarchs and popes: 1, 2, 3, 4. See also America [1, 2]. As for music, one among numerous good locations to source audio is Idagio.

 

 
Birth of Classical Music: Giuseppe Tartini

Giuseppe Tartini

Source: Mythologia
Born in Piran in which is in the Republic of Venice (present-day Slovenia) on 6 April 1692, Giuseppe Tartini bridges the Baroque to Classical periods. He received his elemental education, including music, from Franciscans. While later studying law at the University of Padua Tartini pursued the martial art of fencing. In 1710 he married trouble in Elisabetta Premazone. As she was the mistress of Cardinal Giorgio Cornaro, Tartini faced charges of abduction, from which he fled to the Franciscan monastery in Assisi. He there began to study the violin. Though scholars believe it to be of a later date, Tartini has written of composing his famous Sonata in G Minor, 'Il Trillo del Diavolo' [1, 2, 3, 4], as early as 1713. He became the first known owner of a violin made by Antonio Stradivari in 1715 [Stradivari: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. In 1716 he went to Ancona to work in that city's opera orchestra. 1721 found him Maestro di Cappella at the Basilica di Sant'Antonio in Padua. He opened a music school in 1726. Tartini is famous as a music theorist for "Tartini's Tones" or, combination tones that are the creation of a third tone by the simultaneous production of two other tones. He thusly examined acoustics and temperament in a treatise published in 1754 titled 'Trattato di musica secondo la vera scienza dell'armonia' [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Albeit Georg Andreas Sorge published the same discovery in 1745-47 in his 3-volume 'Vorgemach Der Musicalischen Composition', Tartini comments that he learned of combination tones as early as 1714. Other close contemporaries of Tartini who were also music theorists include JS Bach, Rameau and the much younger Marpurg. Tartini is thought to have composed his 'Stabat Mater in F Major' [1, 2, 3] in 1769 shortly before his death, that published in 'Secunda Anthologia Vocalis' by Oreste Ravanello in 1903 [1, 2]. Tartini died the next year on 26 Feb 1770. Among his works were a number of symphonies along with loads violin concerti and sonatas. References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (alt), 6. Scores: 1, 2. Editions: 1, 2, 3. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Further reading: IstriaNet; C. Sminthe. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3. Bibliography: 'Tartini and Combination Tones' by Bruno Ravnikar. B numbers below are per Paul Brainard 1959. D numbers are Minos Dounias as of 1935.

Giuseppe Tartini

 Trio Sonata in G major

     B G1

    Quartus Chamber Players

 Violin Concerto A major

    D 88   Allegro

    Violin: Federico Guglielmo

 Violin Concerto in D major

    D 17   Adagio

    Orfeo Orchestra

    György Vashegyi

     Violin: László Paulik

 Violin Sonata in G major

    1731?   B G17

    Violin: Fabio Biondi

 Violin Sonata in G minor

    'Didone abbandonata'

    1731?   B G10

    The Palladians

 Violin Sonata in G minor

    'Le trille du diable'

    1799   B G5

    James Levine & Wiener Philharmonike

    Violin: Anne-Sophie Mutter



Birth of Classical Music: Giuseppe Tartini's Stradivarius

Tartini's Stradivarius

Source: A Violin's Life
Birth of Classical Music: Louis-Claude Daquin

Louis-Claude Daquin

Source: Wiki Gallery
Born in Paris on 4 July 1694, Louis-Claude Daquin was a keyboard virtuoso most remembered for his noels. Noels had developed out of the motet (sacred polyphonic songs) composed especially for Christ Mass since the 13th century (though the first mention of "Christ Mass" was in 1038, very likely accompanied with chant or hymn, that about the time hymns began replacing the Gregorian chant). The term's first use is thought to be circa 1420 by composer, Nicolas Grenon. Daquin composed in both the baroque and galant manner. The galant period [1, 2, 3] in music (1710 to 1770) had its sibling in architecture and art known as the rococo [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. One might think of galant as light and elegant baroque, returning it to its origins of above a century earlier around 1600 when its aim had been to rescue composition from such as complex polyphonies while lending elegance and meaning through song via which opera had become the new vehicle. Daquin's father, a painter, is said to have wrought a prodigy, Daquin performing at the court of King Louis XIV of France at age six. Two years later he conducted his choral work, 'Beatus Vir'. He was for a time a pupil of Louis Marchand. At age twelve Daquin became organist at the Sainte-Chapelle, the following year at the Church of Petit Saint Antoine. 1727 found him an organist at the Church of Saint Paul, 1732 at the Church of the Cordeliers. In 1739 he became organist to King Louis XV at the Chapelle Royale. Like a frog always seeming to land on the nicest pads, he became organist at Notre-Dame Cathedral in 1755. Daquin died on 15 June 1772. References: 1, 2. Scores: 1, 2. Editions: 1, 2, 3. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4. Other profiles: 1, 2.

Louis-Claude Daquin

  Noels 1-12

    Organ: Olivier Baumont

 L'Amusante Rondeau

     Troisième Suite: Le Coucou   1735

     Harpsichord: Ernst Stolz

 Pièces de Clavecin

     Deuxième Suite: L'Hirondelle   1735

     Harpsichord: Olivier Baumont

 Pièces de Clavecin

     Troisième Suite: Le Coucou   1735

      Harpsichord: George Malcolm


 
Birth of Classical Music: Venetian Pleasure: Watteau

Venetian Pleasure   1718

Jean-Antoine Watteau

Source:  1st Art Gallery


Birth of Classical Music: Toilette of Venus: Boucher

The Toilette of Venus   1751

François Boucher

Source: Met Museum


Birth of Classical Music: The Swing: Fragonard

The Swing   1767

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Source:  Nancy Zhang
Born in Milan on 6 Jan 1695, Giuseppe Baldassare Sammartini was an oboist and elder brother to Giovanni Battista Sammartini. Earliest records find him at St. Celso's in 1717 as an oboist, likely flute and recorder as well. Three years later he was playing the instrument at the Teatro Regio Ducal. In 1729 he headed for Brussels, then London, where the publishing of his '12 Trio Sonatas' had preceded him since 1727. Prince Frederick of Wales became Sammartini's patron in 1736 until his death in November of 1750. Like Daquin, Sammartini ventured into the galant style, and like Scarlatti his sonatas were influential to the blossoming of the classical. Not only was Sammartini reasonably popular during his time, but he became more well-regarded since then, though in modern times is a minor composer not widely known. Most of his oeuvre surviving, Sammartini wrote 24 sonatas for flute and bass, 30 trios for flute or violin, 24 concerti grossi, 4 keyboard concertos, 1 oboe concerto, 16 overtures, and some cello sonatas and flute duets. References for Sammartini: 1, 2. Scores. Editions. Audio. Discographies: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. HMR Project. The galant period [1, 2, 3] in music was quite brief in comparison to rococo in art and architecture. Fitting well inside the Rococo period [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], the galant in music is yet much associated with rococo. To the left are paintings by three important rococo painters who were contemporaneous with Sammartini. Watteau was born eleven years earlier than Sammartini. Boucher was born eight years later, Fragonard not until 1732. To the right is the rococo interior at the Ottobeuren Basilica in Bavaria, an example of rococo interior design and the summer palace of Russian Empress Elizabeth. It stands where Catherine I had built a prior palace in 1717. Elizabeth thought that palace so worthless that she had it demolished to make room for something more to her tastes in 1733.

Giuseppe Sammartini

  Concerto for Recorder & Strings in F major

    [Part 1]   Recorder: Clara Cowley

    Orquestra Ars Musicae de Mallorca

 Concerto for Recorder & Strings in F major

    [Part 2]   Recorder: Clara Cowley

    Orquestra Ars Musicae de Mallorca

 Concertos

    Harpsichord Concerto in A major

     Flute Concerto in D major

     Flute Concerto in A major

     Oboe Concerto 9 in B flat major

     Oboe Concerto 12 in C major

     I Misici Ambrosiani/Paolo Suppa

     Flute: Paolo Ferrigato

     Harpsichord: Donatella Bianchi

      Oboe: Francesco Quaranta

 Harpsichord Concerto in A major

    I Musici Ambrosiani/Michele Suppa

    Harpsichord: Donatella Bianchi

 Oboe Concerto in E flat

    Batzdorfer Hofkapelle/Daniel Deuter

    Oboe: Xenia Löffler

 Oboe Concerto in G minor

    Les Muffatti/Peter Van Heyghen

    Oboe: Benoit Laurent

 Sonata 12 in B major

    I Fiori Musicali/Maria Giovanna Fiorentino

 Trio Sonata 4 in F major

    Allegro   Gerda Fisk

 

 

Birth of Classical Music: Ottobeuren Basilica

Ottobeuren Basilica in Bavaria

Source:  Wonder Mondo


Birth of Classical Music: Rococo Interior

Rococo Interior

Source: emily2217


Birth of Classical Music: Rococo Exterior

Empress Elizabeth's Summer Palace

Birth of Classical Music: Metastasio

Metastasio

Painting: Martin van Meytens

Source: Wikipedia
One librettist in particular demands attention, sitting big and fat in the middle of Baroque Avenue, that Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi better known as Metastasio. Metastasio's career began amidst the Baroque, spanned to the Classical period and was influential to the Romantic. Master of opera seria, Metastasio was born in Rome on 3 Jan 1698 to a father once a soldier in papal forces become a grocer. A precocious child, Metastasio entertained on the streets with impromptu verses on subjects suggested by his audiences in what is know as improvisational poetry, imagining numerous stanzas at a time. One such performance won him the adoptive care of Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, an eminent lawyer and founder of the literary Arcadian Academy. This also brought Metastasio an education in jurisprudence and Latin that his father alone could in no way swing. It was Gravina from whom Metastasio got his name, an Hellenization of his actual name which was Trepassi. Gravina took his prodigy to Naples, then entered Metastasio into the care of Gregorio Caroprese in Scaléa. At age twelve, Metastasio translated Homer's 'Iliad' into octave stanzas. He wrote his first tragedy, 'Giustino' [1, 2], two years later. It saw publishing in 1717 despite Metastasio's dislike of it as a juvenile work. Caroprese died in 1714. Upon Gravina's death in 1718 Metastasio found himself with fifteen thousand scudi. If you consider that 15,000 scudi could buy you several very nice houses, or a casino, you could say Metastasio might have retired at age twenty. But he spent it in a couple of years, so entered the legal profession. A few years later he premiered his serenata 'L'Angelica', also referred to as 'Angelica e Medoro', on 28 August 1720 in Naples, setting by João de Sousa Carvalho [1, 2, 3 (pdf); text]. Metastasio had borrowed from Ariosto's 'Orlando Furioso' for that, borrowed itself from Matteo Maria Boiardo's 'Orlando Innamorato'. 'L'Angelica' in celebration of the 29th birthday of Elizabeth Christine, it was also the stage debut of fifteen year-old castrato, Farinelli [1, 2, 3], among the more famous singers in opera history. Castration was nothing new in music. Beginning as a means of subjugating slaves, eunuchs were employed in choirs in Constantinople as early as circa 400 AD. Castrati, more politely called musici, were to opera what good bass singers were to barbershop or doo wop in the 20th century w the exception that musici were the glamor pigs of their age, more politely called stars, nor the stardom of only a popular baritone in a vocal group, but big, as in 'Fame'. Most castrati saw the knife between the ages of eight and twelve. Getting snipped was dangerous, but were you desperately poor at age ten the huge gamble on becoming a star, which only a few of the thousands who saw surgery did, could look better than present actualities. The delicacy of a musico's high pitch delivered with adult lungs was among the attractions of opera throughout its history, existing into the 20th century though largely falling away in the 19th. [References for castrati: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Hektoen International: 1, 2; The Smart Set, Wikipedia.] As for Metastasio, his serenata, 'L'Endimione', premiered on 9 June 1721 in Naples w its setting composed by Domenico Sarro [*; text: 1, 2, 3]. That was an epithalamium dedicated to Marianna Pignatelli [1, 2] in celebration of the wedding of Antonio Pignatelli, Prince of Belmonte, to Anna Pinelli di Sangro. An epithalamium is a poem written for a bride on her way to the marital chamber. Marianna Pignatelli [1, 2, 3 (alt)] was a Spanish aristocrat who would play an important role in Metastasio's life as his main line to nobility. Pignatelli was mistress to Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI who had arranged her 1712 marriage to the Count of Althann, the latter dying in 1722. Pignatelli would later gain Metastasio a position at Charles' court (below), they also to fashion a romantic relationship. The premiere of Metastasio's serenata, 'Gli orti esperidi', was 28 August 1721, another birthday celebration for Elizabeth Christine (above), now her 30th, w setting by Porpora [1, 2]. 'The Gardens of the Hesperides' won Metastasio quarters in the home of soprano, Marianna Bulgarelli, in Rome in 1722, she having played the role of Venus. Metastasio's 'Didone Abbandonata', an opera w setting by Sarro and title role filled by Bulgarelli, premiered during Carnival in Naples on 2 Feb 1724 [1, 2, 3]. That was a highly popular libretto which saw continuous presentations as other composers created new settings for it (Albinoni, Porpora, Vinci, et al). During the twenties Metastasio averaged about 300 scudi per opera, which was nothing to sniffle about, yet limiting nevertheless. He therefore went to Vienna in 1730 to become court poet to Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI, assisted in that by Pignatelli (above). Metastasio's opera, 'Demetrio' [*; text], premiered on 4 November of 1731 in a setting by Antonio Caldera [1, 2, 3, 4] who had five years left to live. Come the opera, 'The Olimpiad', on 28 August 1731 w music again by Caldera [*; text]. Caldera and Metastasio also collaborated on the opera, 'Demofoonte' [*; text], first performed on 4 November 1733. Metastasio was left yet another fortune when Bulgarelli suddenly died in 1734. Not expecting such generosity, he renounced it, feeling guilt for ill feelings he'd had against her. The serpent of the thing is that the fortune then went to Bulgarelli's surviving husband who married again, while Metastasio's own father, brother and sister struggled. Come another birthday celebration on 1 October 1735, now for the fiftieth year of Charles VI (above) in the one-act 'Il Sogno di Scipione' w music by Luca Antonio Predieri [*; text: 1, 2]. Mozart later wrote a setting for 'Il Sogno di Scipione' about 1771 (K 126: audio). Charles died in 1740 but Metastasio's relationship w Countess Althann continued to her death in 1755, during which time he largely retired from writing until his own death much later on 12 April 1782, leaving a legacy of 130,000 florins. These days 130,000 florins approach about $73,000; in Metastasio's day it approached huge wealth like poets don't commonly experience. Metastasio wasn't a Shakespeare in terms of literature, but he remains an imposing figure in the history of opera, his work illuminating stages in the Holy Roman Empire for several decades the way Shakespeare had earlier owned London theatre. Providing lyric for operas, oratorios, cantatas, canzonettas, et al, Metastasio's works had been translated into French, English, German, Spanish and modern Greek during his lifetime. References: 1, 2, 3, 4. Works: 1, 2, 3, 4. Publications. Editions: 1, 2, 3; Forgotten Books: 1, 2. Texts: 'Three Melodramas by Pietro Metastasio' (U Press of Kentucky 2015). Recordings of: 'L’Angelica' w setting by João de Sousa Carvalho; 'Il Sogno di Scipione' w setting by Mozart. Collections. Further reading: petition to save birthplace: BuonaCausa; Farinelli and: Daniel Heartz; 'The Role of Metastasio's Libretti in the Eighteenth Century: Opera as Propaganda' by David Kirkpatrick; late letters of at LOC; 'The Rehabilitation of Metastasio' by Raymond Monelle ('Music & Letters' Oxford U Press); Dr. Don Neville; Mario Valente: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Metastasio

  Didone abbandonata

     Son regina, e sono amante   1724

     Composers: Domenico Sarro   1724

     Niccolo Piccinni   1770

     I Turchini di Antonio Florio

     Antonio Florio

 Il re pastore

     L'amerò, sarò costante

     K 208   1775

     Composer: Mozart

     Vienna Haydn Orchestra

      István Kertész

     Soprano: Lucia Popp Violin:

      Eszter Perenyi

 Misera, dove son!

     Ah! non son'io   K 369   1781

     Composer: Mozart

     Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

     Sir Neville Marriner   Sylvia McNair

  Vier Canzonen

      Da quel sembiante appresi

      D 688   1820

      Composer: Schubert

      Piano: Matin Katz

      Tenor: Lawrence Brownlee


 
  Born circa 1700 in Milan, Giovanni Battista Sammartini was younger brother to Giuseppe Sammartini (above). Sammartini is thought to have composed his first work at age twenty-five, having learned music from his father as a child. In 1728 he became maestro di cappella at both Sant'Ambrogio and the Congregazione del Santissimo Entierro, remaining at the former the rest of his life. Sammartini composed for both churches and noble houses. Christoph Willibald Gluck was his student from 1737 to 1741. He died on 15 January 1775 in Milan. Giovanni's was a something similar career to that of his older brother's: he composed in the galant style and was influential to classical composition to come. Among his more important contributions was the development of the symphony out of trio sonata and concerto forms, rather than the overture as it usually was. More than 450 of Sammartini's works yet exist, including 70 symphonies, though not a few of his compositions are lost as well. References: 1, 2, 3. Compositions. Scores. Publications. Editions: 1, 2. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4. Further reading: Invito a Concerto. Biblio: 'Thematic Catalogue of the Works of Giovanni Battista Sammartini' by Newell Jenkins & Bathia Churgin (Harvard U Press 1976) *: reviews: Howard Brofsky, Eugene Wolf. Other profiles: 1, 2. Catalogue numbers below are those of Jenkins-Churgin.

Giovanni Sammartini 

 Maria Addolorata

     J-C 121

     Capriccio Italiano Ensemble

     Filippo Ravizza

 Memet

    1732

     Dresdner Barockorchester

 Symphony in A major

    J-C 60   1772

    Accademia d'Arcadia

    Alessandra Rossi Lürig

 Symphony in A major

    J-C 63

    Accademia d'Arcadia

    Alessandra Rossi Lürig

 Symphony in E major

    J-C 31

    Accademia d'Arcadia

    Alessandra Rossi Lürig

 Symphony in G major

    J-C 39

    Accademia d'Arcadia

    Alessandra Rossi Lürig


Birth of Classical Music: Giovanni Sammartini

Giovanni Sammartini

Painting by Domenico Riccardi   1775  

Source: Il Rossignolo
  Born on 21 March 1703 in Mellenbach, Thuringia, Georg Andreas Sorge is more famous as a music theorist than composer. He wrote exercises and sonatas for clavier (harpsichord, organ), fugues, choral preludes, et al. He was hired as an organist in 1721/22 by Count Heinrich XV in Lobenstein, serving the court the remainder of his career. Beyond his literary works little is known about his life except that he was a friend of JS Bach. The BachBib search engine has Sorge publishing 'Clavier practice consisting of six sonatas set according to Italian tastes' as early as circa 1736. More ubungen (exercises) followed circa 1739, '40 and '42. In between in 1741 Sorge published his first work in music theory, 'Genealogia allegorica intervallorum octavae diatono-chromaticae' [1, 2, 3, 4]. In 1744 he dedicated 'Drittes halbes Dutzend Sonatinen vors Clavier und Italienischen Gusto' to JS Bach. Come 'XII Sonaten' circa 1745 [*]. From 1745 to '47 Sorge released three volumes of 'Vorgemach der musicalischen composition' in which he examined his discovery of the combination tone, that is, the creation of a third tone by the simultaneous production of two other tones. Giuseppe Tartini independently discovered the same phenomenon much earlier but didn't write about it until 'Trattato di musica secondo la vera scienza dell'armonia' in 1754. Another work in which Sorge addressed temperament was his 1748 'Gespräch zwischen einem Musico theoretico und einem Studioso Musices von der Prätorianischen' [1, 2, 3, 4]. He published another bunch of organ sonatas that year as well. Temperament was the subject once again in 'Zuverlassige anweisung clavier und orgel tu tempiren und tu stimmen' of 1758 [*]. His 'Compendium harmonicum' followed in 1760 [*] along with his first volume concerning organ design and construction, 'Die geheim gehaltene kunst der mensuration der orgelpfeiffen'. 'Anleitung zur Fantasie' of 1767 addressed extemporaneous composition [1, 2]. Sorge's last publication is thought to have been another volume on organ design and construction published in 1773, 'Der in der Rechen und messkunst wohlerfahrne orgelthaumeister' [*]. Sorge died about five years later on 4 April 1778. References for Sorge: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Publications: 1, 2, 3, 4. Editions: 1, 2. Scores: 1, 2, 3. Audio. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4. Further reading: 'The Marpurg-Sorge Controversy' by Jonathan Bernard ('Music Theory Spectrum') *; 'David Tannenberg, Organ Builder' by Philip Cooper *; 'Sounds of Our Times' by Robert Beyer (Tartini's tones) *. Biblio: 'Georg Andreas Sorge's Vorgemach Der Musicalischen Composition' by Allyn Dixon Reilly (Northwestern University 1980). See also BMLO, HMR Project. References for temperament: 'Beyond Temperament' by Bruse Haynes (pdf); combination tones: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Georg Andreas Sorge

 3 Choralbearbeitungen

    'Aun sich ber Tag grendet hat'

    'Aun lob, mein Seel, ben herren'

    'Schmucke bich, o liebe Seele'

    Organ: Andreas Osiander

 Nun danket alle Gott

    Organ: Andreas Osiander

 Toccata per ogni Modi [Part 1]

    Cembalo: Sergey Myasoedov

 Toccata per ogni Modi [Part 2]

    Cembalo: Sergey Myasoedov

 Toccata per ogni Modi [Part 3]

    Cembalo: Sergey Myasoedov


 
  Born circa 1704 in Venice, Giovanni Battista Pescetti studied under Antonio Lotti with Baldassare Galuppi [1, 2]. Bridging from baroque to galant and classical, he wrote mostly operas and sonatas for clavier (harpsichord and organ). Librettists with or of whom he composed settings include Metastasio on numerous works. ItalianOpera has Pescetti's initial opera, 'Nerone Detronato', premiering at the Teatro San Salvatore in Venice sometime in 1725. Come 'Il Prototipo' at the Teatro San Samuele in '26 followed by 'La Cantatrice' in 1727. Pescetti headed for London in 1736 to replace Niccolò Porpora as director of the Opera of the Nobility [*] the next year. The Opera of the Nobility had been established by Frederick, Prince of Wales, to rival Handel's Royal Academy of Music [*] backed by King George II. A volume of 10 sonaten for gravicembalo (harpsichord) by Pescetti appeared in 1739 [*]. In 1747 Pescetti returned to Venice where he taught music. It was in the vicinity of 1756 that he wrote his 'Sonata in C minor' catalogued as No.4 of '6 Keyboard Sonatas' entered into MS I-Vc Torr.Ms.B.16 sometime between 1790 to 1799. That is also referred to as Sonata VI (No.6) in C minor from the earlier MS of '6 Harpsichord Sonatas' in D-Dl Mus.2967-T-1 transcribed sometime before 1787. Pescetti was employed as second organist at St. Mark's Basilica from 1762 until his death on 20 March 1766. References: Wikipedia. Works: 1, 2, 3. Settings of Metastasio: 1, 2. Digital copies: 1, 2, 3. Editions. Scores. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2, 3, 4; 'Complete Keyboard Music' by Paolo Bottini (organ): 1, 2. Further reading: galant style and 1, 2; Daniel Heartz; HMR Project. 'Sonata in C minor' was transcribed for harp in 1931 by Carlos Salzedo, performed below by Asuncion Claro.

Giovanni Pescetti 

 Sonata in C minor

    Harp: Asuncion Claro


 
Birth of Classical Music: Giovanni Battista Martini

Giovanni Battista Martini

Painting: Angelo Carescimbeni

Source: Museo Musica Bologna
Born on 24 April 1706 in Bologna, Giovanni Battista Martini had a violinist for a father who taught him the instrument. He later studied voice, harpsichord and counterpoint. He nevertheless donned the Franciscan habit in 1722 becoming master of the chapel in 1725 at the Basilica of San Francesco in Bologna. He also taught and in those capacities emphasized the Roman school. His intermezzo, 'Azione Teatrale', arrived in 1726. Martini's Opus 1 is assigned to 'Lithaniae atque antiphonae finales B. Virginis Mariae' of 1734. His Op. 2 is '12 Sonate d'intavolatura per l'organo e il cembalo' in 1642. His Op. 3 is '6 Sonate per l’organo ed il cembalo' as of 1647. Martini began his history of music, 'Storia della Musica', in 1657, a giant work of several volumes on which he proceeded until 1681, leaving it unfinished. In 1758 Martini began teaching at the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna [1, 2]. Come 'Duetti da camera' in 1763. 'Saggio di contrappunto' ('Essay on Counterpoint') arrived in two volumes in 1774-75. Martini died on 3 August 1784. Composing both sacred and secular music, he had arrived at a time when both opera and baroque were above a century old. Opera yet had a couple of strong centuries to go, but baroque had drawn to a close during Martini's lifetime. As Europe's bright cultural centers were now shared by Italy with locations northbound such as in Germany (to speak conveniently of the region at the time), so too did the Roman and Venetian schools, elemental to the Renaissance, decline in overall significance, decidedly so long since in France. References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Works. Facsimiles & scores: 1, 2, 3. Editions: 1, 2. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4. Discussion: *. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4. See also: BnF (Bibliotheque nationale de France).

Giovanni Battista Martini

  Andantino

    Organ: Stephen Mann

 Concerto a 4 in D major

    Accademia degli Astrusi

    Federico Ferri

 Flute Concerto in G major

    Orchestra da camera Benedetto Marcello

    Direction: Luca Ferrara

    Flute: Massimo Mercelli

 Heu quid miserum me

    Passion cantata

    Ensemble Strumentale dell'Osservanza

     Direction: Luigi Verdi

 Salve Regina in D minor

    Coro Quodlibet di Mogliano Veneto

 Sinfonia da camera a 4 in D major

    1750

    Il Rossignolo

    Ottaviano Terani

 Te Deum in D major

    Ensemble Cantissimo

    L'arpa festante

    Conductor: Markus Utz

    Soprano: Iris-Anna Deckert


 
Birth of Classical Music: Franz Richter

Franz Richter   1785

Engraving: Christophe Guérin
Born in either Bohemia or Holleschau, Moravia (now Holešov, Czech Republic) on 1 Dec 1709, Franz Xaver Richter doesn't show up in documents until 1740 when he was appointed deputy kapellmeister at the Fürststift Kempten in Allgäu in southern Germany, a Benedictine monastery now in southern Bavaria. It was common for monasteries to have choirs, and there may have existed something of an orchestra as well, particularly as Richter published twelve 'Grandes Symphonies' in Paris in 1744 the year after his marriage to one Maria Anna Josepha Moz [audio Nos. 1-6: 1, 2; Nos. 7-12: 1, 2]. In 1746 Richter became employed as a bass singer to Holy Roman Prince-Elector, Charles Theodore, in Mannheim. He helped make Mannheim a significant musical center in Germany as among the Mannheim school of orchestration founded by Johann Stamitz in 1741/42 to become its director in 1750 [1, 2, 3, 4]. IMSLP has Christoph Graupner publishing a copied version of Richter's 'Symphony in B-Flat Major' VB 59 about 1750 [*; audio]. It was about 1750 in Mannheim that Richter wrote 'Symphony in C Major' (No.2 of 'La Melodia Germanica') which begins the VB thematic directory of Jochen Reutter as VB 1. See 'Systematisch-thematisches Verzeichnis der geistlichen Kompositionen' [*] in 'Studien zur Kirchenmusik Franz Xaver Richters' [*] published by Peter Lang in 1993. Richter may have begun work on his Op. 4 about 1750 as well, that '6 Symphonies' VB 3 published circa 1760. Among Richter's better known works is his Op. 5 consisting of 'Six Quartettos' authored in 1757 for two violins, tenor and violoncello toward publishing in 1767 [*; audio by the Casal Quartett]. Between the years of '60 or '61 and '67 Richter worked on his 'Harmonische Belehrungen', a three-volume study addressing counterpoint gone unpublished until 1804 by Christian Kalkbrenner in France. Wikipedia cites 'The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music' edited by Don Michael Randel (Belknap Press 1996). See also 1, 2, 3. There is a manuscript w a handwritten annotation reading "1784" which has been interpreted as a composition or publishing date. Czechoslovakian musicologist, Rudolf Pečman, speculates that the work is a 1784 copy written by one of Richter's Strasbourg students, Nikolaus Martin [1, 2]. Both Naxos [1, 2] and Presto supply a date of 1764 for his sonatas da camera (chamber sonatas) titled '6 Harpsichord Trios' at IMSLP, written for cello and either flute or violin. Richter left Mannheim in 1768 to be appointed cammercompositeur (chamber composer) at Strasbourg Cathedral in 1769. AllMusic lends a date of 1769 for Richter's best-known work, 'Trumpet Concerto in D' [*; audio: 1, 2, 3]. In 1787 Richter was eighty-seven years old, yet took a trip to Munich to visit acquaintances of the Mannheim school, both the court and school since relocated there. Richter also met Mozart's father there, having met Mozart himself back in '63 in Schwetzingen when Mozart was nine years old, and in '78 in Strasbourg. As of their meeting in '78 Mozart had written his father complimenting Richter's music while lamenting his age (78) and remarking upon Richter's heavy consumption of wine. Richter died in Strasbourg on 12 Sep 1789 four months after the incipit of the French Revolution ('89-'99) on 5 May that year. Richter began his career as something of a square, if not a bumpkin, Benedictine monasteries and all. But by the time of his death he was a well-regarded musician and theorist who had published and toured as far away as France, the Netherlands and England. It was about Richter's time when conducting began. In the portrait to the left Richter uses a rolled sheet of score paper for a baton. References: Wikipedia. Digital copies & scores: 1, 2, 3, 4; symphonies. Editions: 1, 2. Audio: 1, 2. Discos: 1, 2, 3; 'Grandes Symphonies' Nos. 1-6 & Nos. 7-12 by the Helsinki Baroque Orchestra w Aapo Häkkinen; 'Sinfonias, Sonatas & Oboe Concerto' w Xenia Löffler (baroque oboe) & the Capricornus Consort Basel directed by Péter Barczi *. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3. See also BNF (Bibliotheque Nationale de France).

Franz Xaver Richter

  Kemptener Te Deum in D major

     1742

     Camerata Vocale Günzburg

     Johann Christian Bach-Akademie Köln

     Jürgen Rettenmaier

 Symphony 29 in G minor

     London Mozart Players/Matthias Bamert

 Symphony 52 in D major

      London Mozart Players/Matthias Bamert

 Symphony 53 in D major

     London Mozart Players/Matthias Bamert


 
  Born on 22 Nov 1710 in Weimar, Wilhelm Friedemann Bach was the eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, who trained his son extensively before sending him to Merseburg in 1726 to learn violin from Johann Gottlieb Graun. Among Wilhelm's early studies was the 'Klavierbüchlein' ('Little Keyboard Book') now housed at Yale University. 'Klavierbüchlein' contained sixty-three compositions collected for Wilhelm by his father, arranged in order of difficulty and given to him at age ten. Bach began to study law at Leipzig University in 1729 and had a lifelong fascination with mathematics. In 1733 he became organist at St. Sophia's in Dresden. In 1746 he became organist at the Marktkirche Unser Lieben Frauen in Halle. Unfortunately Bach met with various conflicts in Halle such that he resigned in 1764. He unsuccessfully reapplied for the post in 1768, teaching alone not sufficient to financial needs. Between 1771 and 1774 he worked in Braunschweig, then left for Berlin where Princess Anna Amalia, sister of Frederick William I of Prussia, listened to his organ recitals for a couple of years. For reasons unclear he soon fell from grace with Amelia, and though he continued to teach in Berlin, w Sarah Itzig Levy among his pupils, he later died in poverty on 1 July 1784. Freidemann is among the more complex and enigmatic of the major Bachs. An improvisational virtuoso at keyboard, he was yet socially inept and wanting in this or that manner, such that progress in the actual world met frustration, put to the solitary task of composing instead. Bach composed largely for keyboard, including sonatas, fantasias and symphonies. He also wrote chamber music, for flute especially, and a number of sacred cantatas. References: 1, 2, 3, 4. Works. Manuscripts & scores: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Editions: 1, 2, 3, 4. Audio: 1, 2. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Further reading: Bach Archiv; Gramophone; HMR Project; David Schulenberg. Biblio: 'Wilhelm Friedemann Bach' Martin Falck (C.F. Kahnt Nachfolger 1913); 'The Music of Wilhelm Friedemann Bach' by David Schulenberg (U Rochester Press 2010). See also BnF (Bibliotheque nationale de France). Per below, the polonaise [1, 2] is a Polish dance in 3/4 time. Catalogue numbers below are the Bach-Repertorium (BR) and system of Martin Falck 1913/19 (F).

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

  12 Polonaises

     BR A27-38   F 12

     Fortepiano: Harald Hoeren

 Concerto for 2 harpsichords in E flat major

     BR C11   F 46

     Musica Antiqua Köln/Reinhard Goebel

     Harpsichords: Andreas Staier & Robert Hill

 Fantasia for harpsichord in E minor

     BR A24   F 21

     Cembalo: Léon Berben

 Lasset uns ablegen die Werke der Finsternis

    BR F1   F 80   Cantata

    Rheinische Kantorei/Das Kleine Konzert

    Hermann Max

 Symphony in D major

     BR C8   F 64

     Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

     Stephan Mai

 Symphony in D minor

    BR C7   F 65

    Jeune Orchestre Atlantique

    Stéphanie-Marie Degand


Birth of Classical Music: Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach

Source: Wikipedia
Birth of Classical Music: Frederick II

Frederick II

Source: University of Houston
Born on 24 Jan 1712 in Berlin, Frederick II (Frederick the Great; not) was a member of the House of Hohenzollern. He became a runaway at age 18 because his father was King of Prussia, Frederick William I. Attempting to flee to England in 1730 with a friend waiting in Potsdam, he was caught and both arrested. The main problem is that both of them were officers. The court martial found his friend, one Hans Hermann von Katte, guilty of desertion, sentencing him to life. Frederick William, however, believed treason a more just charge and had Frederick observe Katte's beheading. Pardoned, Frederick was stripped of rank and sent to study statecraft and administration in Küstrin. By 1733 Franz Benda was present at the court of the young Prince, the same year that he reluctantly married Elizabeth Christina of Brunswick, feeling that he would be a poor husband. Sometime after that he reentered the Prussian army as a colonel and assumed command of a regiment in Ruppin, there maintaining his retinue of musicians. Moving his court to Rheinsberg in 1736, his company of seventeen musicians included Benda and Johann Gottlieb Graun at violin, Benda's brother, Johann, at viola, Christoph Schaffreth at harpsichord and Carl Heinrich Graun who became director of chamber music in 1735 and Kapellmeister 1740. Frederick's book, 'Anti-Machiavel', was published anonymously in September of 1740, a few months after succeeding Frederick William as King of Prussia at age 28. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach joined Frederick's court no later than 1740.   In latter 1740 Frederick turned aside from Enlightenment [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] arts and humanities to attend to his realm, the first on his agenda being the consolidation of his scattered territories resulting in the Silesian Wars against Habsburg Austria [1740-45: 1, 2; 1st war, 2nd war, 3rd war]. In the meantime Johann Joachim Quantz joined is musical retinue in December of 1741, though Frederick had attempted to acquire him since 1728.      Then it was the Seven Years' War [1754/56-63: 1, 2, 3] aligned with Great Britain against Austria, France, Sweden and Saxony, also involving North America relevant to the French and Indian War [1754-63: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Come the War of the Bavarian Succession [1778-79: *] against Austria. Frederick is considered among the greatest tactical geniuses in military history. s well, it wasn't unusual for him to lead his troops into battle, six horses shot from beneath him during his military career. He owned, however, a concentrated prejudice against Poles, making Frederick the not so Great with them as he applied various pressures to make them wish to leave his acquired Polish domains. He far preferred Jews to stimulate trade in an economy he much improved [*], while running a Protestant monarchy that retained Jesuits for their academic skills. Frederick himself was a Freemason [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. He held Plato and Marcus Aurelius in high regard, and corresponded with Voltaire [*]. Frederick spoke six languages and could read Latin, ancient Greek and Hebrew. He is also known for his construction projects, including buildings, canals and his rococo Sanssouci Palace [1, 2] built 1745-47. "Sans souci" translates to "carefree" from French. (There is a similarly named Sans-Souci Palace in Haiti having naught to do w Fred: *.) Frederick also established the first veterinary school in Germany. Yet, amidst all the greatly condensed foregoing Frederick found time to become a skilled transverse flute player. A transverse flute is simply the modern flute, held horizontally, unlike the recorder. Frederick composed four symphonies, four concertos, 121 sonatas (11 lost), ten arias (1746-53), and possibly three marches. He had begun to study composition at age seven w church organist, Gottlieb Hayne. Though counterpoint was among his examinations he would imitate the late baroque-galant style of Quantz. Frederick had received lessons twice per year from Quantz since 1728 before running off to England in 1730. Frederick's sonatas were confusedly catalogued with those of Quantz until Philipp Spitta clarified the situation in 1889 w SpiF numbering. Several works associated w Frederick remain in argument as to their actual composers. Frederick didn't publish his compositions which are of difficulty to date beyond a little help from manuscripts having been left upon Frederick's death at what residences where they had been written. Sarah Macken cites Eugene Helm who has Graun correcting a symphony by his student, Frederick, as early as 1735, possibly his No. 1. Of Frederick's four concertos his No. 1 in G Major is of an unidentified date, published posthumously by Breitkopf & Hartel in 1889 [*; audio]. Macken gives his 'Sinfonia in D Major' a date of 1743 [*; audio], also identifying two marches as of 1741 and 1756. One march generally credited to Frederick that is contested [*] is 'Der Hohenfriedberger Marsch' usually dated 1745 due to Prussian victory against Austria and Saxony on 4 June that year at the Battle of Hohenfriedberger during the 2nd Silesian War. There is apparently no documentation of the march until 1795 per a piano piece by an unknown hand and it didn't receive lyrics until 1845. Johann Piefke employed the march in his 'Königgrätzer Marsch' of 1866. Written by Frederick or not, Arthur Pryor credited the work to him for his 1906 recording of it released on Victor 4778. It saw issue on cylinder in 1907 as recorded by the Edison-Orchester in Berlin. Come the 1923 version by the Victor Military Band for release on Victor 77172. Included in the twenty-five sonatas that Spitta has catalogued is Frederick's 'Flute Sonata in C Minor' SpiF 190 [*; audio]. Remarkable Frederick died at Potsdam in an armchair in his study at his Sanssouci Palace on 17 August 1786. References: Encyclopedia; Sarah Macken; Wikipedia: 1, 2. Authorship: 1, 2, 3, 4; military speeches; poetic: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Musical works: 1, 2. Scores. Editions. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2, 3, 4; 'Friedrich II: Flotenknzerte & Sinfonien' w flute by Manfred Friedrich. Radio discussion w Melvyn Bragg. Further reading: Fischer & Fulker. Biblio: 'Frederick the Great: the magnificent enigma' by Robert Asprey (Ticknor & Fields 1986); 'History of Frederick II of Prussia' by Thomas Carlyle (Chapman & Hall 1858) * (alt); 'Frederick the Great: King of Prussia' by David Fraser (Fromm International 2001) *; 'Music at the Court of Frederick the Great' by Eugene Helm (U of Oklahoma Press 1960) *; 'Frederick the Great: a historical profile' by Gerhard Ritter (U of California Press 1968) *; 'Frederick the Great' by Schieder, Scott & Krause (Routledge 2016) *; 'Frederick the Great on Kingcraft' by Sir James William Whittall (Longamans, Green and Company 1901) *. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
 
FredericK II

  Flute Concertos 1-4

     Ensemble Sans Souci Berlin

     Flute: Christoph Huntgeburth

  Flute Sonata 9 in E minor

     Da Camera magna

     Cembalo: Stanislav Heller

     Flute: Marianne Steffen

  Flute Sonata 11 in D minor

     Da Camera magna

     Cembalo: Stanislav Heller

     Flute: Marianne Steffen

  Flute Sonata 14 in E flat major

     Da Camera magna

     Cembalo: Stanislav Heller

     Flute: Marianne Steffen

  Flute Sonata 20 in A major

     Mark Longo

  Symphony 4 in A major

      Pro Arte Orchester/Kurt Redel


Birth of Classical Music: Sanssouci Rococo Palace

Sanssouci Rococo Palace
  Born on 28 June 1712 in the city-state of Geneva, Jean-Jacques Rousseau wasn't a major composer. But he was a major Enlightenment [1650-1800: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5] philosopher who was also a music theorist. Rousseau's father was a watchmaker whose wife died nine days after Rousseau's birth. At age 13 Rousseau worked for a notary, then an engraver, then ran away to Savoy in 1728 (age 15) to find himself in the care of Françoise-Louise de Warens, a paid Catholic proselytizer. Under Warens Rousseau studied mathematics, music, philosophy and, at age twenty, love with a woman fourteen years his senior. In 1742 he went to Paris to present a system of numbered musical notation to the French Academy of Sciences, which it rejected [*]. In 1743 Rousseau worked briefly as a secretary for Comte de Montaigue, French ambassador to Venice, then returned to Paris to finish his first of seven operas, 'Les Muses Galantes' by July 1745 [*], premiering at the residence of Alexandre Le Riche de la Pouplinière [*] in September to less than encouraging review by Rameau. In 1749 Rousseau began contributing articles to Diderot [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8] and D'Alembert's [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] 'Encyclopédie' [1, 2, 3, 4, , 5, 6, 7, 8]. Starting in 1751 [1st edition] the 'Encyclopédie' saw several revisions over the years w the backing of Madame de Pompadour. When Pope Clement XIII listed the project in the Index Librorum Prohibitorum [1, 2] in 1759 it continued being published in stealth until the project ceased in 1780. The 'Encyclopédie' to which Voltaire also contributed articles was key to the chest of the Enlightenment with which both Catholic and Protestant Churches found argument, for the presentation of information in that dictionary saw faith confronted with knowledge yet again, not as an absolute alternative, but stimulating reason versus blind belief. The science, arts and manufacture of things that the 'Encyclopédie' presented lessened dependence on the Church(es) as final authority and helped lay road for the Industrial Revolution [IR: 1, 2, 3, 4] on the Continent: access to information and the high literacy rate in the United Kingdom was giving the island across the Channel a head start on the IR already. In the meantime, back in 1752 soprano, Marie Fel, presented Rousseau's 'Salve Regina' to Louis XV at Fontainebleau on an unidentified date [audio]. Rousseau's 'Le Devin du Village' ('The Village Soothsayer') was performed for Louis on 18 Oct 1752 [*, audio]. Louis offered Rousseau a lifetime pension in response, a position Rousseau declined. It was 1754 that Rousseau penned his 'Discourse on Inequality' published the next year [1, 2, 3]. By 1762 Rousseau had made a name for himself in the writing of several major works which yet brought small security to a man already fifty years old. In 1762 Rousseau brought witness to 'Emile, or On Education' [1, 2], his political 'On the Social Contract' [1, 2, 3, 4], and his comedy, 'Narcissus' [*], the latter performed in Paris by his Majesty's Company of Comedians on the 18th of December 1762. 'Emile' rejected the doctrines of original sin and divine revelation, also proposing in so many words that it was religion that wrought virtue, not Catholicism versus Protestantism. Such resulted in his books being burned in Paris, as well as banned in both Catholic France and Calvinist Geneva. Facing arrest, he fled to Neuchâtel, Switzerland, then Môtiers, they protected by the Prussian crown. Both he and and his house were nevertheless stoned on multiple occasions in 1765, urging him ultimately to the United Kingdom and the hospitality of Scottish philosopher, David Hume [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. He there wrote Books I-VI of his autobiographical 'Confessions' posthumously published in '82. Rousseau was as aware of St. Augustine's 'Confessions' written circa 397-400 AD as he was that he was treading untested literary waters in an endeavor to give an honest account of oneself. Employing the public for priest, Rousseau added self-examination to other aspects of the Enlightenment, the memoir henceforth entering into literature unlike before. Howsoever, by 1767 Rousseau was experiencing paranoia. Not trusting Hume, he returned to France that year with an assumed name, now to write Books VII-XII of 'Confessions' posthumously published in 1789. In 1770 he was legally permitted to return to Paris, though not allowed to publish. Rousseau's latter years were spent in social withdrawal with the exception of Christoph Willibald Gluck, whom he met in 1774. He died of hemorrhage in Ermenonville on 2 July 1778 while taking a morning walk. Though Rousseau had been far more concerned with political philosophy than music, in addition to operas he composed more than fifty works, including two symphonies. References: 1, 2, 3, 4. Authorship: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Editions: 'Confessions" (1765-69): Vol 1; Vol 2; Vol 1-12: 1, 2; 'Considerations on the Government of Poland' (unpublished 1772) *; 'Constitutional Project for Corsica' (draft 1765) *; 'Discourse on Inequality' (pub 1755) *; 'Discourse on Political Economy" (1755) *; 'On Philosophy, Morality and Religion' ed by Christopher Kelly (2007) *; 'On the Social Contract' (pub 1762 aka 'Principles of Political Right'): 1, 2, 3, 4. Scores. Audio. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4. Biblio: 'Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Restless Genius' by Leo Damrosch (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2005/07); Helveticat; 'Concerning Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the Musician' by Julien Tiersot ('The Musical Quarterly'). See also: BnF; Philosophy Bites; the Rousseau Association. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

 Le Devin du Village

    1753

    Gabriela Burgler

 Rousseau Variations [Part 1]

    Piano: Yoel Ahn

 Rousseau Variations [Part 2]

    Piano: Yoel Ahn


Birth of Classical Music: Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Pastel: Maurice Quentin de La Tour

Source: Canal Academie
Birth of Classical Music: Christoph Willibald Gluck

Christoph Gluck

Painting: Joseph Duplessis

Source: Sazburger Bachor
Born in Erasbach (now part of Berching, Bavaria) on 2 July 1714, Christoph Willibald Gluck was born to a forester and learned several instruments as a child. Like Johann Stamitz, Gluck is of especial significance as an early bridge to the classical period. His later major operatic rival in Paris would be Niccolò Piccinni of Naples, the latter whose star flashed bright but not for so long as Gluck's. In 1731 he enrolled into the University of Prague, but he had no degree when he he popped up in Milan in 1737 to study under Giovanni Sammartini. Commencing the Wq catalogue at Wq.1 is Gluck's first opera, 'Artaserse', premiering on 26 December 1741 at the Teatro Regio Ducal, libretto by Metastasio. In 1745 Gluck became house composer at London's prestigious King's Theatre. In 1747 he traveled to Dresden where he produced 'Le nozze d'Ercole e d'Ebe' Wq.12 [1, 2], partnering with the Pietro Mingotti troupe. He left for Vienna with Mingotti the next year, then left Mingotti for the troupe of Giovanni Locatelli in Prague in 1750, also composing 'Ezio' Wq.15 that year [audio]. 1752 found him working in Naples before returning to Vienna in 1754. Wikipedia begins its list of ballets by Gluck w 'Les Amours de Flore et Zéphire' performed in Schönbrunn in 1759. In 1761 Gluck exchanged opera seria for opéra comique, producing his Italian 'Don Juan' Wq.52 that year w libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi and choreography by Gasparo Angiolini [*. 'Orfeo ed Euridice' Wq.30 w Italian libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi followed in Vienna in October '62, perhaps Gluck's most greatly hailed work [1, 2, 3; libretto; 1913 cylinder recording by contralto, Marie Delna]. Gluck found patronage in Marie Antoinette, wife of King Louis XVI, in the early seventies. Come 'Iphigénie en Aulide' Wq.40 on 19 April 1774 at the Paris Opera [1, 2]. On 2 August of '74 he presented another version of 'Orfeo ed Euridice' Wq.41 at the second Salle du Palais-Royal (the first, built in 1741, destroyed by fire in '63 as would be the second, permanently, in 1781). It was another engagement at the Paris Opera on 18 May 1779 for 'Iphigénie en Tauride' Wq. 46 [*] w libretto by Nicolas-François Guillar. Gluck's last completed dramatic work was his opera, 'Echo et Narcisse' Wq.47 [*], performed on 28 May of '79 at the Salle du Palais-Royal w libretto by Louis-Théodore de Tschudi. Gluck spent the eighties w his wife in Vienna and Perchtoldsdorf until his death of stroke in Vienna on 15 Nov 1787. He had written instrumentals, songs and eight ballets, but his significance as a composer was in his reformation of the opera, completing 49 of them. References encyclopedic: 1, 2, 3, 4; musical: 1, 2. Compositions: 1, 2, 3. Ballets. Operas. Scores: 1, 2. Editions: 1, 2, 3. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Further reading: 'Dance of the Blessed Spirits' and 'Dance of the Furies' in 'Orfeo ed Euridice' by Rachel Beaumont; Harriet Brower; Paris Opera; WikiTalk. See also: BnF; Gallica; Musicalics. Biblio: 'Christoph Willibald Gluck: A Guide to Research' by Patricia Howard (Routledge 2013); Oxford. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4. Wq numbering below is per Alfred Wotquenne in 1905.

Christoph Willibald Gluck

  Alceste

     1767   Wq 37

     Teatro La Fenice in Milan

     Music director: Guillaume Tourniaire

    Stage director: Pier Luigi Pizzi

      Alceste: Carmela Remigio

 Le Cinesi

     1754   Wq 18

      Orchestra of Schola Cantorum Basiliensis

     René Jacobs

 Don Juan

     1761   Wq 52

      Mainzer Kammerorchester/Günter Kehr

 Flute concerto in G major

     Doubtfully by Gluck [Wikipedia]

     Pro Musica Orchester Wien/Charles Adler

     Flute: Camillo Wanausek

     Album: 'Gluck, Pergolesi & Boccherini'

 Orfeo ed Euridice

     1762   Wq 30

      Cesky Krumlov Castle/Czech Republic 2013

 Orfeo ed Euridice

     1762   Wq 30

      Teatro La Fenice/Milan 2023

 Paride ed Elena

      1770   Wq 39

      Overture

     ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester/Lothar Zagrosek



 
Birth of Classical Music: Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Source: NAXOS
Born on 8 March 1714 in Weimar, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (aka "the other Bach") was son to Johann Sebastian Bach [Bach dynasty: 1, 2, 3]. Though he and his brothers had been taught music by his father, all intending to become professional musicians, Bach studied law from 1731 to 1738, obtaining his degree. This was done to obtain better a position as a musician, a little like joining the military as enlisted without rank versus as an officer if you go to college first. Howsoever, Carl's first compositions also date from 1731. Bach soon obtained employment in Berlin from Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia [Frederick II], becoming a member of the orchestra in 1740 upon Frederick becoming king. Bach was among the earliest piano, versus harpsichord, virtuosos. The piano had been invented in 1700 in Florence by Bartolomeo Cristofori [1, 2, 3]. By 1740 his reputation as a clavier (piano) player had already spread throughout Europe. He had also written some thirty sonatas and such for harpsichord and clavichord by then. It was 1753 that his first volume of 'Versuch über die wahre Art das Clavier zu spielen' ('Essay on the true way to play the keyboard') appeared in Berlin, second volume following in 1762 [1, 2]. In 1768 Bach became director of music for Hamburg, also acquiring the patronage of Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia (Frederick's sister). He now began concentrating more on sacred music such as cantatas. The next twenty years saw him produce some seventy liturgical works along with 21 settings of the Passion until his death on 14 Dec 1788. Carl is noted for his symphonies and keyboard pieces, especially sonatas and concertos, as well as chamber and choral works. CPE shared similar stature as a composer with his father, Johann Sebastian, and has ever since. References: 1, 2, 3; Wikipedia: 1, 2, 3. Compositions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Wq. Manuscripts & scores: 1, 2, 3, 4; downloads: 'Trio sonata in C minor' H 579 (1749 pub 1751); 'Fantasia e fuga in C minor' H 75.5 (1760?). Editions: 1, 2, 3, 4; 'The Complete Works': 1, 2. Sheet music. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; 'CPE Bach Edition' Brilliant Classics 94640 2013 (30 CD box set): 1, 2. Usage in soundtracks: 1, 2. Collections: Berlin Singakademie. Furtrher reading: H. Bellermann; Guy Dammann; Tom Huizenga; Eva Oertle. Biblio: Oxford Bibliographies; 'C.P.E. Bach' by David Schulenberg (Routledge 2017). See also: BnF; Gallica; Musicalics. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Britannica: 1, 2; Wikisource: 1, 2. H numbering below is per the cataloguing system of Eugene Helm as of 'Thematic Catalogue of the Works of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach' (Yale U Press New Haven 1989) [*]. Wq numbering that is also seen with Carl Bach is per Alfred Wotquenne's earlier 'Thematisches Verzeichnis der Werke von Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach' (Breitkopf & Härtel Wiesbaden 1905/1972) [1, 2]. Convert H to Wq: 1, 2.

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

  Concerto for 2 Harpsichords in F major

    1740   H 408

     OSI Orchestra dela Svizzera Italiana

     Harpsichords: Ton Koopman/Tini Mathot

 Flute Concerto in G major

    1755   H 445

     Flute: James Galway

 Flute Sonata in G major

    1786   H 564

    Eckhart Duo

     Flute: Enrico Sartori

     Piano: Giuseppe Santucci

 Harpsichord Concerto in E minor

    1745   H 418

    Filmed in Hungary

    Győr University Orchestra

    Conducting: Gergely Ménesi

    Piano: András Kemenes

 Symphony in D major

    1775   H 663   Presto

    Orquesta de Cámara de Jerusalém

     Mendi Rodan

 Symphony in E-flat major

    1757   H 654

    Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

 Symphony in G major

    1776   H 666

    OSI Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana

    Ton Koopman

 


 
  Born on 10 Sep 1714 in Aversa, Italy, Niccolò Jommelli had a linen merchant for a father. In 1725 Jommelli was enrolled into the Sant'Onofrio building of the Naples Conservatory of Music. Three years later he was transferred to the Pietà dei Turchini building. Jommelli performed his first opera in 1737 to considerable success, a buffa (comedy) called 'L'errore amorosa'. He followed that later the next year w 'Odoardo'. His first seria, 'Ricimero re di Goti', was performed in Rome on 16 January 1740 at the Teatro Argentina [1, 2, 3]. He then quickly obtained the protection of Duke Henry Benedict of York who, upon becoming a cardinal, appointed Jommelli to the Vatican. He first performed 'Ezio' in Bologna on 29 April 1741, that with libretto by Metastasio. In 1745 he became director of music at the Ospedale degli Incurabili in Venice. In 1747 Jommelli performed 'Didone abbandonata' at the Argentina Theatre in Rome, that again with libretto by Metastasio [1; audio]. Come his intermezzo a tre voci, 'Don Trastullo', in 1749 in Rome [*; audio: 1, 2]. In 1753 he went north where the action was in Stuttgart, there becoming kapellmeister to Duke Charles Eugene of Württemberg. That was a welcome change of atmosphere for Jommelli, a number of his operas to be performed at the private theatre of Charle's Ludwigsburg Palace. Jommelli returned to Naples in 1768, dying there on 25 August 1774. Though Jommelli's operas had been highly popular throughout his career in Italy, Venice and Germany, his star didn't shine quite so bright as his immediate contemporaries Christoph Gluck and Niccolò Piccinni. References: 1, 2, 3, 4. Compositions: 1, 2. Scores: 1, 2. Manuscripts: 1, 2. Editions. See also: BnF's Gallica. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4. Discos: 1, 2, 3. Further reading: Bruno Forment; Angela Romagnoli. Bibliography: 'The Church Music of Davide Perez and Niccolò Jommelli' by Mauricio Dottori (DeArtes - UFPR 2008) *; 'Niccolo Jommelli: The Last Years, 1769-1744' Marita McClymonds (UMI Research 1980). Other profiles: 1, 2. Per below, in 'Sinfonia in G major' Karl-Heinz Schickhaus plays a chromatic dulcimer (hackbrett), developed in the 1930s from the hammered dulcimer, which originated in the Middle East circa 1000 AD, soon finding its way to Europe.

Niccolò Jommelli

  Demofoonte [Part 1]

    Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini

    Riccardo Muti

 Demofoonte [Part 2]

    Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini

    Riccardo Muti

 Demofoonte [Part 3]

    Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini

    Riccardo Muti

 Piano Concerto in D major

      I Solisti Partenopei/Ivano Caiazza

     Piano: Antonella Cristiano 

 Sinfonia in G major

    Münchener Kammerorchester

    Hans Stadlmair

    Hackbrett: Karl-Heinz Schickhaus

 L'Uccellatrice

    Piccola Orchestra Veneta

    Marco Bellussi

  Il Vologeso

    Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra

    Frieder Bernius


Birth of Classical Music: Niccolo Jommelli

Niccolo Jommelli

Source: Anacardiaceae
  Born on 21 March 1716 in Řepín, Bohemia, Josef Seger  had been educated at a Jesuit gymnasium in Prague as a child. He took his degree in philosophy from Charles University, meanwhile studying organ with Bohuslav Černohorský. In 1741 Seger became organist at the Church of Our Lady before Týn [*], adding a similar position to his tasks in 1745 at the Church [1, 2, 3] of the Knights of the Cross [1, 2]. He strayed not therefrom until his death in Prague on 22 April 1782. The Bohemian region became among the more important during the Baroque and Classical periods, core to the Holy Roman Empire where reign was determined by a college of electors. Hotbed during the Thirty Years War (1618-48) in the prior century, Seger's Bohemia was in preparation for Napoleon's termination of the Holy Roman Empire not far to the future in 1806. A century beyond that Bavaria would become part of Czechoslovakia (1918). As for Seger who wrote both sacred and secular music, though he composed several hundred works, none of which he published, he largely fell from relevance beyond his contributions to Bohemian music as a teacher to numerous strong Czech composers including Karel Kopřiva, Jan Koželuh, Jan Křtitel Kuchař and Josef Mysliveček among others. Albeit Seger's catalogue includes works for violin and voice like Masses, he largely composed for organ such as toccatas, preludes, fugues and exercises w figured bass. References: 1, 2. Compositions: 1, 2, 3. Scores: 1, 2, 3. Audio: 1, 2. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2; 'The Complete Organ Works' w Ales Barta organ (Bonton Music 1992). HMR Project.

Josef Seger

  8 Toccaten und Fugen

     1793   No 2 in G minor

    Organ: Allan Dieball

 8 Toccaten und Fugen

     1793   No 6 in G major

     Organ: Allan Dieball

 8 Toccaten und Fugen

     1793   No 7 in D major

     Organ: Allan Dieball

 Fugue in A minor

     Organ: Aleš Bárta

 Toccata in E Major

     Organ: Allan Dieball


 
Birth of Classical Music: Johann Stamitz

Johann Stamitz

Source: Find a Grave
Born on 18 June 1717 in Deutschbrod, Bohemia, Johann Stamitz was a Czech composer who, despite his death at a young age, became of major significance in the development of early classical composition and orchestration, both as an innovator among his contemporaries as founder of the Mannheim school [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], and of long-lasting interest to such as Joseph Haydn thirty years his younger and WA Mozart born the year before Stamitz' passing in '57. Stamitz had studied at the University of Prague in 1734/35 before quitting to play the violin, as he was virtuosic with the instrument. His activities for the next several years are largely unknown before he emerged at the Court of Mannheim circa 1741. It was sometime between '41 and '46 that his Mannheim symphonies No. 1 through No. 3 were written. It isn't certain which was his first, nor if No. 1 wasn't actually composed by Antoine Mahaut. It was 1 July 1744 that he married Maria Antonia Luneborn, two of five children to arrive to die in infancy, two to become composers, Carl Stamitz and Anton Stamitz [Stamitz family of composers]. Johann became formal director of his Mannheim school in 1750. His Op. 1, 'Six Grand Orchestra Trios', was likely authored and published sometime during the fifties. 1754 found him performing in Paris at a concert spirituel (public concerts given in Paris since 1725). Returning to Mannheim in 1755, he died two years later on 27 March 1757 only forty years of age. Stamitz left behind 58 symphonies, 10 orchestral trios and a number of concertos for various instruments. References: 1, 2, 3. Scores: 1, 2. Editions: 1, 2, 3, 4. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Recordings of: MusicBrainz; 'Johann Stamitz Symphonies Vol. 1' by the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra w Donald Armstrong: 1, 2; 'Johann Stamitz Symphonies Vol. 2' (Op. 4) by the Northern Chamber Orchestra w Nicholas Ward 1, 2; 'Johann Stamitz Symphonies Vol. 3' (Op. 3) by the Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra w Alexander Rudin 1, 2, 3. Suggested reading: 'The Symphonies of Johann Stamitz' by Eugene Wolf (Scheltema & Holkema 1981): reviews: Floyd Grave: * (alt); Neil Zaslaw. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3.

Johann Stamitz

  6 Trios for Orchestra

     Op 1   Musica Aeterna Bratislava

  Clarinet Concerto in B flat major

     Academy of St. Martin In The Fields

     Iona Brown

     Clarinet: Sabine Meyer

 Flute Concerto in G major

     Cologne Chamber Orchestra

     Helmut Müller-Brühl

      Flute: Robert Aitken

 Missa Solemnis in D major

      Alsfelder Vokalensemble

      Barockorchester Bremen

 Trumpet Concerto in D major

     Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

     Sir Neville Marriner

     Trumpet: Håkan Hardenberger



 
  Born on 21 November 1718 in Marpurgsdorf, Germany, Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg wasn't the composer that others on this page were. But as a music theorist he joins Johann Mattheson as one of the earliest music critics [rise and influence of music criticism: 1, 2, 3, 4]. Antonie at Classical Music Diary (CMD) has Marpurg arriving to a well-off family with a mayor for a grandfather and probably private tutoring as a youth. Come 1738 he was studying law at the University of Jena before transferring to Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in 1739 where he would write something about a high-ranking academic at Jena that found him getting sentenced to prison by Frederick I (Soldier King) of Prussia, father of Frederick II (aka the Great). Making flight to Normandy, he there studied the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau and François Couperin [CMD]. Frederick II himself had run away from his father in 1738. His return and subsequent reign in 1740 upon the death of Frederick I spelled Marpurg's ability to return to Prussia. In either 1744 or 1746 he became secretary to Prussian general, Friedrich Rudolf von Rothenburg, in Paris where he is said to have met Rameau as well as Rond d'Alembert and Voltaire. Upon returning to Berlin Marpurg pursued his education, presumably yet in law, to completion in 1748. The first edition of Marpurg's weekly critical periodical appeared in 1749: 'Der Critische Musicus an der Spree' [*]. As Marpurg's career is heavily literary it is apt here to touch a little on the history of publishing. Please see Note 1 below. Further works in prose followed in the early fifties until a volume of compositions in 1756 titled 'Neue Lieder zum Singen beim Klavier' [*]. Marpurg became employed with the Royal Prussian Lotteries in 1760, becoming director in 1763. [Lottery history is an interesting subject but a little off topic. See Note 2 below.] Numerous volumes of both music criticism and compositions followed throughout the sixties and into the seventies such that the esteem with which Marpurg's books were held led to some long-enduring confusion upon his 1776 'Versuch über die musikalische Temperatur' [1, 2, 3] in which he confused Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Das Wohltemperirte Clavier' with equal temperament. Later examination found Bach's well-temperament to be distinct from equal, notably per 'An Elementary Treatise on Musical Intervals and Temperament' by Robert Holford Bosanque in 1876 and 'Zur musikalischen Temperatur' by H. Kelletat in 1960. In 1786 Marpurg published his musical almanac, 'Legende einiger Musikheiligen' [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. His last known authorship was his 1795 treatise titled 'Abhandlung über die Orgel und Material zu einer Geschichte der Orgel' included in Ernst Ludwig Gerber's 'Neues historisch-biographisches lexikon der Tonku̇nstler' of 1812 [*]. Marpurg died in Berlin on 22 May 1795. References: 1, 2, CMD. Works: 1, 2. Scores. Manuscripts: 1, 2, 3, 4. Editions. Recordings of: 'Pieces de Clavecin' w harpsichord by Yves-G. Préfontaine: 1, 2. Further reading: Frank Gellerich; Georg Predota. See also BnF. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3.

Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg

  Herr ich habe missgehandelt

    C 1790

    Organ: Kees Rosenhart

 Fugue in D minor

    Pub 1753

    Organ: Rolf Uusväli

 Jesu meine Freude

    Organ: Kees Rosenhart

 Wer nur den lieben Gott

    C 1790

    Chorale prelude in A minor

    Organ: Rolf Uusväli

^ Note 1 in relevance to the history of publishing. Gazettes had been written or carved since ancient times by Chinese and Romans, placed in public areas for reading. Books got copied by hand until Johannes Gutenberg's printing press circa 1440 which opened the gates to mass circulation, newspapers [1, 2, 3] and other periodicals [early British and American: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. As for publishing scores, plainchant saw print as early as Ulrich Han's 'Missale Romanum' of 1476 [1, 2]. The first to print more difficult polyphony, however, was also the first major publisher of sheet music, Ottaviano Petrucci of Venice [1, 2], starting w his 'Harmonice Musices Odhecaton' of 1501 [1, 2]. Petrucci's triple plate method would be improved circa 1520 in England by John Rastell's single plate pass, followed in France in 1528 by major publisher, Pierre Attaingnant's, 'Chansons nouvelles en musique à quatre parties'.

^ Note 2 in relevance to the Prussian Lottery: Lotteries had been in use in China since before the birth of Christ. They were one way the Great Wall of China was financed. Romans funded projects with lotteries as well. Lotteries disappeared during the Dark Ages to reemerge in the 15th century in towns of the Low Countries, then Milan in 1499. The first record of a town lottery in Netherlands, for walls and fortifications, wasn't a record of the first lottery held, but documents 4,304 tickets sold, for a prize of 1,737 florins, about $170,000 today. Lotteries were also held to feed the poor. Most are familiar with the legend of Nathan Mayer Rothschild making a fortune w a pigeon per the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the truth of that story yet in debate [1, 2, 3, 4]. However, during the Age of Enlightenment (Age of Reason), stretching broadly from the humanism of the Renaissance to the Napoleonic defeat of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the philosopher, Voltaire, did actually help finance his writing career by outmaneuvering the French Lottery [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8] in 1729. References for lotteries: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; United States: 1, 2, 3, 4. The Age of Reason is also more narrowly dated from Isaac Newton's 'Principia Mathematica' in 1687, or the death of Louis XIV (Baroque Sun King) in 1715 commencing the reign of Louis XV (the Beloved), to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789,

 

Birth of Classical Music: Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg

Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg

Source: Opera Plus
Birth of Classical Music: Jiri Antonin Benda

Jiri Antonin Benda

Source: Leporelo
Born on 30 June 1722 in Bohemia, violinist Jiri Antonin Benda (Georg Anton Benda) was younger brother to Franz Benda and Johann Georg Benda, older brother to Joseph Benda, sons of the weaver Jan Jiri Benda [1, 2, 3]. His sister, Anna Franziska, was an operatic soprano. He entered the Jesuit gymnasium in Gitschin in 1735. The year before graduating (1742) he was made second violinist at the chapel of Frederick II [Frederick the Great of Prussia: Wikipedia] in Berlin. Upon leaving the gymnasium Benda began composing in Potsdam with his brother for a brief a time. His next employment was in 1749 as Kapellmeister to the Duke of Gotha, Frederick III, eldest son of Frederick II. The Duke provided him with the funds to study in Italy for a couple of years in 1764. Benda retired from the court in 1778 to travel about Europe, such as Hamburg and Vienna, and eventually settled in Köstritz where he died on 6 Nov 1795. Among Benda's more important contributions to the classical period was the melodrama. The melodrama was an interesting operatic development in which thrill was of more weight than characterization, like action films w simple plots and stereotypical roles versus dramas, and usually spoken rather than sung. The Singspiel was closely related, a kind of dialogic opera. The first full melodrama was written in 1762 by the Coignet/Rousseau team, though not performed until 1770 ('Pygmalion'). Benda saw therein a potential to exploit, as would Mozart. References for Benda: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Scores. Editions. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4. HMR Project.

Jirí Antonín Benda

  Ariadne auf Naxos

     1775   Melodrama

      Libretto: Johann Brandes

     Kammersolisten Minsk

     Dmitri Subow

  Concerto for harpsichord in G minor

      Talichův komorní orchestr

      Jan Talich

      Cembalo: Zuzana Růžičková

  Pygmalion

      1779   Melodrama

      Libretto: Friedrich Gotter

      Prague Chamber Orchestra

      Christian Benda

  Romeo und Julie

     1776   Singspiel

      La stagione Frankfurt

      Michael Schneider

      Julie: Heidrun Kordes

      Romeo: Scott Weir

  Sinfonia 2 in G major

      Prague Chamber Orchestra

      Christian Benda

  Sinfonia 4 in F major

      Prague Chamber Orchestra

      Christian Benda

  Sinfonia 5 in G major

      Prague Chamber Orchestra

      Christian Benda


 
  Born in Köthen of present-day Germany, on 22 Dec 1723, Carl Friedrich Abel was an early classical composer who specialized in cello and viola de gamba as a performer. His father was composer, Christian Ferdinand Abel [*]. He received additional instruction from Johann Sebastian Bach at Thomasschule in Leipzig, among the oldest schools in Europe, founded in 1212. In 1743 Abel joined Hasse's court orchestra where he remained the next fifteen years. In 1759 he crossed the Channel where he published his Op. 1 circa 1760 consisting of six symphonies w 'Symphony in B-flat major' as WK 1. (WK numbers are Walter Knape as of 1971.) In 1762 Abel began his collaborations with Johann Christian Bach in 1762 in London. Abel and Bach gave concerts together until the latter's death in 1782. Abel became a chamber musician for Queen Charlotte in 1764. Upon Bach's death in '82 Abel traveled in Germany and France for the next three years. He finished out his life as a chief member of the Hanover Square Rooms (Queen's Concert Rooms). Giving his last concert on 21 May of '87, he died the next month on 20 June 1787. Abel's catalogue hasn't always been in order with such as his 'Symphony in E flat' once ascribed to Mozart as 'Symphony No. 3' K 18. Twenty-eight of his works went missing until discovered in 2017 by Sonia Wronkowska in what are called the Maltzan Manuscripts [see also the Maltzan-Sammlung]. A sonata by JC Bach was also found w those manuscripts. References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Works: 1, 2, 3. Scores: 1, 2. Publications. Editions: 1, 2. Audio: *. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; 'Symphonies Op. 1 & Op. 4' consisting of 12 symphonies by the Kölner Akademie w Michael Alexander Willens *. HMR Project.

Carl Friedrich Abel           

 Symphony in D major

    1767   WK 15   Op 7:3

    La Stagione Frankfurt/Michael Schneider

 Symphony in D major

    1785   Op 17:3

    The Hanover Band/Anthony Halstead

 Symphony E flat major

    1767   WK 18   Op 7:6

     La Stagione Frankfurt/Michael Schneider


Birth of Classical Music: Carl Friedrich Abel

Carl Friedrich Abel   1777

Painting: Thomas Gainsborough

Source: Wikimedia Commons
  Born on 25 Feb 1727 in Paris, Armand-Louis Couperin was one of the Couperin musical dynasty, his cousin, François Couperin, among the most notable. Louis' father was a church composer and organist. Upon his father's death in 1748, Couperin inherited his position at Saint Gervais. He held positions at several churches, as well as the Royal Chapel of Louis XV, before his death in a traffic accident on 2 Feb 1789. His library contained 885 books, indicating he was financially comfortable. What little music by Couperin that survives (he published little) is largely keyboard pieces. He never wrote for theatre. References: 1, 2, 3, 4. Works: 1, 2, 3. Scores. Editions: 1, 2, 3; 'Complete Keyboard Works' by Martin Pearlman. Audio: 1, 2. Discos: 1, 2, 3.

Armand-Louis Couperin

  Pièces de Clavecin

 L'Affligee   1751

     Harpsichord: Jennifer Paul

 Pièces de Clavecin

     La Chéron   1751

     Harpsichord: Skip Sempé

 Pièces de Clavecin

     Les Quatre Nations   1751

     Cembalista: Falerno Ducande

 Pièces de Clavecin

    Les Tendre Sentimens   1751

    Harpsichord: Jennifer Paul

 Suite in D minor for Clavecin

     Harpsichord: Onofrio Della Rosa


Birth of Classical Music: Armand-Louis Couperin

Armand-Louis Couperin

Charles-Nicolas Noël   1766

Source: Wikipedia
Birth of Classical Music: Armand-Louis Couperin

Niccolo Piccinni

Source: Foggia Zon
Born in Bari in southern Italy on 16 Jan 1728, Niccolò Piccinni was educated at the Naples Conservatory of Music, Sant'Onofrio, his father a musician of whom it is said he didn't want his son to make the same mistake. Highly successful at opera, Piccinni produced his first, 'Le donne dispettose', in 1755. Sixteen of the librettos to which he set music were Metastasio's. The first, 'Zenobia' [1, 2], premiered on 18 Dec 1756 in Naples at the Teatro San Carlo. 'Zenobia' had first been performed in Wien (Vienna) back in 1737 w music by Giovanni Battista Bononcini. It was 1760 when Piccinni's 'La buona Figliuola' ('La Cecchina') ignited not only Naples, but all of Europe [*; libretto]. The libretto for that was by Carlo Goldoni after Samuel Richardson. Piccinni had and would set music to seventeen librettos to which Goldoni had contributed. Spending the sixties continuing to thrive, in 1770 his music to Metastasio's 'Catone in Utica' was taken to Mannheim, Germany, by tenor, Anton Raff, where the score was somewhat altered for performance [1, 2, 3]. By 1773 Piccinni had written 50 operas, performing thirty of them in Rome. His setting to Metastasio's 'Didon Abbandonata' had premiered on 8 January 1770 at the Teatro Argentina [1, 2]. That had been Metastasio's first libretto put to music by Domenico Sarro back in 1724. In 1776 Piccinni found patronage in Marie Antoinette who brought him to Paris to compose operas at the Academie Royale de Musique. One could say Piccinni took the "Neapolitan school" to France, but what he really took was a Piccinni way of composing opera versus that of his major rival at the time, Christoph Willibald Gluck. His 'Roland' [1, 2] premiered at the Academie Royale on 27 January 1778 w libretto by Jean-François Marmontel [1, 2] after Philippe Quinault and Ludovico Ariosto. Piccinni worked w Marmontel on five operas including the notable 'Didon' [1, 2, 3] performed at the private theatre at Fontainebleau on 16 October 1783, that taken after Metastasio's 'Didone abbandonata' of 1724. Piccinni became a professor at the Royal School of Music in 1784. Piccinni last worked w Marmontel per 'Penelope' premiering on 2 November 1785 at Fontainebleau [*; libretto]. A second version was performed in Paris on 16 October 1787, that Piccinni's last before the outbreak of the French Revolution [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] in 1789 and his return to Naples, there employed by Ferdinand IV. Which was fine until Piccinni's daughter married a French democrat. He was then placed under house arrest for four years, suspected of being a revolutionary. Piccinni completed his life traveling between Naples, Rome and Venice. Wikipedia traces his last opera, 'Il servo padrone, ossia, L'amor perfetto'), to Venice, premiering at the Teatro San Samuele on 17 Jan 1794 w libretto by Caterino Mazzolà [1, 2]. Returning to Paris in 1798, Piccinni died two years later in Passy on 7 May 1800. Wikipedia has him composing 115 operas during his career. Though Piccinni made quite a splash in his time it was a brief fame, he largely forgotten since then. References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Operas. Scores: 1, 2. Editions: 1, 2. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2, 3; 'Roland' by the Bratislava Chamber Choir and the Italian International Orchestra w David Golub *. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3.

Niccolò Piccinni

  La buona figliuola, ossia La Cecchina

    1760

    Orchestra della Rai di Napoli

    Franco Caracciolo

 Catone in Utica

    1770   Overture

    Filharmonia Krakowska

     Nicola Simoni

 Roland

     First Performance 1778 Paris

      Coro de Cámara Bratislava

       Orchestra Internazionale d'Italia

       David Golub



 
  The Classical period is generally given as 1730 to 1820. Popped from the oven in Mannheim in 1731 for cooling off w baptismal waters on 28 Dec, Christian Cannabich is firmly planted in the soil of the classical period and helped make a steamroller (conveniently apt: 1, 2) of the Mannheim school [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], the latter an important bridge to the classical w its large symphonic orchestra. Like the origins of rock n roll to which one can pin a lot of early R&B artists over a range of several years without naming any singular "father" of rock, so is Cannabich joined to a bunch consisting of such as Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, Johann Christian Bach, Joseph Haydn and Leopold Hofmann as a so-called patriarchy of the classical. Cannabich's father was a flute and oboe player to the Mannheim court. Cannabich became a scholar violinist in the Mannheim court orchestra in 1744 as he studied under Johann Stamitz, then a full member two years later. In 1750 he visited Rome on the Palatinate's (Duke Charles Theodore of Sulzbach) tab to study beneath Niccolò Jommelli. He studied under Giovanni Battista Sammartini in Milan in 1756. By 1757 he was ready to assume Stamitz' position as first violinist to the court of Mannheim. His first of not a few trips to Paris occurred in 1764. In 1774 Cannabich became director of the Mannheim court orchestra, required to compose for ballet. He died on 20 Jan 1798. Though Cannabich and Mozart led separate careers they associated on numerous occasions. Mozart, a generation younger than Cannabich and whose name defines classical, had instructed Cannabich's daughter, Rose, at piano and dedicated his 'Piano Sonata 7 in C Major' to her. Cannabich left behind forty ballets, thirty sonatas and 75 symphonies amidst much else. References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Works: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Scores: 1, 2. Editions: 1, 2, 3. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2, 3; 'Die Mannheimer Schule' by the Camerata Bern directed by Thomas Furi *. Other profiles: 1, 2.

Christian Cannabich

  Symphony No 57 in E flat major

     Movement 1: Allegro

     London Mozart Players/Matthias Bamert

  Symphony No 68 in B flat major

    Neue Hoffkapelle München

    Conductor: Christoph Hammer


Birth of Classical Music: Christian Cannabich

Christian Cannabich

Engraving: Egid Verhelst   1779

Source: Wikimedia Commons
Birth of Classical Music: Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn

Source: Regio Chor
In a failed attempt to make this webpage search friendly we need limit the number of works we list per composer. Which isn't to very represent any of them. But that is especially true of Franz Joseph Haydn, older brother to Johann Michael Haydn. Joseph was one of the musical supernovas of all time, why Classical is called Classical. Haydn was born on 31 March 1732 in Rohrau, Austria (on the Hungarian border at the time). His father was the village mayor, his mother a cook for Count Harrach. Recognizing Hadyn's gift, his parents sent him at perhaps age six to study music beneath a choirmaster in Hamburg named Johann Matthias Frankh. In 1740 he went to Vienna to work as a chorister at St. Stephen's. A small note is here due to Vienna, Austria, a little neglected up to now for all its importance in European affairs. Though not Italy, Vienna had been a major cultural center during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Austria, however, had been the Habsburg Holy Roman Empire's first line of defense against the threat of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in the Hungarian region [*], and the bubonic plague of 1679 had claimed a third of its population. Upon final riddance of the Turkish menace at the Battle of Vienna [1, 2, 3, 4] on 12 September 1683 Vienna was able to prepare for its inclusion on the musical map of Europe in no small way via figures such as Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. Vienna was now to become and remain among Europe's grandest venues of art, architecture and music [1, 2, 3, 4] which this history will visit often. Such was less than foremost in Haydn's thoughts, however, when in 1749 he was caned and dismissed for the prank of snipping off another chorister's pigtail. He then freelanced, working as a teacher and serenading on the streets. In 1752 he became valet to Niccolo Porpora [mentioning such in his autobiographical sketch of 1776: 1, 2, 3]. Thus far Haydn had been taught next to nothing but hunger by Frankh and at St. Stephen's. Nigh all he knew about composing had been from independent study of such as Johann Joseph Fux and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. Finally getting some traction, Haydn produced his first opera, 'Der krumme Teufel' ('The Limping Devil'), in 1753, only to be shut down for offensive language [1, 2]. Meanwhile compositions he'd written and given away to others were being published and sold by them. Poor Haydn was yet just too simple for a human world. Haydn worked as a freelancer at the court in Vienna from '54 to '56. In 1757 he became Kapellmeister to Count Morzin of Austria and things began to swing enough for him to write his first symphonies before marrying one Maria Keller on 26 November 1760. Unfortunately the Count was experiencing twists in fortune necessitating the dismantling of his musical establishment in 1761. Haydn then became Vice-Kapellmeister for Prince Paul II Anton, and full Kapellmeister in 1766. Anton had been succeeded by Nikolaus in 1762, but he was still of the House of Esterházy, a dynasty of great wealth with several palaces such as the Eszterháza, the "Hungarian Versailles" in modern day Austria where Haydn worked. Haydn premiered his second opera, 'Acide' [audio], on 11 Jan 1763 at a festa teatrale (theatre party) the day after the wedding of Countess Maria Theresia Erdödy to Count Anton Esterházy, eldest son of Nikolaus. Now in element not wholly despicable, Haydn wrote his third opera ('La marchesa nespola') before beginning to compose for baryton (similar to the viol) circa 1765, as Nikolaus then acquired and began to play one. Haydn produced some 200 pieces for that instrument in the next ten years. By Haydn's time the Age of Enlightenment, which some begin with Descartes' 'Discourse on Method' in 1637, was nearing the end of its era w the approach of the French Revolution in 1789. As things reasonable go, there developed a Counter-Enlightenment in the form of Sturm und Drang [Storm and Stress: 1, 2, 3], a proto-Romantic movement in Germany stretching from the early seventies into the early nineties in which objective Enlightenment rationality had yet to account for the reality of subjective individuality. Passion was everywhere in the climate during the latter 18th century versus polite society where perfection's fine and refined again ways, including the galant, were doomed to short days: the American Revolution (1775-83) across the Atlantic a conspicuous example. As Haydn identified w the Sturm und Drang movement along w authors like FM Klinger, JW Goethe, Friedrich Schiller and JG Herder, his music during the seventies was expressive of such. One early example of emotional deployment more to the masculine than delicate galant occurs in his 'Sonata in C minor' Hob. 16:20 for keyboard [1, 2, 3, 4, 5; audio: 1, 2]. Come his 'Trauer' ('Mourning') Symphony in E minor' No. 44 in 1772 [1, 2, 3; audio: 1, 2, 3, 4]. His next was his 'Farewell' 'Symphony in F-sharp minor' No. 45 premiering for Nikolaus in Nov of 1772 w an especial show of taste incorporated into its performance, requesting leave for his musicians from Eszterháza that season by each one blowing out his candle rack and walking away until there were only a couple left to play [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; audio]. 'Farewell' saw publishing in '75. Haydn's Op. 20 of 1772 consisted of his six 'Sun' quartets [1, 2] firmly expressive of classical composing decisively not galant, away from which Haydn steered. The finales of three of those quartets, however, employ the fugue, falling back to baroque counterpoint, though now invested w Sturm und Drang, in emphasis of Haydn's distance away from lightweight rococo. Of those six string quartets the three with fugal finales are No. 2 in C major, No. 5 in F minor [*; audio: 1, 2] and No. 6 in A major. Those saw publishing in Paris in '74 by Chevardière, again in '79. Come more Sturm und Drang w his 'Keyboard Sonata in D major' No. 33 in 1773, published in 1783 [1, 2]. Once Nikolaus ceased playing the baryton Haydn was better able to concentrate on other work. Another change in 1779 again defined the sort of music Haydn wrote, he now allowed to compose and publish music as his own property rather than that of the House of Esterházy. He now focused on symphonies and would compose his six 'Russian' string quartets, Op. 33, in 1781 [1, 2; audio], one of which was 'String Quartet in E-flat' Op. 33 No. 2 known as 'The Joke' [*; audio]. Up to that time one of Europe's major composers was nowhere to be seen except at an exclusive Esterházy palace. Now Haydn could write on commission for clients throughout Europe. Haydn's last opera for the House of Esterházy, 'Armida', premiered on 26 Feb 1784 at the Eszterháza theatre [1, 2, 3]. That same year Haydn met and played quartets with Mozart, their association one of mutual high esteem. Haydn's first version of his orchestral 'The Seven Last Words of Christ' was commissioned in 1786 for the Oratorio de la Santa Cueva [*] in Cadiz, published in Paris in 1787 [1, 2] where it was performed again before taken to Rome. Nikolaus died in 1790, leaving Haydn a sweet pension of 1000 florins a year. But his son, Anton, was faced with need to economize. He dismissed the majority of his musicians and reduced Haydn's pay to 400 florins a year, yet fairly good remuneration for a composer at the time, equivalent to about $65,000 today. Yet in the bargain was Anton's liberation of Haydn to travel and work with other than Esterházy musicians. On his first trip to London in 1790 Haydn met Beethoven. Their relationship was a bit more complex than his friendship with Mozart. Though Haydn tutored Beethoven later that year in Vienna, the latter later stated he "learned nothing" from Haydn. Howsoever, Beethoven later placed Haydn with Johann Sebastian Bach and Mozart in eminence. Haydn sailed to England again in 1791. As his published works had preceded him he was already very popular there. After visiting Mozart briefly in Vienna on New Year's Day, 1791, Haydn headed for English soil and there became a rock star both as a composer and clavier performer. His 'Symphony in G major' No. 94 was performed in London on 23 March 1792 [1, 2, 3, 4]. That was Haydn's 'Surprise' symphony employing trumpets and kettle drum [timpani], the latter which he had changing pitch during the course of the work [*]. Haydn's last opera, 'L'Anima del Filosofo' ('The Soul of the Philosopher' aka 'Orfeo ed Euridice'), was supposed to have been staged at the King's Theatre in '92, but wasn't. Nor was it ever performed during his lifetime. Haydn's 'Symphony in G major' No. 100 is known as his 'Military' symphony again w trumpet and timpani effects [1, 2, 3; audio: 1, 2]. Performed in '93 or '94, it saw publishing in 1799 by Johann André. Haydn's 'The Clock', 'Symphony in D major' No. 101, was performed on 3 March of 1794 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; audio]. Haydn's 'Drumroll' 'Symphony in E-flat major' No. 103 premiered at the King's Theatre on 2 March 1795, also published by André in 1799 [1, 2, 3, 4; audio]. 'Drumroll' is considered Haydn's symphony of symphonies along with 'Symphony in B-flat major' No. 102 of '94 and 'Symphony in D major' No. 104 of '95. Together w his string quartets those are cited as the creme de la creme of Haydn's classical composing. In 1795 Haydn left London permanently for Vienna. Prince Anton had meanwhile died and his son, Nikolaus II, wanted music. Haydn then divided his time between the House of Esterházy in the summers and his own home in Vienna the rest of the year, composing for public performances. Haydn's oratorio, 'The Creation', premiered on 29 April 1798 at the palace of Prince Schwarzenberg [1, 2]. 'The Seasons', another oratorio, followed on 24 April 1801 [1, 2; audio]. Haydn's last major work was his sixth and last mass since 1796 for Princess Maria Hermenegild, wife of Nikolaus II, that 'Harmoniemesse' in 1802 [1, 2; audio]. In 1803 he began to become too ill to work, his last public appearance a charity performance of 'The Seven Last Words' in December that year. Though Haydn was unable to work during his last years he was retained as Kapellmeister by the Esterházy family until his death on 31 May 1809. He had sustained an attack of smallpox as a child. But what plagued him in his last years was polypus so severe as to prevent him from composing. Perhaps on those occasions he pulled out his rosary, he a devout Catholic. References: HOASM (Here as of a Sunday Morning); Klassika (extensive); Theodora; Wikipedia: 1, 2, 3, Wikisource. Compositions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; concertos: 1, 2, 3; Masses: 1, 2, 3; operas: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; piano solos *; piano trios: 1, 2; string quartets: 1, 2; symphonies: 1, 2, 3. Scores: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Editions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (w bio), 6, 7; Edison cylinders *; MIDI files: * (alt); symphonies. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2, 3, 4; 'Acide' w Bernard Richter (tenor) as Acide & Raffaela Milanesi (soprano) as Galatea and the Haydn Sinfonietta Wien on period instruments directed by Manfred Huss *; 'Creation' by Handel and the Haydn Society w Harry Christophers *; 'Haydn: String Quartets Op.33 'Russian'' by the Borodin Quartet *. Usage of Haydn in soundtracks. Further reading: Haydn and JS Bach, Beethoven, WA Mozart, the timpani. Biblio: 1, 2; 'Biographische Nachrichten von Joseph Haydn' by Albert Christoph Dies (1810 inaccuracies found since then): 1, 2; 'The Cambridge Companion to Haydn' by Caryl Clark (Cambridge U Press 2005) *; 'Haydn' by David Wyn Jones (Routledge 2017) *; 'The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven' by Charles Rosen (1997) *; 'Haydn' by James Cuthbert Hadden (1902) *; 'Haydn: His Life and Music' by H. C. Robbins Landon & David Wyn Jones (1988) *; 'Haydn Piano Sonatas' by Yaokun Yang *; 'The Life and Times of Franz Joseph Haydn' by Susan Zannos (Mitchell Lane 2019) *; 'The New Grove Haydn' by Jens Peter Larsen (1983). See also: The Cambridge Haydn Encyclopeida ed by Caryl Clark and Sarah Day-O'Connell *; The Haydn Festival (1989-2019) *; The Haydn Institute *; Wikimedia Commons *. Other profiles: Catalan *; Deutsch: 1, 2; Dutch: *; English: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12; Finnish: 1, 2; French: 1, 2; Portuguese: *. Catalogue numbers below are from the Hoboken-Verzeichnis published in three volumes by Anthony van Hoboken between 1957 and 1978 [1, 2].

Joseph Haydn

  Baryton Trio in A minor

    Hob 11:87    Esterházy Ensemble

 Baryton Trio in B minor

    Hob 11:91   Esterházy Ensemble

 Divertimento in C major

    Hob 2:17

    Haydn Sinfonietta Wien

    Manfred Huss

 Horn Concerto 2 in D major

    Hob 7d:1

    Orchestre de Chambre National de Toulouse

     Alain Moglia   Horn: André Cazalet

 Keyboard Sonata in C minor

     1771    Hob 16:20

     Piano: Andras Schiff

 Keyboard Sonata in E-flat major

    1789-90    Hob 16:49

    Piano: Alfred Brendel

 Mass in D minor

    1798   Hob 22:11   Gloria

    Det Norske Blåseensemble

    Solistkor Oslo

    Grete Pedersen

 Mass in D minor

    1798   Hob 22:11   Kyrie

    Det Norske Blåseensemble

    Solistkor Oslo

    Grete Pedersen

 Piano Trio in A flat major

    1790   Hob 15:14

    Cello: Philipp Bosbach

    Piano: Harald Hoeren

    Violin: Susanne von Bausznern

 Symphony 45 in F sharp minor

    'Farewell Symphony'

    1772

    Orchestra of St. Luke's

    Charles Mackerras

 Symphony 101 in D major

    'The Clock'   Adante

    1794

    Capella Istropolitana

    Barry Wordsworth



Birth of Classical Music: The Eszterháza Palace

The Eszterháza Palace

Source: Manitou Winds
  Born on 21 June 1732 in Leipzig, Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach is a lesser known of the better known of the Bach musical dynasty [1, 2, 3] as a son of Johann Sebastian Bach. JCF Bach was a transitional figure from late Baroque to early classical who also composed in the galant style. He studied at the famous St. Thomas School w his father before his first professional appointment in 1750 in Bückeburg [1, 2] as a harpsichordist to Count William of Schaumburg-Lippe. That worked out nice, as Bach became konzertmeister in 1759, henceforth to remain at the Court of Bückeburg for the rest of his career. He is thus called "the Bückeburg Bach" to distinguish him from the others. Between the years of 1765 and 1772 Bach completed nine symphonies. His initial oratorios arrived in '69 per 'Die Pillgrimme auf Golgatha' w text by Friedrich Zachariae and the Passion cantata, 'Der Tod Jesu' ('The Death of Jesus'), the latter to the 1760 revised libretto by Karl Ramler. Ramler's original version had been set to music by Carl Heinrich Graun in 1755 and Georg Philipp Telemann in '56. In 1771 Johann Gottfried Herder arrived to Bückeburg with whom Bach collaborated on several works including 'Die Kindheit Jesu' ('The Childhood of Jesus') that premiered on 11 Feb of 1773 [*; recording]. They produced their 'Die Auferweckung Lazarus' ('The Resurrection of Lazarus' BR D 6) that year as well [1, 2]. Come 'Michaels Sieg' circa 1775 before Herder moved onward to a position in Weimar in '76. Bach traveled to London in 1778 to visit his brother, Johann Christian Bach. IMSLP bears a date of 1787-88 for his four-book collection, 'Musikalische Nebenstunden' ('Musical Leisure Hours') in which he included the song by his son, W.F.E. Bach, 'Seid gegrüßt, ihr grünbemooste Hügel'. Bach spent 1792 into 1794 writing ten more symphonies before his death in Bückeburg on 26 January 1795. In addition to symphonies Bach's claim to fame consists of keyboard pieces, largely sonatas, chamber music and concertos. He also wrote arias and incidental music. References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Works: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Scores. Editions: 1, 2, 3. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2; 'Die Kindheit Jesu' (1773): 1, 2; 'Sonatas & Trios' by the Camerata Köln. Further reading: HMR Project; Georg Predota (Bach's marriage to Lucia Elisabeth Münchausen). Per below, BR numbers are per the Bach-Repertorium (BR) research group. WFV, WfV or variants are per Hannsdieter Wohlfarth 1971.

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach

 Keyboard Concerto in E major

    BR C37

    Orchestre de Chambre du Festival d`Echternach

    Yoon K. Lee

  Die Kindheit Jesu

    BR D5   'Schlummre sanft'

    Alt-Mezzo: Kathrin D. Widmann

  Die Sinfonia in D minor

    1768   WFV I:3

    Concerto Koln


Birth of Classical Music: Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach

Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach

Source: Codalario
Birth of Classical Music: King's Theatre - Queen's Theatre

Her (His) Majesty's Theatre

(Queen's Theatre   King's Theatre)

Source: Wikipedia
Born in Leipzig, Germany, on 5 Sep 1735, Johann Christian Bach was a member of the Bach musical dynasty [1, 2, 3]. His father, Johann Sebastian Bach, died when Johann Christian, his youngest son, was fifteen. His brother, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, was 21 years his senior. Johann Christian no doubt received musical instruction from his father as a child. In 1756 he went to Italy to study under Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna. In 1760 he became a church organist in Milan, also dropping Luther for Catholicism about that time. 1762 found Johann in London producing opera at the King's Theatre. King's Theatre was the place to perform in England. To the left is a drawing of the theatre as it would have appeared in Bach's time, before its major reconstruction in 1791. King's Theatre was erected in 1705 as Her Majesty's Theatre (Queen's Theatre), its name changing per gender of the monarch. As for John, he soon became music master to Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, wife of King George III. In the meantime, JC met Mozart in London in 1764 when the latter was eight years old. Bach tutored Mozart for about five months, the latter owning a good esteem of Johann's music. Mozart found nice things to say about any musician, but in John's case he was sincere, arranging three of the latter's sonatas into concertos. Another of the figures in Bach's life was of less positive value, Johann having the misfortune of employing a steward who stole the majority of his wealth, such that he died in debt in London on New Year's Day in 1782. Charlotte paid his debts and put his widow on a pension. Johann had been popular composing in the galant style, and as the one passed out of favor so did the other as the calendar swiftly flipped toward the romantics of the 19th century. Of the more than ninety symphonies ascribed to him only 48 have been confirmed. An industrious composer, he otherwise wrote a lot of keyboard and chamber music (sonatas and quartets). He composed a good number of concertos and concertantes for orchestra. Concertantes are concertos lite, emphasizing instrumental solos. Johann also authored a good number of canzonettas (light songs originating in Italy in the prior century), arias, liturgical pieces and incidental music. References: 1, 2, 3, 4. Compositions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Manuscripts & scores: 1, 2, 3. Editions: 1, 2. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Further reading: Tom Service. Bibliography. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. As of below, cataloguing is per Ernest Warburton's 48-volume 'The Collected Works of Johann Christian Bach' published by Garland from 1984 to 1999 [1, 2, 3].

Johann Christian Bach

 Amadis de Gaule

    1779   W G:39   Opera

    Solamente Naturali

    Musica Florea

    Didier Talpain

 Gloria in G major

     1759   W E:4

     Choeur de chambre de Namur

     L'ensemble Les Agrémens

      Wieland Kuijken

 Keyboard Concertos Op 7

     No 1-7   W C:55-60a

     Piano: Anthony Halstead

 Lucio Silla

     1776   W G:9   Opera

     Mozarteumorchester Salzburg

     Ivor Bolton

 Sextet in C major

    Pub 1783

    Fortepiano: Trevor Pinnock

    Oboe: David Reichenberg

    Horns: Anthony Halstead/David Cox

    Violin: Simon Standage

    Violoncello: Anthony Pleeth

 Vauxhall Songs

       W H:26   'Come Colin, pride of rural swains'

      W H:35   'Would you a female heart inspire'

     W H: 27    'Ah, why shou'd love with tyrant'

     Boyd Neel Orchestra

     Soprano: Elsie Morrison

 Vauxhall Songs

     W H:31   'Lovely yet ungrateful swain'

      W H: 36   'Cease a while ye winds to blow'

      Boyd Neel Orchestra

      Soprano: Elsie Morrison

 Zanaida

    1763   W G:5   Opera

    Opera Fuoco/David Stern



Birth of Classical Music: Johann Christian Bach

Johann Christian Bach   1776

Painting: Thomas Gainsborough

Source: Wikipedia
Birth of Classical Music: Johann Georg Albrechtsberger

Johann Albrechtsberger

Source: Raptus Association
Born on 3 Feb 1736 in Klosterneuburg, Austria, Johann Georg Albrechtsberger was taught music by Augustinians when he became a choir boy in Klosterneuburg at age seven. He there learned thoroughbass and organ, there apparently an organ built just for him per Aryeh Oron at Bach Cantatas [ref 3]. In 1749 Albrechtsberger shifted over to the Benedictines at Melk Abbey in Vienna where he prepared for study in philosophy in 1754. He began working as an organist in Raab in 1755 with a firm acquaintance of such as counterpoint. He shifted over to Maria Taferl in 1557, then returned to Melk Abbey before assuming a similar position at the court of Vienna in 1772. Two decades later he became Kapellmeister of St. Stephens Cathedral (1792). He died in Vienna on 7 March 1809, leaving a legacy of 300 keyboard works (organ intensive), 300 sacred works and about 240 others. Albrechtsburger might be better known, however, as a theorist and teacher with an impressive list of pupils including Beethoven. His 'Gründliche Anweisung zur Composition' had been published in 1790 [*], issued twice more in 1804 and 1821. In 1826 prior student, Ignaz von Seyfried, published 'J.G. Albrechtsberger's Collected Writings on Thoroughbass, Harmony & Composition', an altered and expanded version of Albrechtsberger's prior work [*] that got translated into English by Mary Novello before publishing by Vincent Novello in 1855. References: 1, 2, 3. Compositions: 1, 2, 3, 4. Scores. Editions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; 'Collected Writings on Thoroughbass, Harmony & Composition' (Novello 1855/1870) *. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Discos: 1, 2, 3. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Johann Albrechtsberger

  Divertimento 2 in C major

     1777   Flute: Pál Németh

  Keyboard Concerto in B flat major

     Amadeus Chamber Orchestra/Freddy Cadena

     Piano: A. Bachchiev

  Prelude and Fugue in C major

     Organ 4 hands: Fabio Ciofini & Jordi Vergés

  String Quartet in C major   Op 7:4

     Allegro moderato

     The Authentic String Quartet

  String Quartet C major   Op 20:5

     1798?



  Born in Prague on 9 March 1737 to an upper-class mill owner, Josef Mysliveček attended Charles-Ferdinand University. Returning to the trade of his father, Mysliveček became a master miller in 1761, only to quit that profession to study music, which he did with Josef Seger. Myslivecek is the first musician in these histories who didn't study music as a child, he twenty-four years old before taking up music. In 1763 he journeyed to Venice to study under Giovanni Pescetti. Myslivecek's first opera, 'Semiramide', was performed at the Teatro di Citadella in Bergamo in northern Italy in the summer of 1766 [*] w a libretto by Metastasio. That was a strong work, yet only the potential of Myslivecek's second opera, 'Il Bellerofonte' [*], that premiered on 20 January 1767 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples w a libretto by Giuseppe Bonecchi. Myslivecek's third opera was 'Farnace' w libretto by Antonio Maria Lucchini premiering on 4 November 1767 in Naples at the Teatro San Carlo [1, 2]. It was a libretto by Metastasio again for 'Il trionfo di Clelia' premiering at the Teatro Regio Turin on 26 December 1767 [1, 2] Myslivecek would set a total of sixteen of Metastasio's texts for opera during his career. It was an oratorio by Metastasio called 'La passione di nostro Signore Gesu Cristo' in 1773, which Antonio Caldera had first put to music in 1730 [1, 2]. Mysliveček never married, but he could count Mozart among his friends, they first meeting in 1770 in Bologna when Mozart was fourteen to remain in contact until 1778, about the time things began to turn sad for Myslivecek concurrent w becoming victim to tertiary syphilis, resulting in the disfigurement of his face, worsened by a doctor attempting to cure it. In as little time as it took to learn composing and produce his first successful opera in the early sixties Myslivecek went from "full of fire, spirit and life" as Mozart described him to spending the last few years of his life ill and not real popular for it while composing failures like 'Armida' [*] which kept him in poverty. That may or may not have premiered anonymously in Lucca as early as August of '78, but was certainly performed in Milan on 26 Dec of 1779. Mozart had nevertheless been drawn to the aria, 'Il caro mio bene', in Act III, Scene I, which Myslivecek had earlier written in 1773 or '74. Mozart rearranged it w a different text to his own purposes as 'Ridente la Calma' sometime between '73 and '75, catalogued as KV 152 (K⁶ 210a) [*]. Metastasio's sixteenth and last libretto put to music by Myslivecek was also his last opera, 'Antigono', premiering at the Teatro delle Dame in Rome on 5 April 1780 [*]. Metastasio's 'Antigono' had first been set to music in 1744 by Johann Adolph Hasse. It's not be confused with the earlier 'Antigona' by Mysliveček w libretto by Gaetano Roccaforte that premiered at the Teatro Regio in Turin on 26 December 1773 [*; audio]. Howsoever, Myslivecek's fall from charm and a highly promising career to cathedral gargoyle arrived rapidly, he dying not yet 44 years of age on 4 Feb 1781, likely of syphilis. Along w his oratorios and 26 opera serie Myslivecek had written concerti, sonatas and symphonies, joining such as Cristoph Gluck as one of the more important Czech composers of his period who, though spending nigh all of his career w a few brief exceptions in Italy, helped put the Bohemian region on the map during the classical era as "il Buomo" (the Bohemian). References: 1, 2. Compositions: 1, 2, 3, 4; operas: 1, 2. Scores: 1, 2. Editions: 1, 2, 3. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2; 'La passione di nostro Signore Gesu Cristo' (oratorio of 1773 w libretto by Metastasio) performed by the Chorus Musicus Kiln & Das Neue Orchester w Christoph Spering 1, 2. Further reading: Daniel J. Wakin. Biblio: 'Josef Myslivecek 'Il Boemo'' by Daniel Freeman (Harmonie Park Press 2009): review. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3.

Josef Mysliveček

  Abramo e Isacco

     1776   Oratorio

     Kühn Mixed Choir

     Sinfonietta Praha

     Ivan Parik

  Cello Concerto in C major

     Camerata Chicago/Drostan Hall

     Cello: Wendy Warner

  Il Bellerofonte

     1767   Opera

      Czech Philharmonic Chorus

      Prague Chamber Orchestra

        Zoltan Peskó

 Motezuma

     First performance 1771 Florence   Opera

     The Czech Ensemble Baroque

  La Passione di Nostro Signore Gesu Cristo

      1773   Oratorio

      Chorus Musicus Köln/Das Neue Orchester

       Christoph Spering

  Violin Concerto in A major

     <1772

      Dvořák Chamber Orchestra

      Libor Pešek

      Violin: Shizuka Ishikawa

  Violin Concerto in E major

      <1772

       Dvořák Chamber Orchestra

       Libor Pešek

      Violin: Shizuka Ishikawa

  Violin Concerto in F major

      <1772

      Dvořák Chamber Orchestra

      Libor Pešek

     Violin: Shizuka Ishikawa


 
Birth of Classical Music: Johann Michael Haydn

Johann Michael Haydn

Source: Weltbild
Born on 14 Sep of 1737 in Rohrau, Austria, Johann Michael Haydn was the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. His father was a wheelwright and village mayor. He also played harp. About 1745 Haydn became a singer at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. The greater majority of Haydn's compositions are difficult for scholars to date with precision, but his Missa, 'SS Trinitatis' MH 1, can be dated to as early as 1754 in Vienna. "MH 1" translates to the chronological catalogue of Sherman & Thomas (Pendragon Press 1993) of above eight hundred works. Though most dates in the Sherman & Thomas are estimated, it has been preferred since its publishing to the 'Perger-Verzeichnis' of 1907 which goes by type of work, then chronology, and found to have numerous errors. Comparatively, Perger 1 is 'Symphony No. 1C in E flat major' [*] which is MH 35 in Sherman & Thomas probably composed sometime between 1757-60 in Nagyvárad. Meanwhile 'Symphony No. 1 in C major' [1, 2] is Perger 35 and MH 23 likely written before 1761. It was 1757 when Haydn was appointed Kapellmeister to the court of the Bishop of Grosswardein in Nagyvárad. Situated from Austria across some 200 miles of present-day Hungary in Oradea, Romania, that makes Haydn the most eastern-bound composer in these histories thus far, nigh doing a loop from where these histories began in Constantinople 1200 years prior, then to Rome and Western Europe, now to weave back to the more eastern reaches of Western empire In 1763 Haydn became Kapellmeister to Archbishop Schrattenbach in Salzburg. He had by that time already completed 15 symphonies, 14 Masses, six divertimentos for three-string instruments as well as multiple wind partitas and concertos. Haydn also worked as an organist at the Dreifaltigkeitskirche (Church of the Holy Trinity) in Salzburg. Haydn remained in Salzburg the remainder of his career. Into the seventies came his 'Symphony No. 15 in D major' (Perger 41/MH 150) likely sometime after August 1771 [*]. Into the eighties Haydn set Luigi Gatti’s 'Missa Sancti Ruperti' into C major MH 322 in 1782 [*], also known by other titles including 'Jubiläumsmesse' [audio]. He spent the next twenty-four years composing prolifically until his death in Salzburg on 10 August 1806. Haydn had written more than 400 pieces of sacred music, including a good number of antiphons (a kind of responsorial by choir or congregation), canticles (diminutive to "songs" in Latin, being texts taken from Scripture other than David's 'Psalms'), graduals (antiphons sung between the Epistle and the Gospel in the Eucharistic service) and settings to Masses. In addition to symphonies, his secular instrumentals include a strong number of serenades. Haydn's many pieces for voice include 65 canons. (A canon is an instrumental or vocal work in which the same music is begun at different times. The nursery song, 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat', is an apt example.) References: Bach Cantatas; 'New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians' ed. by Stanley Sadie (MacMillan 2001); Wikisource; Wikipedia: 1, 2, 3. Compositions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (Catalan), 6 (Czech), 7 (Francais), 8 (Francais); symphonies: 1, 2 (Francais). Scores: 1, 2, 3, 4, choral works, 'Ein Lob- und Danklied' ('A Song of Praise and Thanks'). Autographs. Editions: 1, 2, 3. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4, concertos, Masses, symphonies. Discographies: 1, 2. Further reading: 'Michael Haydn’s Early Masses and Their Viennese Context' by Bruce C. MacIntyre. Biblio: 'Michael Haydn and 'The Haydn Tradition'' by Dwight Blazin. See also Wikimedia Commons. Other profiles: Czech; English: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; Deutsch: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; Francais; Italian; Japanese; Romanian; Russian; Slovak; Swedish.

Johann Michael Haydn

 Missa Sancti Gabrielis

     MH 17   C major

     Cantores Carmeli/Michael Stenov

  Missa Sancti Francisci Seraphici in C major

     MH 43

     Choir and Orchestra of St. Peter/Paul Rott am Inn

  Missa pro Defuncto Archiepiscopo Sigismundo

     1771   MH 155   Requium

     Ensemble Pygmalion/Raphaël Pichon

  Missa Tempore Quadragesimae in D minor

     MH 553   Credo

     Ex Tempore/Florian Heyerick

  Requiem in B-flat major

      1806   MH 838

      KammerChor Saarbrücken

      Kammerphilharmonie Mannheim

      Georg Grün

  Horn Concerto in D major

      MH 134

      Orchestre de Chambre National de Toulouse

      Alain Moglia

      Horn: André Cazalet

      Trombone: Michel Becquet

  Violin Concerto in B flat major

       MH 36

       Camerata Salzburg/Lukas Hagen

       Violin: Lukas Hagen

 


 
Birth of Classical Music: Leopold Hofmann

Leopold Hofmann
 
Source: Musicalics
Born in Austria to a ranking civil servant on 14 August 1738, Leopold Hofmann sang into nice digs at age seven, serving as a chorister to Holy Roman Empress Elisabeth Christine, his director and teacher František Tůma. He continued his studies in composition, harpsichord and violin under a couple more notable teachers until securing a position in 1758 at St. Michael's in Vienna as a musicus (professional composer or conductor). 1764 found him choral director at St. Peter's Church, then Kapellmeister in 1766. Three years later Hofmann was teaching music to the royal family. In 1772 he became Kapellmeister at St. Stephan's. In 1791 Mozart became an assistant to Hofmann, who was ill, thinking he might be required to assume Hofmann's position. But Mozart died (1791) before Hofmann did, the latter on 17 March 1793. The largest portion of Hofmann's oeuvre consists of concerti and symphonies. Despite his stature at the time scholars remain unable to date his works, most falling between the latter fifties and latter seventies. Hofmann's symphonies were catalogued by George Cook Kimball in 'The Symphonies of Leopold Hofmann (1738–1793)' (Columbia University 1985). His concertos were catalogued by Allan Badley in 'The concertos of Leopold Hofmann (1738–1793)' (University of Auckland 1986). His Op. 1, No. 1, however, is a sonata in A major for viola, violoncello and cello estimated about 1774 [1, 2]. Lending example of his works are his flute and cello concertos such as 'Flute Concerto in D major' (Badley D1), his best-known work was once thought to have been written by Franz Joseph Haydn [1, audio]. Badley D2 is his 'Cello Concerto in D major' probably composed sometime in the sixties. Badley D3 is another 'Cello Concerto in D major' [1, audio] perhaps written in the early seventies. Badley G1 is his 'Flute Concerto in G major' likely written about 1769 [*, audio: 1, 2]. References: 1, 2, 3, 4. Compositions: 1, 2, 3. Scores. Editions: 1, 2. Audio: 1, 2. Recordings of: discographies: 1, 2, 3; 'Flute Concertos Vol 1' w flute by Kazunori Seo w the Esterhazy Sinfonia & Bela Drahos; 'Flute Concertos Vol 2' w flute by Kazunori Seo w the Esterhazy Sinfonia & Bela Drahos; 'Flute Concertos · 3' w flute by Uwe Grodd w the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra & Pardubice Michael Halász. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4.
 
Leopold Hofmann

 Sinfonia in D major

    B D4   Flute: Maria Filippova

    Northern Chamber Orchestra

    Conducting: Nicholas Ward



 
  Baptized in Mannheim on 8 May 1745, Carl Stamitz was the eldest son of Johann Stamitz and elder brother to Anton Stamitz [Stamitz family of composers]. He also trained under Christian Cannabich. Early employed as a violinist by the court in Mannheim [of especial importance to the classical period: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5], he began traveling as a virtuoso in 1770, including Paris, London, Saint Petersburg, the Low Countries, Prague and about Germany. Settling in Jena in 1794, he died in poverty on 9 November 1801. Stamitz composed above 50 symphonies, more than 38 symphonie concertantes and at least 60 concertos. Otherwise lending example of his music is his 'Quartet in E flat Major' Op.8 No.4 for clarinet or oboe, violin, viola and cello published in 1773 [1, audio]. References: 1, 2, 3. Compositions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Scores: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Editions: 1, 2, 3. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Discos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.

Carl Stamitz

  6 Quartets  Op 19:5

     Etienne Boudreault   Ernst Kovacic

     Steven Dann   Anssi Karttunen

 Cello Concerto 1 in G major

      Prague Chamber Orchestra

      Cello: Christian Benda

 Cello Concerto 2 in A major

      Prague Chamber Orchestra

       Cello: Christian Benda

 Cello Concerto 3 in C major

      Prague Chamber Orchestra

      Cello: Christian Benda

 Flute Concerto in G major   Op 29

     Flute: Youth Music Monterey County

     Flute: Hayoung Youn

 Viola Concerto in D major   Op 1

     Qingdao Symphony Orchestra/Zhang Guoyong

     Viola: Máté Szücs

 


Birth of Classical Music: Carl Stamitz

Carl Stamitz

Source: Classical Connect
  Born on 26 June 1747 in Velvary, Bohemia (now Czech Republic), Jan Antonín Koželuh changed his name circa 1774 to Leopold Koželuch to avoid confusion with his cousin, another composer older by about a decade. The Bohemian region nestled largely between Austria, Germany and Poland, and was a Prussian war zone under Frederick II (the Great) who had begun his reign in 1740. Commencing that struggle were the first two Silesian Wars of 1740-45 along w the War of Austrian Succession in 1740-48 and the Seven Years War between 1756 and 1763. Frederick II was himself a musician whose court was held in Prague about 230 miles east as the bird flies from Mannheim in the German region, a key location in the development of classical music [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Mannheim was a property of Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine, until 1742, then Charles Theodore who later became Elector of Bavaria, briefly before dying, in 1777 to be succeeded by Maximilian I Joseph. Also continuing in juxtaposition was Lutheranism in Germanic Europe versus the Catholicism of the Holy Roman Empire. In addition, Freemasonry [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], originating in the 15th century in England, had by the classical period become of persuasion in political matters. Both Koželuch and Frederick II, the latter allied w the British, were Freemasons. Such the immediate theater into which Koželuch had been born, no German Elector Palatine especially fond of Frederick II, albeit Koželuch studied music in Prague in the early seventies with František Dušek. His first work was a ballet for the National Theater in Prague in 1771 for which he composed for the next twenty-five seasons. In 1778 Koželuch journeyed to Austria where he studied under Johann Albrechtsberger. Koželuch established a publishing house in 1784. He became a Freemason in 1791. In 1792 he not only became court composer and Royal Orchestra Master to Austrian Holy Roman Emperor Franz II upon the death of Mozart, but was paid twice Mozart's salary. He there remained until his own passing on 7 May 1818. He did little composing upon the calendar shifting into the 19th century, focusing on such as tutoring and arranging Scottish folk songs. Koželuch was better known as a piano virtuoso during his time than as a composer since then. Though published and popular throughout Europe, fellow composers such as Mozart and Beethoven were critical. Koželuch's legacy consists of about 400 works including some thirty symphonies, 22 piano concertos and 63 piano trios. His Op, 1 was 3 sonatas published in 1780 [1, audio]. References: 1, 2, 3. Compositions: 1, 2, 3. Manuscripts and scores: 1, 2. Editions: 1, 2. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4; symphonies. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; 'Complete Keyboard Sonatas' w fortepiano by Kemp English: Vol 1; Vol 2: *, audio; Vol 3: *, audio; Vol 4: *, audio; Vol 5: *, audio; Vol 6: *, audio; Vol 7: 1, 2, audio; Vol 8: *, audio; Vol 9; Vol 10; Vol 11; Vol 12; 'Symphonies · 1' by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice w Marek Štilec; 'Symphonies · 3' by the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice w Marek Štilec. Other profiles: 1, 2, 3, 4. P numbers below are per Milan Poštolka in 'Leopold Koželuh: život a dílo', 1964 [*]. The catalogue begins w P 1:1, a symphony in D major called 'L'Arlechino'. HMR Project.

Leopold Koželuch

  Keyboard Concerto in F major

     P 4:1   Op 12

     Slovak Sinfonietta Žilina

     Oliver von Dohnány

    Piano: Tomas Dratva

  Keyboard Sonata in F minor

     P 12:37   Op 38:3   I: Allegro agitato

     Piano: Anna Petrova-Forster

  Keyboard Sonata in F minor

     P 12:37   Op 38:3   I: Largo

     Piano: Anna Petrova-Forster

  Keyboard Sonata in F minor

      P 12:37   Op 38:3   II: Allegretto

      Piano: Anna Petrova-Forster

  Moisè in Egitto

      P 16:1   Oratorio

      Rheinische Kantorei

      Das Kleine Konzert

     Hermann Max

  Sinfonia concertante in E flat major

      P 2:1

      Academy of St. Martin in the Fields

     Consortium Classicum

     Iona Brown

  Symphony in C major

    P 1:6   Op 24:1

    Concerto Köln/Werner Ehrhardt


Birth of Classical Music: Leopold Kozeluch

Leopold Kozeluch

Engraving: W. Ridley

Source:  My Art Prints
Birth of Classical Music: Leopold Kozeluch

Antonio Salieri

Source: Bio
Born on 18 August 1750 in the Republic of Venice, Antonio Salieri was a major classical composer in the big leagues w such as Mozart. His main claim to fame was Italian opera for three languages and a nova-like culmination of classical opera before the Romantic to come. Salieri was orphaned in 1763/64, upon which he was taken in by a monk in Padua, then in Venice by one Giovanni Mocenigo, a connected nobleman. Receiving instruction from Giovanni Pescetti, then a lesser-known opera singer, he was taken to Vienna for tutoring in 1766 by composer, Florian Leopold Gassmann. Among his concluding studies w Gassmann was his unpublished opera, 'La Vestale', of 1768 w libretto by an unknown. As Gassman was in the employ of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, Salieri also also associated w as Christoph Willibald Gluck and Metastasio at that court. From the latter he received instruction such that in 1770 he produced his first opera, a buffa titled 'Le donne letterate' [*] w libretto by Boccherini after Molière's 'Les Femmes Savantes'. In latter 1776 Salieri premiered his oratorio, 'La passione di Gesù Cristo', w a libretto authored by Metastasio back in 1730 [1, 2, 3, audio]. In 1778 Salieri left Austria for Italy, writing his 'Picciola Serenata' in B-flat major about that time [1, 2, 3]. He opened 'Europa Riconosciuta' in Milan [*, audio] on 3 August of '78. Salieri staged other operas in Venice and Rome before returning to Vienna to premiere 'Der Rauchfangkehrer' ('The Chimney Sweep' *) at the Burgtheatre on 30 April of 1781. He then rattled his wheels to Munich where he staged his only opera w a libretto by Metastasio, 'Semiramide riconosciuta' [*], on 14 January of 1782. Composed 53 years earlier, that had been set to music numerous times beginning w Leonardo Vinci back on 6 Feb 1729. A short while after Salieri's production Metastasio died in April of '82 in Vienna. In 1783 or '84 Salieri went Paris to work with Christoph Gluck, resulting in the performance of 'Les Danaïdes' on 26 April 1784 by the Paris Opera (founded 1669) [1, 2, 3; audio; reviews: 1, 2]. Gluck had largely begun 'Les Danaïdes' before hiring Salieri to finish it, crediting Salieri w the whole thing. Back in Vienna for a few more operas, sometime in 1785 Salieri collaborated w Mozart and an unknown Cornetti toward 'Per la ricuperata salute di Ofelia', a cantata with libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte [1, 2, 3]. Salieri headed back to France to premiere 'Les Horaces' at either Fontainebleau on 2 Nov 1786 or Versailles on 2 Dec 1786. Albeit that performance by the Paris Opera flopped, 'Les Horaces' is recognized as an impressive work [1, 2; audio; reviews: 1, 2, 3]. Come 'Tartara' performed by the Paris Opera on 8 June of 1787 [1, 2], that a huge success due to the libretto by Pierre Beaumarchais in tune w the zeitgeist of the period just prior to the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 with monarchs and priests losing popularity contests. Returning to Vienna in 1788, Salieri's protector, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, died in 1790. Salieri's position to the court as director of Italian opera was then retired in 1792, though he continued to work on commission. As the calendar flipped into the 19th century Salieri's works began losing audience. His last opera, a singspiel titled 'Die Neger' [The Negroes': 1, 2], was performed in 1804, written by Georg Treitschke with drama set in Virginia (U.S.). As that was a failure like 'Annibale in Capua' [1, 2] before it in 1801 (w Hannibal performed by a castrato), Salieri withdrew from theatrical composing to teach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Liszt and Franz Schubert among his pupils. By that time theatrical music was undergoing the shift toward the Romantic period, a transition Salieri didn't wish to pursue. The master had reached his limit w theatre, then pulled out before overmuch damage by recent failures. Changing his approach to cantatas, oratorios and songs, he completed his final work in 1815: '26 Variations on 'La follia di Spagna'' [ 1, 2]. Salieri's last years had been something more depressing than they should have been, the rumor afire that he had poisoned Mozart to death in 1791 [1, 2, 3, 4 (Ian Kyer), 5, 6]. Albeit Mozart and Salieri had definitely been professional rivals, an overall personal enmity between them, if any really, seems likely exaggerated by national prejudices (Austrian v Italian) and storytelling. A fall in 1823 left Salieri with dementia until his death on 7 May 1825 [*]. He had completed thirty-seven staged operas amidst his greater oeuvre. References: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (extensive). Compositions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; operas: 1, 2, 3. Manuscripts & scores: 1, 2, 3; choral works. Editions: 1, 2. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; operas. Recordings of: discos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; 'Europa Riconosciuta' directed by Luca Ronconi *; 'Overtures' by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra w Michael Dittrich: audio, review; 'La Passione di Gesù Cristo' by the Chorus Musicus Köln & Das Neue Orchester w Christoph Spering *. Further reading: Francesco Blanchetti, Michael Lorenz, Harold Schonberg, David Wright. See also: National Arts Center Podcast interview w Ian Kyer: 1, 2. Biblio: 'Antonio Salieri and Viennese Opera' by John A. Rice (U of Chicago Press 1998) *; 'Dwight's Journal of Music' Vol 24 No 6 June 1864 *. Other profiles: books: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; internet: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

Antonio Salieri

 26 Variations on La Folia de Spagna

    1815

     London Mozart Players

     Matthias Bamert

  Mass in D major

      Also 'Hofkapellmeistermesse' or 'Kaisermesse'

      1788   'Emperor'

     St. Florianer Sängerknaben

      Leondinger Symphonieorchester

     Uwe Christian Harrer

  La grotta di Trofonio   [Part 1]

      First performed 1785 Vienna   Opera

      Choeur de l'Opéra de Lausanne

      Les Talens Lyriques

      Christophe Rousset

  La grotta di Trofonio   [Part 2]

      First performed 1785 Vienna   Opera

      Choeur de l'Opéra de Lausanne

      Les Talens Lyriques

      Christophe Rousset

  Prima la musica e poi le parole

     First performed 1786 Vienna   Opera

     Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam

     Nikolaus Harnoncourt   Incomplete

 Tarare

     First performed 1787 Paris   Opera

     Deutsche Handel Solisten

     Jean-Claude Malgoire

  Requiem in C minor

     1804

     Coro Gulbenkian

     Orquestra Gulbenkian

    Lawrence Foster


 
  Mandolinist and keyboard player, Jan Křtitel Kuchař (Johann Baptist Kuchařz), was born on 5 March 1751 in the Czech region of Hradec Králové (now Czech Republic, its northern border Poland). Kuchar was a Jesuit seminarian who then studied under Josef Seger in Prague before becoming an organist at the Church of St. Jindrich. He also began teaching. Meeting Mozart in 1787, the pair were on friendly terms. Kuchar became a Freemason about that time. Up to this era music in Europe has witnessed the schism between the sacred and secular as well as the Catholic and Protestant. Schools and academies have long since arrived. Now enter another brand of institutional influence in society and music, that Freemasonry. Freemasonry [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], originating in the 15th century in England, began to notably appear in association with music during the classical period, especially in the Czech vicinity of Europe allied w England [see Frederick II, Leopold Koželuch]. As for Kuchař, in 1790 he traded his position in Prague for a monastery in Strahov. The next year he began conducting in Prague, from which he resigned in 1800. He died in Prague on 18 Feb 1829. Though not a major composer and become obscure since his times, Kuchar was nevertheless notable among his contemporaries. References: 1, 2, 3. Compositions: 1, 2, 3, 4. Editions. Audio: 1, 2, 3. Recordings of: 1, 2, 3. HMR Project. There is no known directory of the body of Kuchar's works and they cannot be dated.

Jan Krtitel Kuchar

 Fantasie in E minor

     Organ: Jaroslav Tuma

 Fantasie in G minor

     Organ: Ondřej Mucha

 Pastorale in D major

     Organ: Jan Hora

 Pastorale in G major

      Organ: Jaroslav Tuma

 

 

 
Birth of Classical Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Source: Band of Artists
Born 0n 27 Jan 1756 in Salzburg, Austria, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had some kind of antennae to some kind of extraintelligence that brought him to personification of the classical period as indisputable crown of European music over the centuries up to his time. Mozart wrote his first compositions at age five. His first surviving piece was once believed to have been 'Minuet in G' for keyboard' K 1 [1, 2, audio] also listed as K 1 and K 1e ("KV" for the 'Köchel Verzeichnis' is sometimes used rather than K). That was part of a set of three other minuets and an allegro written in Salzburg in '61-'62 at age five to perhaps six. Other pieces were discovered in 1954 which scholars now place as his first at age five, specifically 'Andante in C' K 1a in a folio called 'Stucke aud dem Nannerl-Notenbuch' [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, audio]. There are eight K catalogues, the first published in 1862 by Ludwig von Köchel [*; catalogue]. A second edition addressed errors in the first until Albert Einstein (physicist) wrote his directory, K3, in 1936. K4 and K5 are reprints of that. The latest directory, K6, was published in 1964 by Franz Giegling, Alexander Weinmann and Gerd Siever. K7 and K8 are reprints of that. See also the Köchel catalogue: English (alt), Czech, Italiano. Mozart catalogued his own works as well, beginning on 9 February 1784 with 'Piano Concerto in E-flat No. 14' [K 449: 1, 2, 3 (alt), 4, 5, audio]. See the ‘Verzeichnüss aller meiner Werke' 1, 2; autograph: 1, 2, 3. Mozart's father, Leopold Mozart [1, 2, 3, 4], was a violinist who had published a violin textbook. Wolfgang received instruction from his father along w his sister, Nannerl, four years older than he and also a skilled harpsichordist [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. In 1762 Mozart's father began taking his children on tour for the next three years, visiting Munich, Vienna, Prague, Paris, Zurich and London. Mozart wrote his first symphony at age eight in 1764: 'Symphony 1 in E flat major' [1, 2, 3, 4; audio: BBC, Hyperion]. His first operatic work was a singspiel, K 35: Part 1 of 'Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots' w Part 2 composed by Johann Michael Haydn and Part 3 by Anton Adlgasser [1, 2, audio]. With libretto by Ignaz von Weiser, that premiered on 12 March 1767 at the palace for archbishops, Salzburg Residenz. In 1769 Leopold (Mozart's father) began touring Italy with Mozart alone, Rome and Milan in particular, leaving Nannerl and his wife at home in Salzburg. They were on such less-than-convenient journeys by carriage that Mozart at least sketched many of his compositions. In 1773 Mozart was hired as court musician to Count Hieronymus von Colloredo in Salzburg. Unfortunately he was paid only 150 florins a year, a very good wage for someone 17 years old but far short of the average of about 300 florins for the standard composer. Thus Leopold and Wolfgang began traveling again, searching for a benefactor in Vienna, Munich, Augsburg, Mannheim, Paris, and Strasbourg, meanwhile resigning from the court of the Count in 1777, only to return in 1779, though to the comfortable salary of 450 florins now, with the Count an Archbishop by then. It was '79 when Mozart composed his Mass Ordinarium [1, 2], 'Coronation Mass' No. 15 in C major, K 317 [1, 2, 3, audio]. That is also seen as No. 16 [audio: 1, 2, 3]. In early 1781 Mozart was summoned to Vienna by the Archbishop Colloredo, but there was the schism of social class between them, and Mozart's was an independent attitude wont to doing things like approaching a Russian ambassador, without permission, to start a conversation. As musicians were to be heard, not seen, Mozart's final request to resign from the Court was answered with a literal boot to the glutei maximi in May of '81 [*]. Worse, Mozart's father had wished conciliation. Howsoever, the occasion marks the times: once opera had come on the scene (Jacopo Peri in 1597) musicians had begun to less depend on nobility and more on tickets sold. Nobility in Europe had been gradually descending in financial capacity for more than a century as free enterprise had begun to develop another class system. There'd been a War of Revolution from monarchy in the United States and another one was in the air in France. Albeit commercial enterprise was giving European nobility a run for the money, the class system remained: Not that he ever did, but for Mozart to be just the improper sort to address Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II as "Hey, Joe!" might not have worked to his favor. Mozart nevertheless prospered in Vienna with his new wife as of 1782, first presenting concertos, then operas. He did so well that he rented an extremely expensive apartment costing more than 38 florins per month (nigh $8000 today). He spent 900 florins on a piano, another 300 on a billiard table and kept servants. In 1784 Mozart met his greatest influence and perhaps best friend, Joseph Haydn. He also became a Freemason [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] in December 1784, his father the next year. Mozart is thought to have composed in association w Freemasonry as early as 1772 per 'Lobegesang auf die feierliche Johannisloge' [1, 2, 3]. Mozart wrote numerously for the Freemasons to the year of his death [*]. Mozart's counterpart in supraclassical composition, Beethoven, had been in Vienna concurrently with Mozart in early 1787. Though hoping to study with him, there is no record of their having ever met [*]. Mozart's father, however, died on 28 May of '87. It was 29 October 1787 when Mozart premiered the opera, 'Don Giovanni' ('Don Juan'), at the Estates Theatre in Prague [1, 2, 3; audio: 1, 2]. In December of 1787 Mozart accepted a position with Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (above). At only 800 florins a year it was part-time. Unable to either afford or give up his velvet lifestyle, Mozart began taking out loans about the time he wrote his last symphony in 1788, that 'Jupiter' or 'Symphony No. 41 in C major' K 551 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, audio]. That was the year the Austro-Turkish War began in alliance w Russia. Mozart's last piano concerto appeared the year that war ceased, 'Piano Concerto No. 27 in B-flat major' K 595, that in January 1791 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5; audio: 1, 2, 3]. His last opera, 'Die Zauberflöte' ('The Magic Flute') K 620, had premiered in Vienna on 30 September that year, a singspiel w libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, audio]. Swedish director, Ingmar Bergman, released a film interpretation in 1975 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] which Mozart may well have embraced; one wonders what sort of modern film scores Mozart might have composed. Mozart finished his Freemason cantata, 'Eine kleine Freimaurer' K 623, in November of '91 [1, 2, 3, 4; audio 1, 2]. Just as Mozart was able to begin paying his debts he fell ill and died on 5 December of 1791 [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]. That left his 'Requiem in D minor' K 626 unfinished [1, 2, 3, 4, 5; audio; see also Requiem Mass]. It isn't known of what Mozart so suddenly died. "Poison!" was a rumor that developed over the years, to the slandering of Antonio Salieri as his murderer [1, 2, 3, 4 (Ian Kyer), 5, 6]. As Mozart was in debt when he died he was buried in a common grave. Salieri had indeed been a difficult rival to Mozart in Vienna, but he was among the five musicians who attended his funeral. Howsoever, at only age thirty-five Mozart had composed more 626 works, not a few seminal and most easy to wish to hear countless times for two centuries now. One manner in which Mozart influenced posterity was his impressionable influence on Beethoven fifteen years younger. Mozart focused on concertos and symphonies for piano and violin among other works like serenades, divertimenti, marches and dances like the allemande, contredanse and minuet. A good number of masses and sonatas showed up in the sacred music he composed. Along with 23 operas he wrote a prolific number of works for voice. In the midst of the rest, Mozart composed the lyrics and music to several of what are referred to as scatological canons, bringing the cosmos to both the pinnacle and posterior of the classical period on Earth, leaving some to speculate whether such were or were not a class act. One such piece was 'Difficile lectu mihi Mars' in 1786-87 which via mixed Latin is translatable to 'It's difficult to lick my arse and balls' [1, 2; autograph; audio: 1, 2, 3]. Relevant or not, in the case of 'Leck mich im Arsch', thought to have been written earlier in 1782 [1, 2; audio], one recalls Colloredo who had Mozart literally booted from service to his Court the year before. References: Bach Cantatas; Naxos; Wikipedia: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7; chronology; and dance; and father: 1, 2, 3; nationality; progeny; and scatology. Compositions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8; arrangements of JS Bach; categorical: cantatas; chamber: duets, piano, quartets, strings; concerts for fortepiano: 1, 2, 3; concertos: fortepiano, horn, violin, woodwind; dances; divertimenti; Freemasonry: 1, 2, 3; marches; operas: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; organ; piano: 1, 2, 3; sacred: 1, 2, 3; serenades; songs: 1, 2; texts; symphonies: 1, 2; international: Czech, Dutch, Swedish. Catalogues: cross-referencing: K1 & K6: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; K1, K3 & K6. Manuscripts & scores: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Editions: Deutsch; English; French; 'Alte Mozart-Ausgabe' (Breitkopf & Härtel 1877-83 - first complete edition of Mozart); 'Chronologisch-thematisches Verzeichniss' (Kochel 1862): 1, 2; 'Neue Mozart-Ausgabe' (Bärenreiter-Verlag 1955-91). Sheet music: 1, 2; Masses; pdf files. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (w bio), 7, 8, 9, 10; K6;    xxxxxxx    biographies: Colorado Public Radio: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; 'Mozart: The Man and the Artist as Revealed in His Own Words' by Kerst & Krehbiel: *. Recordings of: discographies: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; complete editions: 1, 2; 'W.A. Mozart 225': 1, 2; cylinder; 'Mozart Violin Sonatas Nos. 29 and 30' w Takako Nishizaki (violin) and Benjamin Loeb (piano): audio; review. Usage in modern film: Deutsch; English. Further reading: analysis at Clariperu; and JS Bach: 1, 2; Classic fM; correspondence: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5; financial: 1, 2; Mozart; Mozart: The Man and the Artist as Revealed in His Own Words' by Kerst & Krehbiel: *; Musicolog; and Paris; Ida Postma; Ailsa Ross; and religion; 'Requiem'. Biblio: 1, 2; 3; 4, 5, 6; 'The Music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Symphonies' by Robert Dearling (Fairleigh Dickinson U Press 1982) *; 'Ornamentation and Improvisation in Mozart' by Frederick Neumann (Princeton U Press 2019) *; 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart' by PediaPress *; 'The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven' by Charles Rosen (1997) *; 'Mozart: The Masterworks' by Peter Russell (Delphi Classics 2017) *; Russian. Biographies: Deutsch; English: 'W.A. Mozart' by Hermann Abert (Yale U Press 2007) *; 'Mozart: A Documentary Biography' by Otto Erich Deutsch (Stanford U Press 1966) *; 'Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Biography' by Piero Melograni (U of Chicago Press 2007) *; Italiano. Other profiles: Czech; Deutsch: 1, 2, 3; Dutch; English; Francais; Italian: Trecanni: 1, 2; Russian (extensive); Spanish; Swedish. See also: Associazione Mozart Italia; Deutsche Mozart-Gesellschaf; Open mlol; Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

  Canon in B flat major

     'Leck mich im Arsch'

     ('Lick Me in the Arse')

     1782   K 231

     Scatological canon

     Chamber Choir of Europe

     Nicol Matt

      Lyrics

 Canon in B flat major

    'Leck mir den Arsch'

    ('Lick My Arse')

     1782   K 233

     Scatological canon

     Chamber Choir of Europe/Nicol Matt

      Lyrics

 Canon in F major

     'Difficile lectu'

     ('Hard to Read')

     1786-87   K 559

     Scatological canon

 Divertimento in D major

     1779–80   K 334

     L'Archibudelli

 Minuet in G major

    1761–62   K 1

 Piano Concerto 11 in F major

     1782-83   K 413

     Israel Chamber Orchestra

     Yoav Talmi

     Piano: Yael Koldobsky

 Piano Concerto 13 in C major

    1783   K 415

     English Chamber Orchestra

     Jeffrey Tate

     Piano: Mitsuko Uchida

  Piano Concerto 27 in B-flat major

    1791   K 595   Last concerto

    Chamber Orchestra of Europe

     Piano: Murray Perahia

  Piano Sonata 7 in C Major

    1777   K 309

    Piano: Alexander Yakovlev

  Piano Sonata 11 in A major

    1783?   K 331   'Alla Turca'

     Piano: Lars Roos

  Requiem Mass in D minor

    1791   K 626

    Choeur de Radio France

    Orchestre National de France

    James Gaffigan

  Serenade in B flat major

    1783-84   K 361

    Orchestra of St. Luke's

    Sir Charles Mackerras

  String Quartet 16 in E flat major

     1783   K 428

     The Mosaïques Quartet

  String Quartet 17 in B-flat major

    'The Hunt'

    1784   K 458

    Kuss Quartet

  Symphony 1 in E flat major

    1764   K 16   First symphony

  Symphony 41 in C major

    1788   K 551   Last Symphony

    London Firebird Orchestra

    Achim Holub

  Violin Concerto 2 in D major

    1775   K 211

    Eduard Serov

 Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

    1791   K 620   Last opera

    Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie

    Musical director: Gabriel Hollander



 
  Born on 9 Feb of 1756 in Cítoliby, now in the Czech Republic, Karel Blažej Kopřiva was the son of composer, Vaclav Jan Kopriva [1, 2, 3]. He studied under Josef Seger in Prague, then became an organist at St. Jacob's Church in Cítoliby. One example of his composing is '2 Fugues' published posthumously possibly as early as 1841 though gleaned from a 1900 edition by Meudon: Alexandre Guilmant at IMSLP and Internet Archive [1, 2]. Kopřiva died on 15 May 1785. Not having reached the age of thirty, his potential had barely been realized. References: 1, 2, 3. Compositions: 1, 2, 3. Editions at Worldcat. Audio: 1, 2, 3, 4. Discography at Discogs. See also the Karel Blažej Kopřiva Foundation.

Karel Blažej Kopriva

  Fugue in D

      Organ: Milan Šlechta

 Fugue in A flat major

      Organ: Milan Šlechta

  Organ Concerto in D

      Prague Chamber Orchestra

      František Vajnar

      Harpsichord: František Xaver Thuri

      Organ: Milan Šlechta

 


 
 

This section of the history of classical music suspends with Karl Kopriva.

 

 

 

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