Vanhal: Symphonies, Vol. 3

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Cat No: 8557483

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Release Date: 01 February 2005

Label: Naxos / Naxos Classics

Packaging Type: Jewel Case

No of Units: 1

Barcode: 747313248322

Genres: Classical

Composer/Series: VANHAL

Description
Johann Baptist Vaňhal (1739-1813)Symphonies, Vol. 3Johann Baptist Vaňhal was one of the most popularViennese composers during his lifetime. History,however, has been unkind to his reputation, the result ofirresponsible statements that were made by imaginativeauthors who were neither acquainted with himpersonally nor his circumstances. Wild claims havebeen made that early in his career he was so overcomeby madness caused by religious fervour that he burnedsome of his music and thereafter the quality ofcompositions deteriorated so much that he neverrealised the promise of his early works. The absurdity ofthis assertion is at once apparent from the works on thisrecording which includes a brilliant minor-keysymphony dating from the early 1760s and the masterlyA flat symphony composed a decade later. His immensevitality and inventiveness are evident in both andillustrate why Vaňhal was considered such an importantexponent of the genre.The Symphony in D major, (Bryan D2), is one ofVaňhal's earliest symphonies and was probablycomposed during the years 1763-1765. Judging fromthe number of references to the work in contemporarythematic catalogues and the thirteen reliable manuscriptsources that survive it must have been unusuallypopular. It was probably well-known in London since itwas published there as Periodical Overture No. 53 byBremner. As is so often the case with Vaň hal'ssymphonies it is impossible to establish for whom thework was composed. Its bright key and fullorchestration with two dialoguing wind-choirs suggeststhat it was created for a patron who wanted the dynamicand brilliant effect typically produced by the inclusionof trumpets and timpani. It is one of Vaňhal's earliestsymphonies and in the first movement especially onecan distinguish between his Baroque heritage, manifestin the movement's forward-driving momentum andemployment of short melodic units punctuated byfrequent dynamic shifts, and his new-found interest inlonger melodic lines, which would become one of thehallmarks of the mature classical style. The surpriseintrusion of a new theme in the central section of themovement is well-judged and shows a composer whoeven at this relatively early stage of his career is notcontent slavishly to follow established conventions butrather explore and develop new solutions to theproblems of form. The other movements are also veryattractive and worthy of close examination both onaccount of their musical qualities and the manner oftheir construction. The derivation of each from themotifs which open them and the remarkable irregularitycreated by the use of asymmetrical phrases, such as inthe Menuetto, are highly effective and lend the music apeculiar lilting grace which is so much part of theeighteenth-century Viennese tradition. The rapidlymovingperpetual-motion finale with its scurrying stringwriting and braying trumpets brings the work to arousing brilliant D major conclusion.The Symphony in C minor (Bryan c2) is
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