Romberg: Flute Quintets Op. 41, Nos. 1- 3

Description

Andreas Jakob Romberg(1767-1821)Flute Quintets, Op. 41Andreas Jakob Romberg was born at Vechta in 1767, a member of a largefamily of musicians from nearby M??nster. He studied with his father, theviolinist Gerhard Heinrich Romberg, and as a child, together with his cousin,the cellist and composer Bernhard Heinrich Romberg, accompanied their fatherson concert tours in Germany and France. In 1790, again with his cousin, hejoined the orchestra of the Archbishop-Elector in Bonn, where they were colleaguesof the young Beethoven. When the French army crossed the Rhine in 1793, theyescaped to Hamburg, where they joined the opera orchestra of the AckermannTheatre. By then Andreas Jakob had already won a reputation as a composer and,above all, as a violinist.In 1795 the Rombergs embarked on an extended concert tour of Italy,returning, in 1796, to Vienna, as Italy was threatened by the French. In Viennathey met Beethoven again and he, after some apparent difference, collaboratedwith them in a concert, while Bernard Heinrich joined with Beethoven in thefirst performance in Vienna of the latter's Opus 5 Cello Sonatas. Haydnshowed considerable interest in Andreas Jakob's music, in particular his stringquartets that seemed in many ways a reflection of Haydn' s own style. On oneoccasion Haydn is reported to have helped distribute the parts for aperformance of a new string quartet which he allowed the audience to think washis, eventually, after due praise, revealing Andreas Jakob as the composer. Thelatter dedicated three string quartets to Haydn. The cultural bond with Viennawas crucial for Romberg's development as a composer and brought associationwith musicians of importance.The Rombergs returned to Hamburg at the beginning of the new century andin 1801 visited Paris again. There the opera Don Mendoza, acollaboration between the cousins, failed and Andreas Jakob now returned toHamburg, while Bernhard Heinrich set out on a concert tour of Spain, beforejoining the staff of the Paris Conservatoire. In the following year he moved toBerlin, before resuming his career as a virtuoso. Andreas Jakob remained inHamburg during the difficult years of the French occupation of the city,eventually moving to Gotha, where he succeeded Louis Spohr as Hofkapellmeister.Suffering from ill health and later poverty, he died in Gotha in 1821.Romberg was prolific enough as a composer. In addition to eight operasand ten symphonies, he wrote dozens of chamber pieces, characteristic of acombination of early romantic and late classical style. In many ways he may beconsidered representative of the virtuoso style of his day, with lyricalmelodies, reflections of Sturm und Drang, the 'storm and stress' elementin music of the later eighteenth century, showing the influence of his greatcontemporaries.Outstanding among Romberg's eight quintets is Opus 41, a set of threebrilliantly elaborated and expressively condensed four-movement compositions, areminder of Romberg's contemporary reputation as