Carl Stamitz (1745-1801)

Duo in F major, for Viola and ‘Cello

Allegro moderato
Andante grazioso
Allegretto con variazione

Carl Stamitz came from a distinguished musical family of Bohemian origin; his father Johann was equally celebrated as a composer in his time and his work at the court of Mannheim was a major influence in the development of the Symphony and the modern orchestra. Carl’s career was less successful; he was unable to secure a stable court post for himself and made a living principally as a virtuoso of the violin, viola and viola d’amore. In this capacity he traveled across Europe from London to Vienna, in November 1783 appearing in a concert in The Hague with the child prodigy Ludwig van Beethoven, for which he received a substantially lower fee than the 12-year old. His compositions were well regarded by contemporaries, his slow movements in particular being admired for their lyricism and expressiveness, and he initiated the late-18thCentury craze for the Sinfonia Concertante. However, musical fashion moved on and Stamitz was obliged to chase ever diminishing markets for his music, sending his compositions to publishers as far afield as Wales and Russia. This proved inadequate to support his family and he turned in desperation to alchemy before dying in poverty.

Understandably, the majority of Stamitz’ work is chamber music, the most marketable form in the second half of the 18th Century for a composer without a court orchestra at his disposal and a regular flow of princely commissions for it. He wrote over 90 duos alone, for string instruments, and sold them to publishers across Europe. The Duo in F comes from a set of 3 published by William Forster of London, and is believed to date from around 1779-80. It shows many of Stamitz’ most characteristic musical traits – the assured and idiomatic writing for the viola, his trademark lyrical, minor-key slow movement, and a decorative finale based on a jaunty theme which gives just a hint at his Bohemian ancestry.

R.G. Bratby 2000


Copyright Classical Notes.co.uk 2000
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