Ignaz Joseph Pleyel: Symphony 모음

 

Ignace (Ignaz) Joseph Pleyel

18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831)

was an Austrian-born French composer and piano builder of the Classical period.

 

Symphony in D major, Ben. 133

Remembered mostly as Haydn's rival during his London journey of 1792, Ignaz Josef Pleyel was the 24th child (out of 38!) of an impoverished schoolteacher. He was admitted to the class of the composer Vanhal and came to the attention of a Hungarian nobleman who paid Pleyel's way to study and live with Franz Joseph Haydn at Eisenstadt. Pleyel made rapid progress, and he reported that he and Haydn enjoyed a close, friendly relationship.

During the French Revolution, Pleyel moved to London, where he was invited to conduct the Professional Concerts from 1791 to 1792. This was the period when Haydn was also giving concerts in London, but the two composers personally ignored the rival publicity that their respective impresarios generated. As it turned out, there was room for both; while Haydn's concerts were better attended and got more attention, Pleyel's concerts were successes.

 

Symphony in C-major, Op.66 (1803)  

Work: Symphony in C-major, Op.66 (1803, published by André of Offenbach in 1829)

scored for strings, single flute, 2 oboes, bassoons, horns, trumpets and timpani.

Mov.I: Adagio -- Allegro 00:00
Mov.II: Adagio 10:19
Mov.III: Menuetto e Trio. Allegretto 14:43
Mov.IV: Tempo giusto 18:12

Orchestra: London Mozart Players
Conductor: Matthias Bambert

 

Symphony in C minor, B.121

Cappella Istropolitana, Uwe Grodd (conductor)

Recorded at Moyzes Hall of the Slovak Philharmonic, Bratislava, Slovakia, from 1st-4th June 1999.

I. Adagio - Allegro molto – 00:00​ II. Adagio – 10:20​ III. Minuetto – Trio – 15:33​ IV. Finale: Presto –19:42

 

Symphony in F minor, Ben.138 Capella Istropolitana, Uwe Grodd (conductor)

I. Allegro con spirito – 00:00​ II. Andante grazioso – 07:56​ III. Minuetto: Allegretto – 16:20​ IV. Finale: Rondo – 19:10

 

In the early years of the nineteenth century Pleyel was the most popular composer in Europe. He was also a leading music publisher, and from 1807 his firm in Paris began manufacturing instruments. This part of the business and the Salle Pleyel, the concert hall, founded in 1830, survive to this day. “From the ages of fifteen to twenty Pleyel lodged in Eisenstadt with Haydn, as his pupil. During his time with Haydn, Pleyel's marionette opera Die Fee Urgele received its premiere at Eszterhaza (November 1776) and it was also performed at the Nationaltheater in Vienna. Haydn's marionette opera Die Feuerbrunst (Hob. XXIXb:A) was also performed in 1776 or 1777 with an overture now believed to be largely by Pleyel. Pleyel's first professional position was probably Kapellmeister to Count Erdődy. In appreciation of his 'generosity, paternal solicitude and encouragement', Pleyel dedicated his String Quartets Op. 1 to Erdődy, and, in a similar vein, his highly-accomplished Op. 2 Quartets to Haydn. From December 1791 until May 1792 Pleyel accepted an invitation to conduct the Professional Concerts in London. To his surprise and embarrassment, he found himself in direct competition with Haydn who was the star of the rival concert series organized by Johann Peter Salomon. Pleyel and Haydn resumed their easy relationship in London. They met frequently, dined together and even played each other's music. While Haydn was clearly the man of the moment, Pleyel's concerts were well attended and his symphonies concertantes and quartets in particular received generous praise in the press. One of the earliest symphonies is the remarkable Symphony in C minor (Ben 121), in reality a C major symphony with an imposing introduction in the minor. Written in 1778 when the composer was 21, it is a work of quite precocious genius. Of course, much of its intensity and technical assurance can be attributed to Haydn's influence, but a distinctive and original voice emerges nonetheless, particularly in the fine opening Adagio and in the thrilling Finale. The outer movements are powerful and energetic and, like Haydn, Pleyel proves adept at maintaining momentum and, on a more subtle organizational level, imposing a strong degree of musical unity, through clever manipulation of thematic cells.” (from album notes by Dr Allan Badley)