Klarinet Archive - Posting 000645.txt from 2001/01

From: "Dan the Rubber Band Man" <saxman105@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Stamitz
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2001 22:15:39 -0500

Thanks very much. that's so much more than I expected to get! Thanks again!

Danny Ehrhart

e-mail: saxman105@-----.net
web page: http://saxman105.home.att.net
aol IM: DannyClarinet
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Donna Higgins" <Donna@-----.com>
Subject: Re: [kl] Stamitz

> Here's what I found in my "Dictionary of Composers and Their Music" by
Eric
> Gilder:
>
> Stamitz, Johann
> b. Nemecky Brod, baptised 19 June 1717
> d. Mannheim, 27 March 1757, aged 39
>
> His early instruction was from his father. From 1728-1734 he attended the
> Jesuit Gymnasium in Jahlava and from 1734-1735 he was at Prague
University. He
> was appointed to the Mannheim court in 1741 as violin virtuoso, also
playing
> viola d'amoue, cello and double-bass. He advanced rapidly at court and by
1750
> was created director of instrumental music. He married in 1744 and had
five
> children, including the composers Karl and Anton. In 1754 he undertook a
> year-long journey to Paris, where his work was immediately successful.
>
> He wrote 29 symphonies, 10 orchestral trios, 17 violin concertos and many
> concettos for other instruments,and other orchestral works; many chamber
works
> and sacred choral works and songs. A great deal of his output has been
lost.
>
> Now, the Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music says this:
>
> Stamitz (orig. Stamic), Johann Wenzel (orig. Jan Vaclav Antonin), b.
> Deutsch-Brod, Bohemia, 1717; d. Mannheim, 1757). Bohemian-born violinist
and
> composer. Studied with his father. Played violin at coronation of Karl
VII in
> 1742 and was heard by Elector of Mannheim who made him court violinist and
music
> director in 1745. Raised the orchestra there to standards which became
famous
> throughout Europe and influenced composers such as Haydn and Mozart. As
> composer, greatly expanded sonata-form principles in the symphony, giving
new
> importance to the development section. Wrote 50 symphonies, 12 violin
> concertos, violin sonatas, and much else.
>
> Finally, A History of Western Music by Donald J. Grout has this to say:
>
> The principal German centers of symphonic composition from 1740 onward
were
> Mannheim, Vienna and Berlin. The founder of the Mannheim school was
Johann
> Stamitz (1717-57); under his leadership the Mannheim orchestra became
renowned
> all over Europe for its virtuosity, for its hitherto unknown dynamic range
from
> the softest pianissimo to the loudest fortissimo, and for the thrilling
sound of
> its crescendo. The growing use of crescendo and diminuendo around the
middle of
> the century was one symptom of a trend toward attaining variety within a
> movement by means of gradual transitions; Baroque movements had either
kept to a
> uniform dynamic level or else introduced distinct contrasts, as in the
> concerto. The same desire for flexibility of musical effects was
responsible
> for the eventual replacement of the harpsichord by the pianoforte.
>
> Stamitz was one of the first composers to regularly use a contrasting,
lyrical
> second theme in his Allegro movements in sonata form, and to expand the
symphony
> from three movements to four (the standard number in most of Haydn's and
> Beethoven's symphonies) by adding a fast finale after the minuet, which
earlier
> had often served as the closing movement. Despite such anticipation,
however,
> his music, like that of all the early German symphony composers, is still
in the
> rococo-expressive style of the middle 18th century; at the hands of his
> successors many of his tricks of style degenerated into mannerisms.
>
> I hope this information helps. Good luck with your project!
>
> --
> Donna M. Higgins
>
> "The thing that impresses me most about America is the way parents obey
their
> children." - The Duke of Windsor (1894-1972)
>
>

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