Stamitz: Four Symphonies

L'Arte del mondo

CPO 777 526-2

Famous and popular during his lifetime – that he was, the composer and violin and viola virtuoso Carl Stamitz. He was then forgotten all the more systematically and thoroughly after his death in 1801, and little has changed over the past two centuries. Born in Mannheim in 1745, Carl Stamitz was the first son of Johann Stamitz, the famous founder of the Mannheim school. He received instruction in music from his father quite early and already in 1761 became a member of the Mannheim Court Orchestra then ranking as Europe’s best orchestra. After a mere nine years he left Mannheim to seek his fortune as a virtuoso on his tours throughout Europe. Presumably contrary to Stamitz’s original plans, these unsettled years of wandering first ended a few years prior to his death in Jena, where he served as an academic music teacher at the local university. Stamitz led the life of a man on the move, and all the authors of his time assigned him outstanding marks for his musical qualities. He was viewed as practically the ideal embodiment of sensibility because his »heart brimming with emotion left its imprint on his music.«

CD

Muzyka klasyczna

CPO

14-01-2011

761203752621