Mondo Secter

Giovanni Paisiello was one of the most admired composers of opera in the second half of the 18th century. His reputation was mainly based on his comic operas which he composed while working in Naples. Although not born in Naples, he considered himself a Neapolitan, having studied at the Conservatorio di S Onofri. Paisiello's career can be divided into three stages. In the first he concentrated on composing comic operas, mainly for Naples.

Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel was born in 1750, died in 1817. He first prepared for a service in the church, taking holy orders in 1774. Being musically gifted he was educated on organ and fortepiano and regularly played in the cathedral and at the seminary Stift Neumünster in Würzburg, his native city. When a minister in the service of the Elector of Mainz heard him play he invited him to visit the court in Mainz. Apparently the Elector liked his playing and offered him a permanent position. The political situation was difficult and considerably influenced his career. In 1792 French troops attacked Mainz and the court moved to Aschaffenburg; the chapel was disbanded.

Ernst Eichner (1740 – 1777) was one of the early masters of symphonic composition whose work had a lasting effect on other composers.

The orchestra l'arte del mondo under the direction of Werner Ehrhardt presents two world premiere recordings of the Silesian composer Anton Zimmermann (1741-1781) on its new CD. Not much is known about the composer's short life, which lasted barely 40 years. What is certain, however, is that Zimmermann lived in Bratislava in the early 1770s and became a key figure in the cultural upswing there. He founded and organized the court orchestra of the prince primate of Hungary, Joseph von Batthyányi. His orchestra quickly developed into one of the best sounding bodies in the entire Danube region. Zimmermann composed a large number of works for the regular concerts. His impressive compositional oeuvre includes sonatas, concertos and stage works as well as some 40 symphonies.