Vanhal

Bedenkt man, wie viele bedeutende Musiker allein zur Zeit der Wiener Klassik aus Böhmen stammten, so kann diese Landschaft mit vollem Recht Anspruch darauf erheben, eine "Wiege der Musik" genannt zu werden. Die CD vereint Flötenkonzerte dreier wichtiger böhmischer Komponisten, die von der Nachwelt nur allzu gerne zu "Kleinmeistern" im Schatten der drei großen Wiener Klassiker degradiert wurden. Zu Unrecht, wie die eingespielten Kompositionen beweisen.

Johann Baptist Vanhal's clarinet sonatas are mostly notable for their historical value. Written between 1801 and 1810, they legitimized the clarinet as an equal partner in the sonata form. They did for that instrument what Beethoven did for the cello around the same time. Until the turn of the century, the clarinet had mainly appeared in ensembles with multiple other instruments, like the great quintets of Mozart and Weber.

“Richter, Stamic and Vaňhal in particular influenced and even inspired Haydn & Mozart who played Vaňhal’s music and who both played with him in a quartet alongside Dittersdorf… The Thirty Years War (1618-48) resulted in the Hapsburgs taking over the kingdom of Bohemia, but it was impossible to suppress the Czech love for music, a fact then exploited by the Austrian nobles who filled their new Bohemian estates with musical talent.

There have been a couple of rather exciting records recently of Vanhal symphonies; but this disc, though pleasant enough, is a good deal less arresting. These six quartets were written about 1770, for oboe or flute with strings, as domestic diversion or background entertainment music. They would still serve that purpose admirably; Vanhal was a polished composer, with a secure technique and a pleasing vein of melody. The first movements here, most of them in a moderately fast tempo, unwind with considerable charm — sometimes (as in No 2) the lines are quite elaborate, and several (for example, No 4) have a pleasant vein of wit. There are several expressive slow movements — an undemanding eloquence to the Cantabile of No 1 and real expressiveness in the Largo of No 5, for example. I liked the wit in some of the finales, such as No 3's, but there isn't really anything that grabs you, that really insists on your attention — Vanhal's world is just a little too conventional for that.

Johann Baptist Vanhal was a Viennese contemporary of Haydn and Mozart, admired by both, and regarded as their peer in his own time. Yet the rediscovery of the wider picture of composition in the late 18th century has largely bypassed him. His symphonies of the 1770s are fine examples of the Sturm und Drang trend and were in several respects stylistically out in front of Haydn's and Mozart's contributions to the genre. The same can't be said of the three works here, published in 1784 and claimed to be piano quintets.

The classical symphony is so dominated by the twin figures of Haydn & Mozart that it is all too easy to overlook the considerable contributions which were made by many lesser figures. The Naxos label is doing a great service by bringing to light many of these works in its '18th Century Symphony' series. It now launches a survey of the symphonies of the Bohemian composer Johann Baptist Vanhal with four highly spirited, engaging pieces dating from 1760-1780 that are the equal of Haydn's contemporary efforts. These are witty, original pieces and it's easy to see why Imperial Vienna took them immediately to its heart. Uwe Grodd and the very fine Hungarian players of the Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia make a strong case for them.