You never know who you're going to meet on the internet and I came to know Peter Tibbles ( bio here ) via email over the past couple of years. His extensive knowledge of most genres of music and his excellent taste became apparent only gradually (Peter's not one to toot his horn) but once I understood, I knew he needed his own column at Time Goes By - or, better, that TGB needed his column - which appears here each Sunday. You can find previous Elder Music columns here .
Today's column is in response to my looking through my CDs and thinking, "Oh, I haven't played that for a while.” Upon listening I thought these are good, they'd be worth including in a column (or two or three, there are quite a few of them). This is it. Okay, sitting comfortably? Here we go.
Giovanni Battista Viotti was born in Sardinia (now Piedmont, Italy) in 1755.
His father gave him his first musical education. Dad was a blacksmith but apparently also an amateur horn player. Viotti then took lessons from Alfonso della Cisterna and Gaetano Pugnani. He played in the court in Turin for a bit and then took off when he was 25.
He went to Geneva, Dresden and Berlin. In Russia he played for Catherine II and in Paris for Marie Antoinette. His patron in Paris was King Louis' brother.
He left Paris in 1792, a very sensible thing to do, and landed in London. There he met Haydn, became friends with Lord Byron and Walter Scott, and created the London Philharmonic Society. Boy, you wouldn't want to play "name dropping" with him.
Unfortunately, he ended his life in poverty due to a bunch of failed ventures in which he invested. I've always liked Viotti since I discovered him about 30 years ago. He always makes me smile.
His 29 violin concertos are considered his masterworks. These were said to have influenced Beethoven (who only managed to write one of them, but what a one). Naturally, I'm going with one of those (Viotti's, that is), the third movement from his Violin Concerto No 23 in G maj.
Franz Krommer (or František Vincenc Kramár) was from Moravia, these days in the Czech Republic. He was born in 1759.
He learned violin and organ from his uncle who was a notable player of those instruments and became co-organist with his uncle at the local organ place. He later went to Vienna as a violinist and later became Kapellmeister and court composer for the Imperial Court of Austria.
He was a prolific composer of symphonies, string quartets and quintets, various works for wind instruments and on and on. Although his style is more akin to Haydn and Mozart, in the early 19th century he was considered a major rival of Beethoven's. History's had something to say about who was really top dog.
This is the splendid first movement from his Concerto for Two Clarinets in E Flat Maj, Op 91.
Johann Friedrich Fasch was born in Buttelstedt, which I believe is in Germany, although it wasn't then as it was 1688 and there was no such country at the time.
He then traveled throughout Germany (although, of course, it didn't exist) and became a violinist in the orchestra at Bayreuth. Later he was appointed Kapellmeister at Zerbst, a post he held until his death.
He was a prolific composer of cantatas, concertos, symphonies and chamber music - however, none of these was published in his lifetime. He was held in great esteem by his contemporaries and none other than Johann Sebastian Bach made manuscript copies of a number of his pieces.
You could say that he had his head in the baroque and his feet in the classical as he spanned these periods.
His son, Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, was a composer of some note. Alas, a large number of his (Jo's) works have been lost but some still remain. This is one of them, the Trio Sonata in G min.
Michael Haydn was papa Jo Haydn's little brother. He was born in 1713 in Rohrau, Austria.
There was no rivalry between the brothers and they both liked and supported each other throughout their lives. Michael, like his brother, sang in the choir at St Stephen's in Vienna. It was thought at the time he was the better singer. We'll never know.
He is most renowned for his religious works. Indeed, big brother Jo thought they were better than his. I can't tell as I haven't heard them – there's a lot of music out there and so little time.
His orchestral works are really good. Indeed, one of his symphonies was for a long time attributed to Mozart and was often played in concerts. Since it was found that Michael wrote it, it's seldom played. Hey folks, it's still the same piece of work and I'm going to play some of it for you. This is the first movement from Symphony No 26 in G maj.
Ludwig August Lebrun was born in 1752 in Mannheim. Alas, we only have a silhouette of him.
He was a celebrated oboe virtuoso and something of a prodigy. He started playing with the orchestra at the age of 12 and became a full member at the age of 15. Oboing was in his blood as his dad played the instrument as well.
He married the soprano Franziska Danzi, the sister of Franz Danzi, a composer we've featured in these columns before, and they traveled extensively throughout Europe performing together. Besides his own compositions, other composers created works for them to perform. Ludwig died when he was only 38.
This is the second movement of his Oboe Concerto No 1 in D min.
John Hebden was born in Yorkshire in 1712.
He was orphaned when young but was fortunate enough to receive an excellent education, including musical tuition. I can't tell you how this came about as little is known of his life.
His wife died at the birth of their second son (the first didn't survive) and he was left to bring up a small boy on his own. He moved to London and became principal cellist and bassoonist at an orchestra there (not at the same time, I imagine). He played in orchestras performing works conducted by Mr Handel.
He was also a member of a small professional orchestra called "All the best Hands in Town," a sort of early super group. Many of his works have been lost, but conversely, several have recently been discovered. This is one of his Concertos for Strings, Concerto No. 2 in C major.
Giovanni Battista Viotti was born in Sardinia (now Piedmont, Italy) in 1755.
His father gave him his first musical education. Dad was a blacksmith but apparently also an amateur horn player. Viotti then took lessons from Alfonso della Cisterna and Gaetano Pugnani. He played in the court in Turin for a bit and then took off when he was 25.
He went to Geneva, Dresden and Berlin. In Russia he played for Catherine II and in Paris for Marie Antoinette. His patron in Paris was King Louis' brother.
He left Paris in 1792, a very sensible thing to do, and landed in London. There he met Haydn, became friends with Lord Byron and Walter Scott, and created the London Philharmonic Society. Boy, you wouldn't want to play "name dropping" with him.
Unfortunately, he ended his life in poverty due to a bunch of failed ventures in which he invested. I've always liked Viotti since I discovered him about 30 years ago. He always makes me smile.
His 29 violin concertos are considered his masterworks. These were said to have influenced Beethoven (who only managed to write one of them, but what a one). Naturally, I'm going with one of those (Viotti's, that is), the third movement from his Violin Concerto No 23 in G maj.
Franz Krommer (or František Vincenc Kramár) was from Moravia, these days in the Czech Republic. He was born in 1759.
He learned violin and organ from his uncle who was a notable player of those instruments and became co-organist with his uncle at the local organ place. He later went to Vienna as a violinist and later became Kapellmeister and court composer for the Imperial Court of Austria.
He was a prolific composer of symphonies, string quartets and quintets, various works for wind instruments and on and on. Although his style is more akin to Haydn and Mozart, in the early 19th century he was considered a major rival of Beethoven's. History's had something to say about who was really top dog.
This is the splendid first movement from his Concerto for Two Clarinets in E Flat Maj, Op 91.
Johann Friedrich Fasch was born in Buttelstedt, which I believe is in Germany, although it wasn't then as it was 1688 and there was no such country at the time.
He then traveled throughout Germany (although, of course, it didn't exist) and became a violinist in the orchestra at Bayreuth. Later he was appointed Kapellmeister at Zerbst, a post he held until his death.
He was a prolific composer of cantatas, concertos, symphonies and chamber music - however, none of these was published in his lifetime. He was held in great esteem by his contemporaries and none other than Johann Sebastian Bach made manuscript copies of a number of his pieces.
You could say that he had his head in the baroque and his feet in the classical as he spanned these periods.
His son, Carl Friedrich Christian Fasch, was a composer of some note. Alas, a large number of his (Jo's) works have been lost but some still remain. This is one of them, the Trio Sonata in G min.
Michael Haydn was papa Jo Haydn's little brother. He was born in 1713 in Rohrau, Austria.
There was no rivalry between the brothers and they both liked and supported each other throughout their lives. Michael, like his brother, sang in the choir at St Stephen's in Vienna. It was thought at the time he was the better singer. We'll never know.
He is most renowned for his religious works. Indeed, big brother Jo thought they were better than his. I can't tell as I haven't heard them – there's a lot of music out there and so little time.
His orchestral works are really good. Indeed, one of his symphonies was for a long time attributed to Mozart and was often played in concerts. Since it was found that Michael wrote it, it's seldom played. Hey folks, it's still the same piece of work and I'm going to play some of it for you. This is the first movement from Symphony No 26 in G maj.
Ludwig August Lebrun was born in 1752 in Mannheim. Alas, we only have a silhouette of him.
He was a celebrated oboe virtuoso and something of a prodigy. He started playing with the orchestra at the age of 12 and became a full member at the age of 15. Oboing was in his blood as his dad played the instrument as well.
He married the soprano Franziska Danzi, the sister of Franz Danzi, a composer we've featured in these columns before, and they traveled extensively throughout Europe performing together. Besides his own compositions, other composers created works for them to perform. Ludwig died when he was only 38.
This is the second movement of his Oboe Concerto No 1 in D min.
John Hebden was born in Yorkshire in 1712.
He was orphaned when young but was fortunate enough to receive an excellent education, including musical tuition. I can't tell you how this came about as little is known of his life.
His wife died at the birth of their second son (the first didn't survive) and he was left to bring up a small boy on his own. He moved to London and became principal cellist and bassoonist at an orchestra there (not at the same time, I imagine). He played in orchestras performing works conducted by Mr Handel.
He was also a member of a small professional orchestra called "All the best Hands in Town," a sort of early super group. Many of his works have been lost, but conversely, several have recently been discovered. This is one of his Concertos for Strings, Concerto No. 2 in C major.