Presents
Anton Wranitzky
String Quartet in G Major, Op.13 No.1
Anton Wranitzky's String Quartet in a minor, Op.13 No.1 is the first of a set of three dating from 1806 and dedicated to Prince Lobkowitz for whom Haydn had also written quartets. The quartet, written in the late Viennese Classical Style and opens with a bright, Mozartian Allegro. The second movement, a lovely Andantino. Next comes a Haydenesque, classically Viennese Menuetto allegretto, with a nicely contrasting trio in the minor. The work closes with a charming, lilting Allegretto This fine work is not only appealing but has fine part-writing for each voice.
Anton Wranitzky (1761-1820 Antonin Vranicky in Czech) was born in the Moravian town of Neureisch in the Austrian Habsburg Empire, today Nové Říši in the Czech Republic. He was the younger half-brother of the composer Paul Wranitzky, who was the better known of the two, although both were in their time fairly well-known, especially in Vienna but also throughout Europe where their music was often performed. Anton’s first first music lessons were from Paul. He studied philosophy in Olmütz (Olomouc) and subsequently from 1778 to 1782 jurisprudence and music in Brunn (Brno). After that, he followed his brother to Vienna, where starting in 1783, he took composition lessons from Mozart, Haydn and Georg Albrechtsberger. A talented violinist, he worked as a freelance musician until 1790 when he was hired by Prince Lobkowitz, the patron of Haydn and Beethoven, and eventually became Kapellmeister or Music Director of the Prince’s orchestra.. In 1807 he became the orchestra director of the Imperial Court Theater and in 1814 he became conductor in the Theater an der Wien. He knew all of the major musical figures in Vienna and was often engaged by Beethoven to conduct premieres of his symphonies. Wrantizky wrote in most genres and left some 60 works of chamber music, most for standard ensembles such as the string quartet or string trio. .
This is a historically valuable work because it shows what other Viennese Classical composers beyond Haydn and Mozart were doing, but appealing in its own right. Fresh and original sounding, it makes an excellent replacement for a Haydn quartet on your program. We offer the quartet at 20% less than regular quartet price for two reasons: First because we wish to create interest in it and second because it is, though a relatively clean reprint of the first edition and is not hard to read, it is not the same as a work printed after 1840.
Parts: $19.95
