Presents
Anton Wranitzky
String Quintet in g minor, Op.8 No.2
For Violin, 2 Violas & 2 Cellos
Or 2 Violins, 2 Violas & Cello or 2 Violins, Viola & 2 Cellos
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. The string quintet had no standard ensemble, but the two most common forms were for 2 violins, 2 violas and cello or 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos. However, a few composers such as Franz Krommer, Joseph Eybler and the Wranitzky brothers were fascinated by the possibilities of a richer sonority that a Violin, 2 Violas and 2 Cellos offered and several works for this combination were composed but by comparison to other formats, not a huge number. Such works came into being in many cases because the composer would be commissioned to write for an existing group. It is thought that Wrantizky’s Op.8 String Quintets, a set of three, were composed for such a combination then extant in Prince Lobkowitz’s service. They date from around 1800. The Quintet in g minor is the second of the set, or at least was published in that order. The opening movement is held together by bustling scale passages distributed between the instruments, while the second movement surprisingly is not slow but of moderate tempo. However, the Adagio introduction to the finale is particularly striking.
This is a historically valuable work because it shows what other Viennese Classical composers beyond Mozart were doing (Haydn never wrote any quintets) but it is also a work which can stand on its own merits. The Op.8 Quintets were originally printed together in a book of three, which made it difficult to perform any single work. Our edition is a reprint of the original, but we have separated and rearranged the pages so that the quintet can be performed on its own without difficulty. Because this combination is so rare, we have decided to offer it for the more usual groupings of 2 violins, 2 violas and cello, or 2 violins.
We offer the quintet at 40% less than regular quintet price for two reasons: First because we wish to create interest in it and second because it is, though a clean reprint and quite easy to read, it is not the same as a work printed after 1840.
(A) Violins, 2 Violas & 2 Cellos $19.95 (B) 2 Violins, 2 Violas & Cello $19.95
(C) 2 Violins, Viola, & 2 Cellos $19.95 (D) All Seven Parts $29.95
