Marek Stilec, Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice. Naxos 8.574227.
By John J. Puccio
You wouldn’t be alone if you said you had never heard of Wranitzky. But that probably just means you haven’t been keeping up with Wikipedia. “Paul Wranitzky (1756-1808) was a Moravian-Austrian classical composer. He was highly respected by Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven; the latter two preferred him as conductor of their new works. Wranitzky was a prolific composer. His output comprises ten operas, 44 symphonies, at least 56 string quartets (some sources give a number as high as 73), and a large amount of other orchestral and chamber music.” So what happened to him? Like so many other composers, his music fell out of public favor, and eventually most everyone forgot about him.
Fortunately, we have Maestro Marek Stilec and the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Pardubice to remind us why people liked his music in the first place. In Volume 1 of what presumably will be a series of albums (Marek did the same thing in four volumes of music by Leopold Kozeluch), Marek and his team play two symphonies, two overtures, and one serenade by Wranitzky, providing a good overview of his work.
The program begins with Die Poststation Overture from the two-act opera of 1794. It gives the disc a rousing send-off, played with plenty of enthusiasm by the Czech Chamber Orchestra, which is composed, by the way, of about thirty or thirty-five players.
Next, we get the Symphony in C major. Op 19, written to celebrate the ascension of Francis II to the Austrian throne in 1792. It begins with a lively Allegro, which Stilec and his players perform with gusto. One can easily see why Wranitzky was so popular in his day. But maybe it’s because he could never manage to write anything substantially different from his contemporaries Mozart and Haydn that the public forgot about him in favor of the now more-prominent names. Who knows; history is filled with oddities. Let us simply rejoice that we have a recording like the present one, so well played and well recorded that Wranitzky’s name may not be forgotten forever.
Anyway, the spirited opening movement gives way to an elegant Andante that flows gracefully into an ebullient Minuetto and then ends the way it began: with a heady Presto Finale. There’s nothing new here, but it’s all quite effervescent and charming.
After that, we get the Symphony in B flat major, Op. 33, No. 1, published in 1798. It is bigger and more mature than Wranitzky’s previous works, with a slow introduction and a pastoral second movement. Here we can probably see why Beethoven admired Wranitzky’s music. The Symphony in B flat sounds a little like one of Beethoven’s early symphonies. By “slow introduction,” incidentally, I mean comparatively slow. The way Stilec conducts it, it moves along at a healthy clip from start to finish and makes me wonder if he wasn’t trying too hard to make it appear more exciting than it really is to new audiences.
Whatever, following the opening Allegro we get a sweet, gentle Adagio that may have inspired Beethoven’s more-pastoral music. Then, as with the previous symphony, it’s on to another frothy Minuetto, and finally a fervent Finale vivace. Anyone even vaguely interested in music from the Classical Period should find Wranitzky’s symphonies fairly enlightening and thoroughly entertaining.
The disc concludes with the Overture and Serenate from the two-act opera Das Fest der Lazzaroni, premiered in 1794. The plot concerns a pair of families in Naples--one poor, the other rich--the son and daughter of whom fall in love, much to the distress of the rich family. It’s a kind of Romeo and Juliet story, and the music pretty much summarizes the action. Although I found the Overture rather overdramatic for my taste, the Serenades were certainly handsome and appealing enough.
Producer Jiri Stilec and engineer Vaclav Roubal recorded the music at Dukla Culture House Pardubice, Czech Republic in November 2019. The result of their efforts is some of the cleanest, most-detailed sound I’ve ever heard from a Naxos recording. There is no dullness, no elevated midrange or treble, no overly resonant acoustic. We hear just some pure, slightly close-up, highly dynamic sonics from a moderately sized chamber orchestra.
JJP
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
By John J. Puccio
Fortunately, we have Maestro Marek Stilec and the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Pardubice to remind us why people liked his music in the first place. In Volume 1 of what presumably will be a series of albums (Marek did the same thing in four volumes of music by Leopold Kozeluch), Marek and his team play two symphonies, two overtures, and one serenade by Wranitzky, providing a good overview of his work.
The program begins with Die Poststation Overture from the two-act opera of 1794. It gives the disc a rousing send-off, played with plenty of enthusiasm by the Czech Chamber Orchestra, which is composed, by the way, of about thirty or thirty-five players.
Anyway, the spirited opening movement gives way to an elegant Andante that flows gracefully into an ebullient Minuetto and then ends the way it began: with a heady Presto Finale. There’s nothing new here, but it’s all quite effervescent and charming.
After that, we get the Symphony in B flat major, Op. 33, No. 1, published in 1798. It is bigger and more mature than Wranitzky’s previous works, with a slow introduction and a pastoral second movement. Here we can probably see why Beethoven admired Wranitzky’s music. The Symphony in B flat sounds a little like one of Beethoven’s early symphonies. By “slow introduction,” incidentally, I mean comparatively slow. The way Stilec conducts it, it moves along at a healthy clip from start to finish and makes me wonder if he wasn’t trying too hard to make it appear more exciting than it really is to new audiences.
Whatever, following the opening Allegro we get a sweet, gentle Adagio that may have inspired Beethoven’s more-pastoral music. Then, as with the previous symphony, it’s on to another frothy Minuetto, and finally a fervent Finale vivace. Anyone even vaguely interested in music from the Classical Period should find Wranitzky’s symphonies fairly enlightening and thoroughly entertaining.
The disc concludes with the Overture and Serenate from the two-act opera Das Fest der Lazzaroni, premiered in 1794. The plot concerns a pair of families in Naples--one poor, the other rich--the son and daughter of whom fall in love, much to the distress of the rich family. It’s a kind of Romeo and Juliet story, and the music pretty much summarizes the action. Although I found the Overture rather overdramatic for my taste, the Serenades were certainly handsome and appealing enough.
Producer Jiri Stilec and engineer Vaclav Roubal recorded the music at Dukla Culture House Pardubice, Czech Republic in November 2019. The result of their efforts is some of the cleanest, most-detailed sound I’ve ever heard from a Naxos recording. There is no dullness, no elevated midrange or treble, no overly resonant acoustic. We hear just some pure, slightly close-up, highly dynamic sonics from a moderately sized chamber orchestra.
JJP
To listen to a brief excerpt from this album, click below:
Nice review! Volume 2&3 are already out on CD!
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