Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812)
- Concerto ex D# | a | Viola Principale | Due Violini. |
Due Oboi. | Due Corni in D. | Viola | et | Basso (c.1790), IFH 69
Performers: Hariolf Schlichtig (viola); Münchener Kammerorchester; Daniel Giglberger (conductor)
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German composer and music publisher. He attended the University of
Vienna in law beginning in 1768, but shortly thereafter he decided to
pursue a career in music. In 1783 he began to publish his own music, and
by 1785 he had established a firm in Vienna to compete with Artaria.
Well educated, erudite, and congenial, he was a welcomed guest in
intellectual circles in the Austrian capital for the next several
decades, while his publishing business thrived with a branch in Linz and
collaborations with others such as Bösseler in Speyer. After 1790 he
began to devote himself more to his music, and in 1799 he undertook a
concert tour as a keyboardist to Germany and France. In Leipzig he
formed a partnership with Ambrosius Kühnel, which became one of the
early progenitors of the firm of C. F. Peters. The international success
of particularly his Singspiel Der Königssohn aus Ithaka made it
possible for him to divest himself from his businesses by 1805. As a
composer, he concentrated mostly upon instrumental works, since these
were the most publishable and salable music. He was extraordinarily
prolific and many of his Viennese works were also popular in foreign
cities: by 1803 his most successful opera, 'Der Königssohn aus Ithaka'
(Vienna, 1795), had been performed in Budapest, Hamburg, Prague,
Temesvár (now Timişoara), Warsaw and Weimar; his numerous chamber works
were published in Amsterdam, London, Paris and Venice, as well as
throughout German-speaking regions. Although his symphonies were admired
for their flowing melodies and his pedagogical works for being both
pleasant and instructive, his style is generally lacking in originality
and depth. His works include nine Singspiels, two cantatas/oratorios, an
offertory, 66 symphonies, 11 serenades, 54 sets of dances, 59 concertos
(25 for fortepiano, 14 for flute, and 20 for other instruments,
including five sinfonia concertantes), 30 quintets (string, flute, and
other), 57 string quartets, 46 flute quartets, nine piano quartets, 18
string trios, 12 flute trios, 76 string duets, 130 flute duets, 50
violin sonatas, five flute and viola sonatas, 26 piano sonatas, and
numerous other pieces for winds and keyboard.
