Johan David Zander (1753-1796)
- Sinfonia (B-Dur) | för Stor Orchester,
Ödmjukast tillägnad | Sällskapet | Utile Dulci (1785)
Performers: Kungliga Operаns Orkester; Philip Brunеllе (conductor)
Further info: Royal Swedish Court: Music from the 18th Century
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Swedish conductor, violinist, viola player and composer. He was born
into a musical family. His father, Johan David Gottfried Zander
(1714-1774), was a musician (bassoonist, oboist, and violinist) who had
emigrated to Sweden and played in the Royal Court Orchestra, the
Hovkapellet. Following his father's footsteps, he joined the Hovkapellet
as a violinist in 1772. His talent quickly earned him recognition, and
he was promoted to assistant concertmaster in 1787, and deputy
Konzertmeister the next year, a post he held until his death. He taught
the violin at the Swedish Royal Academy of Music from 1785 and at the
Opera school from 1786; he became a member of the Academy in 1786. He
gained a considerable reputation as a highly skilled soloist on both the
violin and viola in public concerts throughout the capital. While best
known for his theatrical music, he also composed a significant body of
instrumental work, displaying his awareness of contemporary European
stylistic trends, particularly the influence of the Austrian composers.
His most notable surviving large-scale orchestral work is the Symphony
in B-flat major (1785), one of the few four-movement symphonies written
in Sweden during the 18th Century. He also composed several concertos
(mostly lost), three string quartets and various solo and chamber pieces
published in collections like Musikaliskt Tidsfördrif. His promising
career was tragically cut short when he died prematurely of pneumonia in
1796. He remains as an important figure in the Gustavian era of Swedish
music.