LOLLI, Antonio (c.1725-1802) - Concerto a Violino Principale (1775)

Antonio Lolli (c.1725-1802) - Concerto in G. Violino Principale, Violino Primo, Violino Secundo,

Viola di Alto con Basso (1775)

Performers: Luca Fаnfοni (violin); Reale Concerto ensemble

Painting: Francesco Zerilli (1793-1837) - Veduta di Palermo dalla Villa Belmonte

Further info: Complete Violin Concertos

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Antonio (Antoin, Antoine) Lolli [Loli, Lolly]

(Bergamo, c.1725 - Palermo, 10 August 1802)

Italian violinist and composer. He was probably trained in the city of Milan, by 1758 was named solo violinist to the court of the Duke of Wurttemberg in Stuttgart. He also commenced touring as a virtuoso, appearing with great success in Vienna (c.1760) and at the Concert Spirituel in Paris (1764, 1766). As a result of incurring debts, the Stuttgart court allowed him to tour extensively in order to recoup his losses. His tours took him to Frankfurt am Main and Utrecht (1769), Italy (1771), and northern Germany (1773). Lolli's Stuttgart contract was abrogated due to his debts in 1774. He then went to St. Petersburg, where he was a favorite of Catherine II in the capacity of chamber virtuoso (1774-83). He also found favor with Grigori Potemkin. Lolli continued to tour, and absented himself from the court between 1777 and 1780. Having dissipated 10,000 florins he had accumulated from gambling, he returned to St. Petersburg in 1780 and succeeded in regaining his social and artistic position. He appeared in concerts at Potemkin's palace there, and also in Moscow. Despite his frequent derelictions of duty, he was retained at the court until his contract was terminated in 1783. In 1784 he gave his last public concerts in Russia. He then appeared in Stockholm, Hamburg, and Copenhagen (1784), London (1785), and Italy. After visits to Copenhagen, Hamburg, and Stettin (1791), Palermo (1793), and Vienna (1794). In 1794 he was engaged as maestro di cappella to the court of Naples. After retirement, he settled in Palermo, where he spent his last years in poverty. As a performer, he was greatly admired for his commanding technique as a virtuoso and he was even known as 'the Shakespeare among violinists', but as a composer critics such as Charles Burney found his music bizarre. Lolli had little if any formal training in composition, nor did he ever realize his intentions of studying counterpoint with Padre Martini. Such study might not have made him a better composer, but identification as a Martini pupil might have mitigated contemporary criticism of his works. His music consists of 12 violin concertos, 28 violin sonatas, six duos, and 36 solo violin capriccios. His main claim to fame is a treatise, 'L’école du violon en quatuor' (1784).

DU MONT, Henri (1610-1684) - Benedic anima mea

Henri Du Mont (1610-1684) - Benedic anima mea des 'Motets pour la chapelle du Roy, mis en musique'

Performers: Capella Du Mont Chamber Choir; Savaria Baroque Orchestra; Laszlo Gesztesi-Toth (conductor)

Painting: Jean Lemaire (1598-1659) - Ruinas

Further info: Henri Du Mont - Benedic anima mea

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Henry (Henri) Du Mont [Dumont, De Thier]

(Looz [now Borgloon], 1610 - Paris, 8 May 1684)

French composer and organist. On 14 June 1621, Henry Du Mont and his brother Lambert entered the choir school of Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk in Maastricht and continued through the Jesuit college. Henry became organist of the church there in 1629. In Paris, on 4 April 1643, he signed a contract to be organist at the church of St. Paul. He took French nationality in 1647. In 1652, he published his first volume of motets and became the harpsichordist to the Duke of Anjou, brother of King Louis XIV. In July 1660, he was appointed organist to the queen, then as sous-maître of the Chapelle Royale in July 1664, for one quarter of the year under the court system, then for half the year in 1668. Thereafter, he continued to acquire appointments and benefices, all the while continuing at St. Paul and making frequent trips to Maastricht. He retired in Paris in 1683. The dominant figure in sacred music in mid-17th-century Paris, he published 114 petits motets between 1652 and 1681 and also composed 26 grands motets, as well as 37 French psalm settings. His most remarkable and often performed sacred music is the collection of five original plainchant masses, an early effort at restoring what was considered a corrupt tradition. His secular music includes 21 songs, 5 symphonies, and a few dance movements for ensemble. As a professional organist, he must have composed or improvised a significant body of organ music, but very little survives.

MAYER, Emilie (1812-1883) - Piano-Forte Concerto (c.1857)

Emilie Mayer (1812-1883) - Piano-Forte Concerto in B-Dur (c.1857)

Performers: Ewa Kupiec (fortepiano); Neubrandenburger Philharmonie; Sebastian Tewinkel (conductor)

Painting: Charles Pierre Verhulst (1774-1820) - Family Making Music Together

Further info: Mayer - Symphonie No. 4 & Piano Concerto

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Emilie (Luise Friderica) Mayer

(Friedland, 14 May 1812 - Berlin, 10 April 1883)

German composer and sculptor. She was born the third of five children and eldest daughter of wealthy pharmacist, Johann August Friedrich Mayer, and wife Henrietta Carolina. Her mother died when she was two years old. When she was five, she received a grand piano and was given music lessons but, seemingly destined for a domestic life, at the age of 28 her circumstances changed when her father committed suicide, leaving Mayer with a large inheritance. In 1841, she moved to the regional capital city of Stettin (now Szczecin, Poland) and sought to study composition with Carl Loewe, a central figure in the musical life of the city. In 1847, after the premiere of her first two symphonies by the Stettin Instrumental Society, and with the urging of her tutor, she moved to Berlin to continue her compositional studies. Once in Berlin, she studied fugue and double counterpoint with Adolph Bernhard Marx, and instrumentation with Wilhelm Wieprecht. She began publishing her works and performing in private concerts. Then, on 21 April 1850, Wieprecht led his 'Euterpe' orchestra in a concert at the Royal Theatre exclusively presenting compositions by Mayer, including a concert overture, string quartet, a setting of Psalm 118 for chorus and orchestra, two symphonies and some piano solos. Shortly after this, she was awarded the gold medal of art from the Queen of Prussia, Elisabeth Ludovika of Bavaria. With critical and popular acclaim, she continued composing works for public performance. She traveled to attend performances of her works, including concerts in Cologne, Munich, Lyon, Brussels and Vienna. As Mayer’s instrumental works were being increasingly performed and her fame grew, she was appointed co-director of the Berlin Opera. Even so, she was often forced to meet the costs involved herself. While her male counterparts would often receive an honorarium from their publishers, Mayer still had to pay for publication of her works. In 1876, she returned to Berlin where her music was still frequently performed. Mayer’s new Faust Overture became a hit and she re-established herself as a significant figure in the city’s cultural circles. As a composer, her output includes the singspiel 'Die Fischerin', several sinfonias and overtures, choral settings and lieder. Among her instrumental works are 9 sonatas for violin and 13 for cello, 11 piano trios and 7 string quartets. She was initially influenced by the Vienna classic style, whilst her later works were more Romantic. Mayer’s harmonies are characterized by sudden shifts in tonality and the frequent use of seventh chords, with the diminished seventh allowing Mayer to reach a variety of resolutions. Her rhythms are often very complex, with several layers interacting at once. Besides composing, she worked as a sculptor, and some of her works were retained in royal collections.

HOFFMEISTER, Franz Anton (1754-1812) - Concerto a Viola Principale

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)

Drawing: Giovanni Battista Dell'Era (1765-1798) - Conversation in a Garden at Frascati

Further info: Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812) - Concerto pour le pianoforté (1789)

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Franz (Francesco, François) Anton (Antonio, Antoine) Hoffmeister [Hoffemeister, Hofmeister]

(Rothenburg am Neckar, 12 May 1754 - Vienna, 9 February 1812)

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.

VORISEK, Jan Václav (1791-1825) - Sinfonie D-Dur (1823)

Jan Václav Voříšek (1791-1825) - Premier Sinfonie D-Dur (1823)

Performers: Virtuosi Di Praga; Václav Neumann (1920-1995, conductor)

Painting: Hippolyte Lecomte (1781-1857) - Reddition de Mantoue, le 2 février 1797,

le général Wurmser se rend au général Sérurier

Further info: Voříšek - Mass & Symphony

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Jan Václav (Johann Hugo) Voříšek [Worzischek, Worisek]

(Vamberk, 11 May 1791 - Vienna, 19 November 1825)

Bohemian composer, pianist and organist. He was the youngest son of Václav František Voříšek (1749-1815) who taught him the piano and singing. He later studied the organ and the violin and began to compose. As a child prodigy, he started to perform publicly in Bohemian towns at the age of nine. After settled in Prague, he studied at a grammar school and later he went on at the Prague University. At the same time, he took piano and composition lessons from Václav Tomášek. In 1813 he moved to Vienna to study law at the university as well as music under Johann Nepomuk Hummel. In Vienna he personally met Ludwig van Beethoven (1814) and many other important personalities of European musical life; among others Franz Schubert, with whom they became good friends. He finished his law studies only in 1821 and for a short time made his living as a clerk; at the same time he composed, conducted and taught piano. In 1824 he was appointed the first court organist in Vienna. At that time, however, he suffered from tuberculosis; his treatment in Graz did not help and he died in his age of 34. As a composer, he mainly wrote piano works; he started in the classical style but soon romantic elements predominated. He also composed, among others, a Symphony (1821), several chamber works and a Solemn Mass. Although he was born in Bohemia, Voříšek's music bears hardly a trace of what was later considered to be Czech national style. Well versed in Viennese classicism, he was among the last of the many Bohemian émigrés of his time to compose in the internationalized late-Classical style associated with Vienna. Voříšek's music provides a remarkably accurate picture of the musical trends prevalent in Biedermeier Vienna, especially during the decade 1815-1825. His brother František Voříšek (1785-1843), a priest, was also a musician, and the two daughters, Eleonora Voříšek and Anna Voříšek, were pianists.