Franz Ignaz Danzi (1763-1826) - (Sinfonia) concertante for bassoon and clarinet, Op.47 (1818)
Performers: Eduard Brunner (1939-2017, clarinet); Klaus Thunemann
(bassoon);
Munich Chamber Orchestra; Hans Stadlmair (1929-2019,
conductor)
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Composer, son of Innocenz Danzi (c.1730-1798). He studied the piano, the
cello and singing with his father and at the age of 15 joined the
celebrated Mannheim orchestra. When the Elector Palatine Carl Theodor
transferred his court to Munich in 1778, Danzi remained in Mannheim, in
the orchestra of the newly established Nationaltheater. He studied
composition with G.J. Vogler and before leaving Mannheim wrote a
duodrama, a Singspiel and incidental music for at least eight plays. In
1784 he was appointed to replace his father as principal cellist in the
court orchestra at Munich. Although he wanted to compose operas for the
court, Danzi received no major commissions until 1789; Die
Mitternachtstunde (formerly dated 1788) was not performed until 1798. In
1790 he married the singer Margarethe Marchand. The couple visited
Hamburg, Leipzig, Prague, Florence and Venice, spending two years in the
Guardasoni company. In 1796 they returned to Munich. After the
successful première of Die Mitternachtstunde, Danzi was appointed
vice-Kapellmeister on 18 May 1798 and placed in charge of German opera
and church music. He was recognized at this time not only as one of
Munich’s leading musicians, but also as a prominent member of the city’s
literary circles, with articles in the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung
(including an unsigned proposal in 1804 encouraging the development of
German opera), the literary journal Aurora, and other publications. The
next few years were marked by a series of personal and professional
setbacks. Danzi’s father died in 1798, and his wife died in 1800 after a
long illness.
The death of Carl Theodor in 1799 had a greater impact on Danzi’s
career: the new elector, Maximilian IV Joseph, was less sympathetic to
German opera and imposed financial restrictions on the theatres.
Further, Danzi faced opposition from rivals, including the new intendant
Joseph Marius Babo and the Kapellmeister Peter Winter. When his serious
German opera Iphigenie in Aulis was finally given in 1807, it was
poorly prepared and had only two performances; bitter and disappointed,
Danzi left Munich for Stuttgart. In October 1807, the King of
Württemberg offered Danzi the position of Kapellmeister at Stuttgart,
where Zumsteeg had been active. There Danzi met Carl Maria von Weber and
encouraged the younger composer as he completed his Singspiel Silvana.
In 1811 the king established an institute for music: Danzi was appointed
a director, to teach composition and supervise instruction on wind
instruments. However, he was so overworked between court duties and the
institute that he apparently had no time for composition, producing only
a single one-act opera and very little other music in his five years in
Stuttgart. Danzi left Stuttgart in 1812 to become Kapellmeister in
Karlsruhe. The musical organization there was inexperienced and weak,
and he spent the rest of his tenure trying to build a respectable
company. He remained an active correspondent with Weber and directed his
operas soon after their premières. None of his own operas written in
Karlsruhe produced a popular success, but during the last decade of his
life Danzi found a willing outlet for his instrumental compositions in
the publisher Johann André, for whom he provided numerous pieces of
chamber music. Among them were the works for which he is best known
today, his woodwind quintets opp.56, 67 and 68.
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