Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) - Sinfonia (concertante) in D
Performers: L'Orfeo Barockorchester
Further info: Christoph Willibald Gluck (1714-1787) - Les Chinoises
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German composer of international stature. Although little is known about
his youth, Gluck reported that he came from a musical family; his
father, a forester, was adept at various instruments. In 1731 he
attended Prague University studying logic and mathematics before moving
to Italy to study music under Giovanni Battista Sammartini in Milan. His
first opera, Artaserse, was performed there in 1741, followed by
Demetrio in Venice a year later. Thereafter, he composed works
throughout Italy before moving to London in 1746. Despite disparaging
remarks by George Frederick Handel, he achieved some success there, and
joined the Mingotti troupe as their Kapellmeister. He toured with them
for several years until 1750, when he married the daughter of a wealthy
Viennese merchant, thus allowing him economic stability. He then began
to write operas for both Prague and Vienna, the latter beginning in 1754
with Le cinesi. In 1756 he was invested as a Knight of the Golden Spur
by Pope Benedict XIV, thus allowing himself to be known by the title
Chevalier von Gluck. By 1758 he had turned toward the opéra comique,
beginning with La fausse esclave. During this period he also became
acquainted with the director of the opera, Count Giacomo Durazzo,
choreographers Gasparo Angiolini and Franz Hilverding, as well as
librettist Raniero Calzabigi. Discussions on the dramatic ballet led to
the 1761 premiere of Don Juan, followed the next year by the opera Orfeo
ed Euridice, leading to an important work, Alceste, of 1767, which
contains a seminal preface describing the concept of opera reform. In
1774 Gluck was called to Paris around the same time as he was named
hofKapellmeister in Vienna. Here he produced a series of operas ranging
from French revisions of his Viennese works to original pieces such as
Iphigénie en Aulide and Armide. This led to the revival of the French
opera, as well as a controversy when the Théâtre Italien brought
Neapolitan composer Niccolò Piccinni to Paris to foment a rivalry
similar to the Querelle des bouffons two decades earlier. In 1779 Gluck
returned to Vienna following a stroke that occurred during his final
opera, Écho et Narcisse. A German opera, Hunnenschlacht, remained
fragmentary, and a further Parisian commission, Les Danïades, was given
over to Gluck’s pupil Antonio Salieri. Gluck wrote over 50 operas,
ranging from opera seria to opéra comique, as well as numerous additions
to pasticcios, at least 40 ballets, ranging from divertissements to
ballets d’action, 12 Lieder, nine symphonies, eight trio sonatas, four
Psalms/sacred works, and a number of miscellaneous works. Gluck can be
considered a seminal figure in the development and reform of opera in
the Classical period. His influence ranged from Italy to Scandinavia and
from Russia to France; moreover, he wrote in virtually all of the
styles of opera of the period, as well as being a major contributor to
the development of the 18th-century ballet. Of particular note is his
ability to orchestrate his operas, using timbre effectively to create
dramatic moments. His works bear Wq (Wotquenne) numbers.
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