Ferdinand Zellbell (1719-1780)
- Concerto (in a) per il Bassono solo
Performers: Börje Kräusel (bassoon); The National Museum Chamber Orchestra;
Claude Génetay (1917-1992, conductor)
Further info: Ferdinand Zellbell (1719-1780)
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Swedish musician and composer, son of Ferdinand Zellbell (1689-1765). He
studied with his father and J.H. Roman; in 1741-42 he travelled to
Germany and studied with Telemann and others. On his return to Sweden he
received, in 1743, an assistantship to his father's post as organist of
the Storkyrka in Stockholm, assuming most of the duties and half the
salary from 1753. On 18 July 1750 he succeeded Per Braut as
hovkapellmäster, but his salary was not paid until 1762, when he was
appointed to succeed his father. Zellbell visited St Petersburg in 1758
and, for the tsarina's birthday, composed his first opera, Il giudizio
d'Aminta. From 1759 he contributed to Stockholm's musical life primarily
as director of the public concerts and as a member of the Order of
Freemasons (which he had entered on 28 June 1758). Zellbell was the only
professional musician among the founders of the Swedish Royal Academy
of Music (1771), and from 1772 to 1774 acted as the director of
education at the academy's newly opened school. In 1773 he was
commissioned to write the short opera-ballet Sveas högtid, which was
performed the following year in a concert version. He died unmarried and
destitute, leaving a large collection of printed books and music.
Contemporary opinions on his personality and importance as a musician
were sharply divided: he was condemned by some for his indolence and
old-fashioned taste, and praised by others for his skill as an organist
and improviser. His extant authenticated works are stylistically mixed,
though galant elements can be discerned. Zellbell often indicated
dynamic contrasts more carefully than his contemporaries, but the
tendency towards mechanical repetition found in his father's music is
often evident.
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