Johann André (1741-1799) - Flötenquartett D-Dur (c.1793) after Mozart's Violin Sonata K378
[attributed but probably by his son Johann Anton André (1775-1842)]
Performers: Ensemble Sans Souci Berlin
Further info: Andre: Flute Quartets After Mozart
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German composer and publisher. His peasant grandfather, a Huguenot, fled
persecution in Languedoc and settled in 1688 in Frankfurt, where he
became a manufacturer of silks. When only ten years old Johann succeeded
to the family firm, which was directed during his minority by his
mother and an uncle. His early education in music came through a friend
who took lessons in Frankfurt; from 1756, while he learnt business
management in the family firm, he had lessons in thoroughbass for
several months from a transient musician, apparently the only regular
instruction he ever received. Around 1758 he went to Mannheim to further
his business training. The decisive stimulus to André’s artistic career
occurred when he was a volunteer clerk in Frankfurt (1760-61), where,
during the French occupation, a French troupe presented the opéras
comiques of Philidor for the first time to a German public. The removal
of Theobald Marchand’s renowned theatrical troupe to Frankfurt in 1770
made André’s efforts particularly timely. Marchand, apparently drawn by
the literary finesse of these translations, seems to have proposed
André’s close collaboration with the troupe; in any case André
translated more than a dozen French plays and operettas in 1771-72, all
of which appeared in Marchand’s repertory. In addition Marchand
cultivated German Singspiel, as represented by Georg Benda, Hiller,
Neefe and others. André made adept use of the many-sided theatrical
experiences and stimuli of these years in the libretto and score of his
first work, Der Töpfer (1773), dedicated to Marchand. Goethe wrote at
length in appreciation of this work (letter of 23 November 1773 to
Johanna Fahlmer):
"The piece exists for the sake of its music, bears witness to the good,
gregarious soul of its creator, and fully meets our theatre’s particular
need that actors and audience be able to follow it. Now and then there
are good conceits; yet its uniformity would not exist but for the music.
This music is composed with understanding of the present capabilities
of our theatres. The author has sought to combine correct declamation
with light, flowing melody, and no further art is required to sing his
ariettas than is demanded by the beloved compositions of Messrs Hiller
and Wolf. So as not to leave the ear entirely empty, he has directed all
his industry to the accompaniment, which he sought to render as
full-voiced and harmonious as is possible without disadvantage to the
sung parts. To this end he often used wind instruments, sometimes
putting these in unison with the voice parts to make them strong and
agreeable, as accomplished for instance by a single flute in the first
duet. One cannot reproach him for copying or pilfering. And there is
still more to be hoped from him."
Der Töpfer, first performed on 22 January 1773 in Hanau, was a success;
and, as was characteristic of André’s enterprise and practicality, he
tried to turn this into a material success too. The artistic and
apparent financial success of Der Töpfer determined André’s subsequent
career and encouraged him to further undertakings both as a dilettante
composer and as a music publisher. André withdrew from the family silk
concern in 1774 to found his own ‘Notenfabrique’ and music publishing
house. In 1776 he was appointed conductor at Theophil Döbbelin’s theatre
in Berlin. There André disclosed his full talent as a composer in a
period of extraordinary productivity. André’s mother died in 1784, and
his publishing firm was faring poorly under the administration of his
uncle J.B. Pfaltz. As the removal of the firm from Offenbach to Berlin
was made impossible by J.J. Hummel’s exclusive privilege in that city,
André, by then bearing the honorary title of Kapellmeister to Margrave
Schwedt, accordingly chose to return to Offenbach, where he immediately
took over the direction of his firm. By virtue of its circumspect
treatment of authors and many technical improvements the firm flourished
considerably, reaching its 1000th item in 1797. André apparently
composed little after 1784, his Singspiel Der Bräutigam in der Klemme
for the Frankfurt stage (1796) being a solitary late addition to his
output. In 1798 he fell ill while on a business journey to Bamberg and
he died the next year.
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