Josef Mysliveček (1737-1781)
- Concerto (F-Dur) per Cembalo | Con Violini, Oboe, Corni, Viola, e Bassi (c.1777)
Performers: Christoph Anselm Noll (harpsichord); Neue Düsseldorfer Hofmusik; Mary Utiger (conductor)
Further info: Josef Mysliveček (1737-1781) - Sinfonia in B flat major
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Bohemian composer. The son of a prosperous miller, and the elder of
identical twin brothers, he studied law and philosophy at Charles
University in Prague. By 1761 he had become a master miller but gave it
up to study music. His teachers were Franz Habermann and Josef Seger,
but in 1763 he obtained the patronage of the Waldstein family that
allowed him to travel to Venice to study with Giovanni Pescetti. His
first opera was produced in 1766 in Bergamo, but it was not until the
success of his 'Il Bellerofonte' in Naples the following year that he
was he commissioned by theatres throughout Italy. In 1771 he was
admitted into the Accademia Filarmonica of Bologna after befriending
Padre Martini. He made at least three trips to northern Europe after
establishing himself in Italy. The first, a triumphant return to Prague
in 1768, was probably occasioned by his mother’s death in 1767 and the
settlement of his father’s estate. His second trip, in 1772, may have
been intended to establish his reputation in Vienna. If so, the effort
clearly failed, but he did meet Charles Burney in September. Mysliveček
ventured north for the last time at the invitation of Maximilian III
Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, in 1777-78. While in Munich, he witnessed
successful productions of his opera 'Ezio' and his oratorio 'Isacco' and
sought surgical treatment for what is believed to have been venereal
disease, with the result that his nose was burnt off. On his return to
Italy in 1778, he enjoyed operatic successes in Naples and Venice, but
his final decline was signalled by the failure of both of the operas
that he prepared for Carnival 1780 ('Armida' for Milan and 'Medonte' for
Rome). He died in Rome, in abject poverty; his funeral at the church of
San Lorenzo in Lucina was paid for by a mysterious Englishman named
Barry, a former pupil. He was a versatile composer, whose music in
numerous genres influenced a generation of composers. His output include
26 operas, eight oratorios, 15 secular cantatas, 55 symphonies, 12
string quintets, 18 string quartets, three wind octets, 16 concertos, 17
violin sonatas, 20 string trios, and a host of smaller individual
works, including three notturnos. He was not a prolific composer of
sacred music. He was nicknamed 'Il Boemo' during the heyday of his
career, an appellation that was given him due to the popularity of his
operas, almost all of which are serious works. He had a firm grasp of
good lyrical melodies and progressive harmony.
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