Joseph Burgksteiner (1730-1797)
- Divertimento in A-Dur
Performers: János Liebener (1923-2015, baryton); Hans Pischner (1914-2016, cembalo)
Further info: Barytonmusik Des 18. Jahrhunderts
---
Austrian singer, violist and composer. Almost nothing is known about his
early years. In 1766 he assumed a post of bass singer at the Eszterháza
castle. The same year he presumably was an all-rounder string player
(violin and viola) who worked under the Esterhazy's konzertmeister
Tomasini, who was appointed just five years before. The nature of the
compositions, simpler than those of Jopseh Haydn and Karl Franz, point
to him perhaps being a violinist at heart who wrote trios the top line
of which could be played by the Prince Nikolaus I Esterhazy, the only
barytonist at the time. One gets the strong impression that a bunch of
court instrumentalists, Tomasini on violin, Karl Franz on horn and
Burgksteiner on violin/viola, all jumped on the bandwagon of baryton
composing (along with Haydn) at the same time, with Karl Franz probably
the fastest learner or the most adept.
