Jean-Balthasar Tricklir (1750-1813) - Concerto pour le violoncel, Oeuvre Premier (1783)
Performers: Alexаnder Rudіn (cello); Musicа Vivа
Painting: English School (mid-19th century) - A portrait of a gentleman in an interior holding a cello
Further info: Tricklir - Cello concertos
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French cellist and composer of German descent. Although as a child he
was destined for the priesthood, he decided on a career in music, being
sent to Mannheim in 1765, where he continued his musical studies until
about 1768. In 1776 he made his debut at the Concerts spirituels in
Paris, following which he toured Italy. In 1782 he was made chamber
composer to the Elector of Mainz, but he left a year later for a
position at the Saxon court in Dresden, where he remained most of his
life. He was well regarded by his contemporaries as a music theorist and
composer; he was praised in Correspondance des amateurs musiciens (19
November 1803) and J.-B.S. Bréval’s Traité du violoncelle (Paris, 1804).
His works were published in Germany and France and his fourth concerto
was performed in Paris at the Concert Spirituel by J.-L. Duport, who
later published his own edited version of the work. In his unpublished
treatise, Le microcosme musical (1785), he described a device for
preventing the effects of atmospheric changes on the tuning of string
instruments; discussion of the device appeared in Cramer’s Magazin der
Musik. Tricklir also taught the cello, and his pupils included Dominique
Bideau. Tricklir’s compositions display an interesting combination of
French and German performing practices. His French training is revealed
in his carefully crafted bowings and use of natural harmonics, the
latter being explored particularly in the ‘nouveau’ concertos. His music
consists of 16 cello concertos, three violin and six cello sonatas, a
sinfonia concertante, and several quartets.
