Presents
Franz Krommer
String Quartet in E flat Major, Op.16 No.1
Krommer's String Quartet in E flat Major, Op.16 No.1 is the first of a set of three which were composed in the late 1790’s and published by Andre in 1800 in Offenbach.The opening movement is a bright Allegro vivace and features a theme in which trills are prominent played over a pulsing accompaniment. The Andante allegretto which comes next takes three notes and develops them in rather an interesting fashion and features a finely contrasting section in the minor. The third movement is a Haydnesque Menuetto, typically late eighteenth century Viennese. The spritely finale, Rondo, allegro, has a lively, bouncy melody, which again recalls Haydn.
Franz Krommer (1759-1831) was born in town of Kamnitz then part of the Habsburg Austrian Empire (today Kamenice in the Czech Republic) It had a mixed population of Germans and Czechs and though baptized František Vincenc Kramář by the time he was 15, Krommer began using the Germanized version of his name for the rest of his life, the name by which he beame known to the world. Krommer was one of the most successful composers in Vienna at the turn of the 18th Century. His reputation was attested to by the fact that his works were frequently republished throughout Germany, England, France, Italy, Scandinavia and even the United States. According to several contemporary sources he was regarded with Haydn as the leading composer of string quartets and as a serious rival of Beethoven. Krommer was a violinist of considerable ability who came to Vienna around 1785. For the following 10 years he held appointments at various aristocratic courts in Hungary. He returned to Vienna in 1795 where he remained until his death, holding various positions including that of Court Composer (Hofmusiker) to the Emperor, Franz I, an enthusiastic quartet player. He was the last composer to hold this august title and one of his duties was accompanying the Emperor on his various campaigns so that he could relax in the evenings playing quartets. There are more than 300 compositions which were at one time or another published, much of which is chamber music. He wrote more than 70 string quartets, 35 quintets, perhaps as many as 15 string trios, but also several works for winds and strings. Of Krommer's string quartets, the famous chamber music critic Wilhelm Altmann, in his Handbook for String Quartet Players writes, “Krommer knew how to write for string instruments and as a result what he wrote sounds brilliant."
We were fortunate to obtain a very pristine copy of the first edition and have reprinted it. It is easy to play from, as you can see, but because it is not a new edition we have reduced our normal quartet price by 20%.
Parts: $19.95
