Presents
Paul Wranitzky
String Trio in D Major, Op.17 No.5
Paul Wranitzky (1756-1808 Pavel Vranický in the Czech form) was born in the town Nová Ríše (then Neureisch) in Moravia. At age 20, like so many other Czech composers of that period, he moved to Vienna to seek out opportunities within the Austrian imperial capital. Wranitzky played a prominent role in the musical life of Vienna. He was on friendly terms and highly respected by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven who preferred him as the conductor of their new works. Wranitzky was, as so many of his contemporaries, a prolific composer. His chamber works number over 100. Wrantizky wrote at least 24 string trios, at least 15 for violin, viola and cello.
Writing about Wranitzky's chamber music in the last part of the 19th century, the famous Belgian critic and musicologist Joseph Fetis (1784-1871) recalled:
“The music of Wranitzky was in fashion when it was new because of his natural melodies and brilliant style…I recall that, in my youth, his works held up very well in comparison with those of Haydn. Their premature abandonment of today has been for me a source of astonishment.”
The String Trio in D Major, Op.17 No.5 if the fifth of a set of six that date from 1791/92. Like many popular and proflific composers from this era, Boccherini and Pleyel for example, different publishers gave the works different opus numbers hence making them unreliable for posterity. They were published in two volumes, each with three trios. While Wrantizky's favorite publisher Andre listed them as Op.17 Nos.1-3 and Book II as Nos 4-6, the French publisher Imbault called the first three Op.1 and next three Op.2. These six string trios are among the most important of their time. Each in four movements as true proponents of the Vienna Classical style. Each of the voices is given solos but trios are not concertante trios per se. The opening movement, Allegro con spirito, begins with three loud chords in all of the voices. These three chords will reappear and play an important role throughout the movement. Next comes a lovely Adagio, which is followed by a energetic and hard-driving Menuetto. The bright finale is a lively Rondo
Parts: $15.95
Score & Parts: $19.95
