Presents
Paul Wranitzky
String Quartet in G Major, Op.2 No.2-New Edition
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. Although some scholars believe that Wranitzky studied with Haydn, there is no proof of this. But there can be no question that he studied and was influenced by Haydn’s quartets. Like Haydn, Wranitzky’s quartet writing went through many stages of development beginning with the pre-classical and evolving to the finished sonata form of the late Vienna Classics. The majority of Wranitzky’s quartets are set in the three-movement format of the Parisian quatour concertant. In these works he explored the emerging Romantic style with (for the time) daring harmonic progressions, theatrical gestures, and virtuoso display.
Op.2 No.2 is the second of a set of three which were composed a few years after Wranitzky came to Vienna in 1776--in other words sometime between the late 1770s and the mid 1780s. This can be deduced by the Quartet's three movement structure as well as the part-writing. The set was published in 1790 by his contemporary, Franz Anton Hoffmeister, an important composer and friend of Mozart who founded a publishing firm bearing his name which eventually became C.F. Peters. The first movement begins with a substantial Adagio introduction which leads to the main section, a pleasant Allegro non molto which sounds much like Haydn's early quartets of the same type. The middle movement, Poco adagio, con sordini, features a melancholy main theme, mostly played by the lower voices while the first violin produces filigree pizzicati, before taking over the lead. The finale is a lively Allegro assai which sports Czech folk melody.
This quartet is an important example of Wrantizky's early style, before becoming influenced by what became known as the emerging Viennese Classical Style. A light pleasant work, historically important, it makes agood choice for amateurs seeking to program work to present..
Parts: $24.95
Parts & Score: $31.95
