Franz Krommer

Mozart Contemporaries: Franz Krommer
 

Franz Krommer (František Krommer: born 27 November 1759 – died 8 January 1831), was a Czech composer of classical music and violinist. A contemporary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, his 71-year life span began half a year after the death of G. F. Handel and ended nearly four years after that of Beethoven. He died in Vienna.

His life highlights include the following:  From 1773 to 1776, he studied violin and organ with his uncle, Antonín Mattias Kramár. In Turany, he became organist along with his uncle in 1777. In 1785 he was in Vienna as violinist in the orchestra of the duke of Styria (now in Simontornya in Hungary.) In 1790, he  was named Maestro di Cappella at the Cathedral of Pecs, Hungary.  He returned again to Vienna in 1795, becoming Maestro di Cappella for Duke Ignaz Fuchs in 1798. From 1813, until his death, Krommer succeeded Leopold Kozeluch as composer for the Imperial Court of Austria.

Krommer's output was prolific, with at least three hundred published compositions in at least 110 opus numbers including at least 9 symphonies, seventy string quartets and many others for winds and strings, with about 15 string quintets. Today, he is best known for his powerful wind ensemble music.


Video Credit:

Franz Krommer - Concerto for Two Clarinets in E-flat major, Op. 91. Youtube, uploaded by KuhlauDilfeng2. Accessed November 27, 2017

Image Credit:

KrommerFranz. En.wikipedia.org / Public Domain

Resource:

Franz Krommer. en.wikipedia.org.  Accessed November 28, 2015.



(c) November 2015. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.

Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A, K.622

Classical Music / Clarinet Concerto 


One of the best loved and most popular music composed by Mozart. It's heavenly. It's beautiful. Mozart wrote this famous Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622, in October 1791 for the clarinetist Anton Stadler. The first movement is based on Mozart’s earlier torso of 199 bars of a basset horn concerto in G.  It was first performed by Stadler in Prague, on October 16, 1791. Reception of his performance was positive in general.  It consists of three movements, in a fast–slow–fast succession:

1. Allegro (in A major and in sonata form)
2. Adagio (in D major and in ternary form)
3. Rondo: Allegro (in A major and in rondo form)

Here's a highly recommended beautiful performance of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra; Cornelius Meister, conductor; Arngunnur Árnadóttir, clarinet.  From Iceland Symphony's concert, Harpa, Reykjavík, September 10th 2015. Youtube, uploaded by the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. Accessed January 27, 2019.


 

Clarinet Concerto in A was one of Mozart's final completed works, and his final purely instrumental work (he died less than two months after its October premiere). The concerto is notable for its delicate interplay between soloist and orchestra, and for the lack of overly extroverted display on the part of the soloist (no cadenzas are written out in the solo part).

More listening pleasure: 

 

Mozart Clarinet Concerto in A major K 622 (Full). Clarinet: Robert Marcellus Conductor: George Szell Orchestra: Cleveland Orcherstra. Youtube, uploaded by BLOP888. Accessed October 16, 2013.

Resource:

Clarinet Concert (Mozart). en.wikipedia.org. Accessed  October 16, 2013. 




(c) October 2013. Updated January 27, 2019. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.