Johann Baptist Vaňhal (Wanhal) - Sinfonia in D Major, Bryan D17, Budapest Nicolaus Esterhazy Sinfonia, Uwe Grodd (Conductor),
I. Andante molto - Allegro moderato - 00:00
II. Adagio molto - 07:41
III. Finale: Allegro - 12:08
Johann Baptist Wanhal (Vaňhal) (12 May 1739 - 20 August 1813) was a Czech classical music composer. He was one of the most popular Viennese composers during his lifetime. History has, however, been unkind to his reputation, the result of irresponsible statements that were made by imaginative authors who were not acquainted with him or his circumstances. The general impression is that he was melancholy and depressed when, in truth, he appears to have been basically happy and personable. Wild claims have also been made that early in his career he was so overcome by madness caused by religious fervour that he burned some of his music. After that, the story goes, the quality of compositions deteriorated so much that he never realised the promise of his early works. One part of Vaňhal's reputation is, however, true. He was the first major composer of the time who was strong enough to renounce the offer of a 'good' - and terribly demanding position - and to live comfortably until he died in Vienna at the age of seventy-four. His success was possible because of his other personal characteristics. He was humble and deeply religious - not ambitious for fame, high position, or fortune. He was also shrewd, hard-working and sensitive to changing economic and social conditions. As a result he decided to cease composing symphonies and chamber music when the market in Vienna was drying up in about 1780, and began to explore other possibilities. The results were spectacular. He composed, for example, more than 247 works (mostly unpublished), large and small, for the church. He also wrote a huge number of pieces all of which centred around the keyboard. He also published many pieces for instruction and entertainment which became very popular, including imaginative pieces with descriptive titles such as The Battle of Trafalgar. In all he produced more than 1300 compositions in a wide variety of genres. To the present, only the symphonies and string quartets have been sufficiently studied to ascertain his complete contribution.
His symphonies provide a good introduction to Vaňhal's symphonic style and illustrate why he was considered such an important exponent of the genre.
The Sinfonia in D major, D17 is one of three symphonies published in 1780 as Op.10 by J.J. Hummel in Berlin. They were the last of Vaňhal's symphonies to be newly published and I estimate that they were composed ca 1779. All the evidence suggests that these symphonies were commissioned by Hummel and that the extant manuscript sets of parts in various archives were copied direct from Op.10 rather than from an earlier source. The Sinfonia is a fine work; I believe that it is one of Vaňhal's best. From the haunting D minor introduction scored for strings (with muted violins) to the dashing and brilliantly composed finale, the work is uniformly strong and quite the equal of any of Haydn's symphonies of the period. At first glance it appears to be in three movements, but the Andante molto opening has a life of its own - much the same as the Adagio openings to Mozart's 'Linz' Symphony No. 36 in C major, K. 425, composed in 1783 and to Symphony No. 38 in D, K. 504, composed in 1786. Mozart's prominent use of the chromatic rising figure in the introductions to both symphonies is similar to that found in bars 33-35 of Vaňhal's introductory movement. Further, his use of Vaňhal's opening motif from the introductory movement as the basic ingredient for the Poco Adagio second movement of K. 425 suggests that Mozart may have been impressed with Vaňhal's Sinfonia at some point before he composed K. 425. Certainly the critic C.F. Cramer was impressed. Writing in the Magazin der Musik in Hamburg in 1783 he said: "may Herr Vaňhal not be prevented ... from giving us more such symphonies". (by Paul Bryan, review for Naxos)