The Classical Music Book

116

I

n 1741, the composer Johann

Stamitz moved from his home

in Bohemia (now the Czech

Republic) to Mannheim, capital

of the Electoral Palatinate, a

German territory. There he became

court violinist and, in 1745, was

appointed concertmaster of the

orchestra. Stamitz raised the

standards of orchestral playing,

hiring talented musicians, some

of whom were also composers

in their own right, and extended

the orchestra by adding wind

instruments, such as oboes and

horns. He directed this diverse

group, not from the keyboard, as had

previously been the norm, but from

his desk at the head of the violin

section, using his bow to signal the

start of the piece and to indicate

rhythm and tempo. Under Stamitz,

the Mannheim orchestra became

renowned for the superb quality

and precision of its playing and for

the new soundscape that it created.

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

Expanding the scope

of the orchestra

BEFORE

1720s Composers of

Neapolitan operas, such

as Leonardo Vinci, write

“sinfonie” (symphonies) in

three movements as preludes

to their dramatic works.

1732 Italian composer

Giovanni Battista Sammartini

begins to write a series of

three-movement symphonies.

AFTER

1766 In Paris, Mozart

befriends the Mannheim

composer and conductor

Christian Cannabich, a pupil

and follower of Stamitz.

1772 Haydn, in his Sturm

und Drang (“Storm and Stress”)

symphonies, further explores

the emotive style of orchestral

music pioneered by the

Mannheim composers.

Stamitz’s musical home Mannheim,

seen here in an engraving of 1788

showing the Elector's castle, court

church (Hofkirche), and armoury

became a center of music innovation.

ITS FORTE IS

LIKE THUNDER,

ITS CRESCENDO

A CATARACT

SYMPHONY IN E FLAT MAJOR, OP. 11, NO. 3,

(1754–1755), JOHANN STAMITZ

US_116-117_Stamitz.indd 116 26/03/18 1:00 PM