Donald Armstrong, the Music Director of the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra, plays a violin made in 1754 by Nicoló Gagliano.
Critical Reception
Beck's symphonies are considered among the most striking works of the mid-eighteenth century, yet he surprisingly lost interest in the genre as early as the mid-1760s.
Composition History
Franz Beck's Six Symphonies, Op. 1, were published in Paris in 1758 and describe him as 'Chamber Virtuoso to the Elector Palatine and pupil of Johann Stamitz,' a famous Mannheim court orchestra director and his teacher.
Compositional Technique
The Op. 1 Symphonies by Franz Beck, also called Overtures, are short, three-movement works in the typical fast-slow-fast cycle, with the second symphony unusually featuring a Minuet as its finale.
Composer Biography
Franz Beck, the composer of these symphonies, may have fled Mannheim after a duel, believing he had killed his rival, only to later learn it was a hoax.
Recording & Production
This recording was produced by Stephen Managh, the founder of the New Zealand Chamber Orchestra, who sadly passed away before its completion.
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