Cherubini in Wien

Featuring

Martin Skamletz
Herbert Walser-Breuß
Concerto Stella Matutina
Anton Fischer
Luigi Cherubini
Johann Nepomuk Hummel

Ignaz von Seyfried

Did you know?

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Instruments

Johann Nepomuk Hummel's Trumpet Concerto was written for a keyed instrument belonging to Viennese court trumpeter Anton Weidinger, whose secret construction is still a subject of speculation.

Album & Artwork

The CD cover features an unfinished gouache painting by Empress Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, which is preserved in the Austrian National Library.

Compositional Technique

Viennese arrangers often re-orchestrated French operas, placing significant emphasis on trumpets, including instruments pitched higher than those used in France at the time.

Historical Context

The Cherubini quotation in Hummel's Trumpet Concerto, premiered on New Year's Day 1804, was likely part of an anti-Napoleonic program orchestrated by Empress Marie Therese.

Composition History

Luigi Cherubini's opera Les deux journées, originally composed without trumpets, was re-orchestrated by Viennese arrangers to include standard trumpets and horns.

Composer Biography

Luigi Cherubini, born in Florence, established himself in Paris in the late 1780s and later became director of the Paris Conservatory.

Historical Context

Between 1801 and 1805, Viennese theater programs showed great enthusiasm for French opera, with the royal imperial Hoftheater and the newly opened Theater an der Wien competing to stage them.