The album's title, 'Concerti Galanti,' refers to the 'galant style' of music, which, according to Voltaire, generally means 'seeking to please.'
Historical Context
The Mannheim ensemble, founded in 1720, became a highly significant orchestra in the 18th century, famous for its precision and dynamic effects like the 'Mannheim crescendo.'
Compositional Technique
The 'galant style' concertos on this album are characterized by singing, 'cantabile' melodies, a style that theorist Johann Adolph Scheibe ascribed to Italian theatre.
Composer Biography
Johann Stamitz, a Czech composer and violinist, directed the Mannheim orchestra, coaching it into the most renowned ensemble of its time.
Composition History
The Concerto for two keyboards by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi may have been composed in the context of musical competitions, which were commonplace in 18th-century European courts.
Compositional Technique
The concertos by Carl Stamitz and Johann Christian Bach on this album often feature a sonata-form first movement and bold harmonic shifts, with finales frequently depicting hunting scenes.
Composer Biography
Muzio Clementi, a composer featured on this album, once competed in a keyboard virtuosity contest with Mozart before Emperor Joseph II in Vienna in 1781.
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