Musicologists Robert Sondheimer and Hugo Riemann recognized Franz Ignaz Beck's importance for the development of the symphony and the 'Classical Style' over a century ago.
Composer Biography
Franz Ignaz Beck, a contemporary of Joseph Haydn, appears to have stopped writing symphonies after 1766.
Compositional Technique
Beck's Op. 4 symphonies explore structural questions like the number of movements, the inclusion of a minuet, and the varied use of wind instruments.
Performer Biography
La Stagione Frankfurt, led by Michael Schneider, has released 53 CDs and performed in renowned venues like the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and La Scala in Milan.
Performer Biography
Michael Schneider, the conductor of La Stagione Frankfurt, began his solo career as a recorder player, winning a prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in 1978.
Composition History
This recording concludes La Stagione Frankfurt's project to record all twelve mature symphonies by Franz Ignaz Beck, a project that began in 1995.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Franz Ignaz Beck's working method, like Haydn's, involved experimenting as an orchestra leader, observing what creates or weakens an effect, and daring to improve, add, or cut away.
