The London Mozart Players, the orchestra on this recording, were founded over 75 years ago by Harry Blech to perform the works of Mozart and Haydn.
Composer Biography
Pleyel's career took an unexpected turn when he founded a music publishing company and later a piano manufacturing company, which became very successful.
Critical Reception
Wolfgang Amadé Mozart was so enthusiastic about Pleyel's string quartets that he hoped Pleyel might someday "replace Haydn for us."
Performer Biography
Jordan Bak, the violist on this recording, has been praised by critics as "an exciting new voice in Classical performance" and for his "haunting lyrical grace."
Composer Biography
Ignaz Pleyel, the composer, was a student of Joseph Haydn, who paid for his education from around 1772.
Critical Reception
Despite early acclaim, critical opinion of Pleyel's music shifted, with some later reviews describing his symphonies as "Divertimenti for Orchestra" and his piano pieces as "cloyingly sweet."
Composer Biography
Pleyel's piano manufacturing company, founded in 1807, increased its annual production from 50 instruments to 1000 by 1834.
