The first collection of Benda's sonatas, Sei Sonate per il cembalo, was published in 1757, but a modern edition only became available in 1956.
Compositional Technique
Benda's keyboard sonatas, often akin to the Empfindsamkeit (sensitivity) style of C.P.E. Bach, are notable for their inexhaustible melodic invention and the importance given to the slow movement.
Cultural Impact
Jiří Antonín Benda's melodramas, such as Ariadne at Naxos and Medea, made a significant impression on Mozart, influencing the melodrama scenes in his opera Zaide.
Composer Biography
Jiří Antonín Benda, the composer, is known primarily for his melodramas and singspiels, a type of German opera with spoken dialogue.
Historical Context
Jiří Antonín Benda's elder brother, František Benda, a violinist, brought their family to Berlin in 1742 after they were suspected of Protestant heresy by the Archbishop of Prague.
Performer Biography
Sylvia Georgieva, the harpsichordist on this recording, was the last student of the legendary Professor Zuzana Růžičková at the Academy of Music in Prague.
Critical Reception
Benda's keyboard sonatas received a remarkable 2,073 pre-orders, a figure significantly higher than those for C.P.E. Bach (605) or early Haydn collections (1,250).
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