Joan Baptista and Josep Pla, born into a Catalan family of musicians, were excellent oboists who also played other instruments and composed.
Composition History
The music of the Pla brothers is relatively unknown today, with very few of their nearly one hundred orchestral and chamber works having been edited, performed, or recorded.
Compositional Technique
The Pla sonatas follow the Italianate galant three-movement pattern of fast-slow-fast, featuring extensive question-and-answer dialogues and duetto episodes.
Compositional Technique
The Pla brothers unusually often employed minor keys and avoided expected modulations to the dominant, preferring related minor keys, which was atypical for the galant aesthetic.
Composer Biography
Josep (1728-1762) and Joan Baptista (before 1728-1773) Pla toured European courts and concert halls from about 1751, performing together.
Critical Reception
The Mercure de France reviewed the Pla brothers' performances in Paris, praising their "good taste and finesse" and calling one of them "the best oboist in Europe."
Composition History
Determining the specific authorship of the Pla brothers' works is problematic due to varied spellings of their surname without first names, and indications that Joan Baptista and Josep jointly composed some pieces.
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