Carl Stamitz wrote over 50 symphonies in a career which saw
him reach heights of fame and popularity in his lifetime. The
lack of recordings of these works to be found in catalogues
today can be traced back to a damning statement made about the
Stamitz brothers by one W.A. Mozart, and the loss of his autograph
papers after his death. The works of Carl Stamitz which survive
are those which were printed and published, in the case of the
works on these discs for performance at fashionable Parisian
‘Concerts spirituels’, the lack of acceptance to which may in
part have lead to Mozart’s grumpy remarks about his more successful
contemporaries.
These symphonies are very much a product of their time, pandering
to the demands of audiences who would have been delighted with
exciting ostinati and crescendi, hunting horns
and a mixture of affect and effect in the soft and slow, loud
and fast contrasts. Today these works are inevitably compared
with those of Mozart and Haydn, but on their own terms they
have a great deal to offer. Charming and direct, the central
Andante movements are often witty and fun, like that
of the D minor Symphony Op.15, 3 with its walking pizzicato
strings, the little melodic ornaments of the Symphony in
E flat and muted delicacy of that in the Symphony in
E minor Op.15, 2. Outer movements are rousing and energetic
but full of surprises. Have a listen to 16 to 26 seconds into
the Prestissimo of the Symphony in D minor Op.15,
3 – after an opening which arguably has elements of Vivaldi,
I hear Beethoven in some of those little inner phrases. The
Allegro con spirito which opens the Symphony in E
flat major is full of catchy syncopations, and the last
movement Un poco presto, is that in a fast 3 beat, or
2, or 4? I think I know, but the composer might just
be wrong-footing us all the way. The Symphony in E minor
Op.15, 2 is another remarkably entertaining work, starting
out with a refined sense of mystery and taking off on entirely
different paths, and with the added colour of two flutes this
is a symphony with plenty of secrets to be revealed. The last
Symphony in F major has nicely prominent parts for two
clarinets and is nicknamed ‘La chasse’ for its energetic and
galloping final movement. The horn parts might have been expected
to be a little more prominent, but the natural horns used here
balance more with the rest of the orchestra rather than leaping
over the strings and drowning everyone out.
There is another disc of Carl Stamitz’s symphonies on the Chandos
label: CHAN 9358, with the London Mozart Players directed by
Matthias Bamert. This is a somewhat bigger-boned recording,
the larger orchestra creating a fatter sound and the period
feel only really pointed out by the addition of a harpsichord
as continuo, something not used by L’arte del mondo. The symphony
La Chasse is also different, the one in D major rather
than the one in F on the present disc, so the Chandos recording
can be seen more as a companion than a competitor. With fine
performances and a very good recording, this CPO disc is a welcome
release, showing us a strong side to a rather neglected name.
Dominy Clements
L’arte del mondo/Werner Ehrhardt
