Krommer left his native Czechoslovakia and settled
in Vienna in 1795, where he became Ballett-Kapellmeister in the Imperial
Court Theatre. His works included symphonies, concertos string quartets
and a few sacred pieces which were moderately successful with the Viennese
public. He was a contemporary of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven,
so it is perhaps not surprising that his reputation is that of a relatively
minor composer.
The wind Partitas could be considered typical Viennese
salon music were it not that they were probably intended for outdoor
performance. They might sound pleasant enough floating across the lawns
of an Austrian spa. but played (so to speak) end-to-end as on this disc
their naïveté quickly begins to pall. The players lack neither
the technical nor the interpretative skills needed to make the most
out of the music, but after a while I found it difficult to believe
that there was much of value to discover in the first place. Krommer
was clearly influenced by Haydn and Mozart but, unlike them, no genius.
Buy it for your next garden party.
Roy Brewer
Michael Thompson Wind Ensemble