Johann STAMITZ (1717-1757)
Symphonies Op. 3
Symphony No. 1 in G major [12:36]
Symphony No. 3 in G major [13:52]
Symphony No. 4 in E flat major [8:11]
Symphony No. 5 in A major [12:11]
Symphony No. 6 in F major [11:10]
Musica Viva Moscow Chamber Orchestra / Alexander Rudin
rec. 2018, Grand Hall, Moscow Conservatoire, Russia
NAXOS 8.573966 [58:32]
Johann Stamitz is a name probably more likely to be encountered in textbooks than on record or in the concert hall although, as this disc demonstrates, interest in his music lies far from its significance for musical history and theory alone. He was one of the crucial figures in the earliest development of the symphony, composing the works here in the period up to nearly ten years before Haydn’s first examples. Seeing that even his and Mozart’s early symphonies are comparatively rarely performed and recorded, it is no comment upon the quality and innovation of Stamitz’s compositions that they are little known.
Although his Opus 3 was assembled from an assorted group of symphonies written earlier than their first publication in 1757, hearing them, it is hard to believe that Stamitz actually died (admittedly quite young) two years before Handel. Also nearly incredible is that No. 6 of this set is attributed in date somewhere between 1748-1752 and so, could be contemporary with J.S. Bach’s final compositions.
The shimmering vigour of the strings of the Musica Viva Moscow Chamber Orchestra in some of the lively first movements just about recalls the florid rhetoric of the Baroque aesthetic. However, this soon gives way to an appropriate joie de vivre, redolent in atmosphere to an overture of an opera buffa. It reminds us that the form of the symphony grew out of the multi-movement sinfonias, which preceded operas in the Baroque period. Nos. 4 to 6 here are cast in the usual three movement structure of such overtures.
When the music settles down Alexander Rudin tends to draw a more galant elegance from the orchestra – not unwelcome in the slower movements. But more variety would be appreciated to evoke the famed contrasts in dynamics and the dramatic crescendos and diminuendos for which the orchestra at the court of Mannheim was famous. Stamitz worked with it to make it one of the most admired ensembles in 18th Century Europe – Mozart would marvel at it two decades after Stamitz’s death. For example, the minor key Trio of No. 3’s Minuet could be more hushed to create a greater sense of mystery and contrast with the Minuet itself. The crescendos could be a touch more pronounced in the first movement of No. 6.
The orchestra achieves particular success in the first movements of Nos. 4 and 5 for instance, whose developmental rigour – pre-empting Haydn’s symphonic arguments – is carried through persuasively and viscerally with the sustained energy of these performances. The more monolithic character of the unison principal theme of No. 5’s finale is also tantalising, like a piece of theatrical rhetoric. Two harpsichords in the ensemble are played with a spirited discretion throughout, gilding these sparkling readings tastefully. Even with No. 2 of this set frustratingly missing – having appeared in a previous Naxos release – this disc is an enticing prospect for devotees of the 18th Century symphony.
Curtis Rogers
