Tags: Bohuslav Martinů, Carl Stamitz, Francesco Bonporti, Franz Hoffmeister, Giovanni Benedetto Platti, Heinrich Hoffmann, Ignaz Pleyel, Joseph Reicha, Leopold Jansa, Maurice Ravel, Zoltán Kodály.
The earliest examples of Duos for Violin and Violoncello, by Giovanni Platti (1697-1763) and Francesco Bonporti (1672-1749), date back to the baroque period. Later, the inventiveness of the early classical period produced an abundance of new works. Well-known examples are attributed to Carl Stamitz (1745-1801), Joseph Reicha (1752-1795), Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812) and Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831).
The genre flourished with the establishment of the concert scene supported by a nascent burgeois public. Composers such as Anton Kraft (1749-1812) and Heinrich Anton Hoffmann (1770-1842) wrote Duos of great virtuosity and outstanding quality. Today, their works are tracked down and rediscovered in libraries and musical estates all over the world.
Although the establishment of the symphonic form and the rapidly rising popularity of the string quartet precluded further development of the genre throughout much of the nineteenth century, many excellent works were written nevertheless. The retrieval and performance of these works is of particular importance to the Jansa Duo.
The tremendous success of Zoltán Kodály’s Duo for Violin and Violoncello in the nineteen-twenties ushered in a veritable revival of the form. Composers such as Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) and Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959) were inspired to create works to be performed by the two cornerstone instruments of the string quartet ensemble.
Heinrich Anton Hoffmann, German violin virtuoso and conductor, b. 1770 in Mainz. Hoffmann read law and philosophy at the University there. Following his father’s death at the outbreak of the Revolutionary Wars, he fell on hard times. Hoffman chose a musical career and became chamber musician at the Court of the Prince-Elector, the Archbishop of Mainz. He stayed there until the siege of Mainz forced him to relocate, first to Aschaffenburg and later to Frankfurt, where he took up a post as violinist at the Stadttheater. From 1801 until 1819, he rose from the rank of Correpetitor and Concert Master to Vice Director of Music and finally Director of Music and Co-director of Theatre. When Guhr was made Kapellmeister in 1821, Hoffmann took the titles of Vice Music Director and First Violinist. He retired in 1835 and continued to compose until his death in 1842. Among Hoffmann’s published works are six String Quartets, two Violin Concertos, a Concertante for two Violins, 12 Lieder with piano accompaniment and Duos for Violin and Violoncello, all works of outstanding quality.
—Source: Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon: An Encyclopedia of All Musical Sciences for the Educated of All Classes, edited and published by Hermann Mendel, Berlin 1875 (transl.)
Audio excerpt — Heinrich Hoffmann
Allegro con brio from Deux Duos pour Violon et Violoncelle
dédiés à Messieurs les Frères Romberg op. 6
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