Sinfonia in Eb

Johann Stamitz (1717-1757) was one of the one the most influential figures in European music during the mid-18th century. Born in Bohemia and educated in Prague, he was probably engaged as a violinist by the Mannheim Court in 1741-42 as a result of contacts made during the coronation in Prague (as King of Bohemia) of the Bavarian Elector Carl Albert, one of whose closest allies was the Elector Palatine. In 1743 he was named "Erster Hoff Violinist" (First Court-Violinist); in 1745 or 1746 - the date is uncertain - he was awarded the title Concertmeister and in 1750, was appointed to the newly-created post of "Instrumental-Music Director". Under Stamitz’s direction the orchestra developed into a formidable ensemble and within was a nucleus of excellent soloists and talented composers foremost among them Stamitz himself. The interest in Stamitz’s symphonies goes far beyond their brilliant exploitation of the orchestra and their success lies in the quality of their musical invention and organization. The six symphonies published in Paris by Huberty in 1758 as Opus 4 include two of the composer’s orchestral trios (Wolf Cm1 and Gm1).The remaining works appear to have been composed over a period of approximately seven years: the earliest work in the group is probably Op.4 No.4 (ca.1750-1753) while the second - styled Sinfonia Pastorale- may be among the last symphonies Stamitz wrote. The two trios also appear to be late works and may have been written after the composer’s return to Mannheim in 1755. Although there are obvious stylistic differences between the works they are uniformly interesting and represent one of the most impressive sets of symphonies published before 1760.