MANNHEIM

(F-09)

 

 

1.  Mannheim Background (Wolf)

"Golden age" - 1742-1778 -            Ended by move of Court to Munich

Famous orchestra - Reports of visitors like Burney and Mozart - Orchestra concerts in Rittersaal - Note that opera and church music were also important venues for Mannheim orchestra

Grandeur and expense of musical establishment – Typical of German court milieu – compare Esterhaz, Salzburg – Contrast more public milieu of Paris and London

HANDOUT - Read account of concert from Wolf in Basler Jahrbuch

 

2.  Riemann and the "Mannheim School" (Larsen article)

Mannheim as “origins myth” for 2nd Vienna school – Riemann and early 20th century publications in DTB

Motive - provide a (German) background for Viennese classical school - Debate with Guido Adler (Viennese) – Adler fought back by publishing Austrian symphonies in DTÖ

Purported innovations (transmitted to Haydn and Mozart) - Listed in Larsen:

4-movement symphony - assumes that minuet is added to 3-movement opera overture

2nd theme - contrasting scoring and character - Essential to 19th-century view of symphony and S/A form as drama

"Mannerisms" (Riemann: "Manieren") = sighs, Bebung, "rocket," cresecendo – These represent a distinctive “orchestral” style of string writing – Not present in e.g. solo sonatas, concertos

Contrapuntal combination of themes – “thematic work" – “subjective expression of individual parts” – 2nd is more characteristic

All these are missing in Sammartini - except for 2nd theme in later symphonies – all are very characteristic of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven

 

3.  Critique of Riemann – Preparation (Larsen)

Mannheim wasn't source for Vienna

Mannerisms came from opera buffa style - Haydn and Mozart knew this independently

Early Haydn symphonies had minuets - They were 5-movement divertimenti - H settled into 4-movement structure independently from Mannheim

Haydn doesn't use a second subject consistently - Mozart uses several subjects – therefore “2nd theme” isn’t essential to classical style

Larsen doesn’t discuss “thematic work”

 [We should be careful not to debunk Mannheim too much - Even if Mannheim influence wasn’t decisive for Haydn and Mozart, it was decisive for much of Europe – These were the most published and most performed symphonies before Haydn]

 

 

4.  Mannheim names and dates (HANDOUT BELOW)

Stamitz Biography (1717-1757)

Bohemian - violin virtuoso

To Mannheim c. 1740 - 1st record of presence in 1743 - Already leader of orchestra as first violinist - (concert in Frankfurt, 1742)

To Paris 1754-55 - His music was already known in Paris - Performed as violin soloist and led LaPouplinière orchestra - Influence on French symphony and Paris scene – Publication of his symphonies by Paris publishers – Beginning of a big fad for German symphonies in Paris

Cannabich bio (1731-1798)

Music was family trade - father: flutist; son: violinist; daughters: singer and pianist - CC was apprenticed and played in Mannheim orchestra from age 12 on

Support by Prince - travel to Italy (1752), Stuttgart (1754), Paris (1764, 1766, 1772) - Lifetime employment – Move to Munich in 1778

Reputation was specifically as a concertmaster, orchestra leader, then as composer

Close connections with the Mozarts – Wolfgang gave keyboard lessons to Rose Cannabich

Mozart letter (Prep)

Mozart and mother on way to Paris in 1778 – Dropped by Mannheim to look for a job, hung around to flirt with Aloysia Weber

Compositions for Mannheim musicians: Arias, oboe quartet; piano sonata;

Tone of letter: access to Elector; defense of maturity; scorn for inferior musicians

Report on orchestra and chorus

Report on Cannabich symphonies

 

5.  Stamitz D-major symphony D-3 - Prep

Composed c.1755

4 movements – 1st and last are S-A (kind of) – 3rd is minuet, 2nd is A-B-A (I-V-I)

STUDENT PREP – What “Mannheim” characteristics did you hear?

4 movements

Minuet

Crescendo used thematically

Mini-tirade (m.14)

Vögelchen (m.38 ff)

2nd theme: lyrical, in dominant (m.37)

Other striking features – not listed as “Mannheim mannerisms” but very influential in symphony style:

wind organ

long plateaus,

pedals,

petite basse,

tremolo,

pianissimo and subito piano

unision,

wind soloists (2nd mvt, 3rd mvt trio)

PLAY Mvt 1 – listen for characteristics

 

1st movement form – unexpected but typical Mannheim – HANDOUT

 

1    5    13      25     29    37    ||   53           65    77      82       91    103   111      124

To  T1     T2        T2       T3        T4             T1     T2      T2       T3        T1        T4       T1         T2            To

I     I      I             “trans” V         V     V    I      “dev  V        I       I        I           I

 

This is sometimes called “recap with 2nd theme,” but there’s a simpler view – The themes are deployed twice through in order first from I to V, then from V to I – This is precisely what Scheibe recommends - Note that T3  serves for harmonic movement in both cases (per ripieno concerto) – Note also that there’s no double bar – also note tonic in m.65

The larger point is that key and theme are carefully managed at the level of the entire movement to obtain a large-scale effect – This is very different from Vivaldi and Sammartini, where effects are much more local

 

6. Cannabich symphony #47 in G – PLAY

Late Mannheim period (1770s)

STUDENT PREP – What “Mannheim” mannerisms did you hear?

Tremolo (60)

Rocket (68)

Crescendo (66) – used very different from Stamitz

Wind concertante

DIFFERENCES from Stamitz?

3 movements (Italian)

¾ meter in 1st movement

Longer phrases, more lyrical

minor key for color and contrast (52, 143) – (comp. Sammartini)

more soloistic use of winds

lyrical “2nd theme” material – but twice, m. 47, m. 77

 

 

Formal plan of 1st mvt – again unexpected – HANDOUT – PLAY

 

1          24      38   46  52       76     84      103         137      145    151         176

T1             T2          T3     T4                   T5         T1                               T3             T4                                T5

             I           V        V     V  v        V       I       “dev”        I           I        I              I

 

This is sometimes called a sonata-allegro “without development” – But really the “development” just comes in an unexpected place – This structure is common in JC Bach – Note that the themes come in the same order in the second half as in Stamitz D-3 – except T2 is omitted – Hard to understand why – Note that last movement is the expected S-A structure with a development and a recap (but without double bar)

Larger point (again) is that key and theme are both very salient and both very carefully managed

Expanded approach to 1st movement structures – All have

Move to dominant in 1st half (coordinated with theme)

Return to tonic in 2nd half (coordinated with theme)

Feeling of double bar in middle

Feeling of development

Contrasting, lyrical theme

More?

But how these elements are deployed can vary a great deal – It seems wrong to me to consider all these patterns as  pointing toward S-A structure or (worse) as deviations from S-A – It would be nice to hear them on their own terms

 

7.  (if time) – Mannheim influence

As above, don’t debunk too much – Looking through symphonies published 1755-1775 many are modeled on Stamitz – Mannheim was model for concert symphony – Supplanted by model of Haydn symphonies

Traits we hear

Formal organization – 2 rotations

Orchestral mannerisms

Scoring techniques (esp. winds)

Effects on large scale – symphony is no longer overture or chamber music

E.g. Thomas Erskine – Early of Kelly (1732-1781)

Family was Scottish lords, to Mannheim 1752-56

Later active in Edinburgh

PLAY Periodical Overture No. 17 in E flat (pub. 1767) – Listen for Mannheim traits

 


MANNHEIM NAMES AND DATES

 

 

Elector Carl Theodore

                        began reign at age 18 in 1742

                        moved to Munich (with orchestra) in 1778

 

Johann Stamitz (1717-1757)

                        violinst

                        Bohemian

                        Mannheim period 1741-1757

                          (Paris (1754-55)

 

Ignaz Holzbauer (1711-1783)

                        Keyboardist

                        Viennese - in Vienna until 1750

                        Mannheim: 1753-1783

                        Kapellmeister and court composer

 

Anton Filtz (1733-1760)

                        cellist

                        in Mannheim orchestra 1754-1760

 

Christian Cannabich (1731-1798)

                        violinist

                        concertmaster after Stamitz

                        Mannheim 1744-1778, Munich 1778-1798

 

F. X. Richter (1709-1789)

                        bass singer

                        Mannheim: c. 1747-c.1769

                        pre-Stamitz style symphonies

 

Franz Beck (1734-1809)

                        violinist

                        Mannheim: 1740s

                        moved to France c. 1759 – active in Bordeaux

 

Carl Stamitz (1745-1801)

                        violinist

                        son of Johann S.

                        Mannheim orchestra: 1762-1770

                          Paris 1770-1777

                          Munich 1778-