The Symphony in Beethoven's Vienna by David Wyn Jones

Abstract

Reviews The Symphony inBeethoven's Vienna. By David Wyn Jones. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2006. xii + 231 pp. ?50.00. isbn 978-0-521-86261-2. Music-lovers have long felt the need for a thorough exploration of theViennese foothills out of which towers the range of Beethoven's symphonies. There have been studies of the symphonic achievements of Haydn and Mozart, but in the case of the former, most were written either for Prince Esterh?zy's private orchestra at Eisenstadt and Eszterh?z, or for London; and Mozart, for all the revisings of previous works that he introduced at Viennese concerts, composed only the crowning achievement of his last three symphonies for the capital. Symphonies were, nevertheless, a vital ingredient of Viennese musical life during the final decades of the eighteenth and the first of the nineteenth centuries, and David Wyn Jones has undertaken the taskof setting the scene and introducing some of theKleinmeister. The minor composers Wyn Jones examines indetail are wisely chosen: Anton Eberl (1765-1807), Adalbert Gyrowetz (1763-1850), Franz Krommer (1759 1831), Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831), and the brothers Paul and Anton Wranitzky (respectively 1756-1808 and 1761-1820). Schubert, whose significance as a contemporary symphonist could be, but is not, taken for granted, figures quite prominently inWyn Jones's book. But there are rather few references to composers such as Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf ( 1739-1799), Leopold Kozeluch (1747-1818), Wenzel Pichl (1741-1805), Carlo d'Ordonez (1734-1786) and Johann Baptist Vanhal (1739-1813), who, though of an older generation than Beethoven, were quite prominent symphonists in the concert life in the period leading up to Beethoven's arrival from Bonn in the early 1790s. 'Setting the scene' is followed by a chapter on the publishing of symphonies, revealing for itsanalysis of the activities ofJohann Traeg; briefer attention ispaid toArtaria, Hoffmeister and Kozeluch. Jones comes to the sobering conclusion: 'music publishing in Vienna was economically viable only if it concentrated on smaller genres; publishing symphonies was an unusual practice, by 1800 a non-existent one' (p. 33). This leads on naturally to consideration of the people 'who purchased symphonies and sponsored performances' (p. 33), with emphasis on the virtual disappearance of the formerly numerous Hauskapellen of the great aristocrats. With private patronage on the wane, the solution that Beethoven strove to bring about was the setting-up of a small group of generous, music-loving noblemen who would take care of his financial needs in return for performances of his new works (and dedications to them); the 1790s had witnessed public performance of an average of only about ten symphonies a year. An important chapter is devoted to the brothers Paul and Anton Wranitzky, with in-depth studies of their symphonic uvre (and generous music examples), l82 Reviews and with due tribute paid to the work carried out on Paul Wranitzky's orchestral quodlibet by John Rice, as well as mention of the extra-musical elements contained in the symphonies. Chapter 5 considers the efforts of three composers active inVienna for comparatively brief periods: Franz Krommer, Antoine Reicha (1770-1836) and the highly original Viennese, Anton Eberl; this leads on to discussion of the orchestral concerts promoted in 1803-05 by the banker Joseph W?rth, then the substantial achievements of the Liebhaber Concerte in 1807-08, the programmes ofwhich are tabulated. The sixth chapter, rare and rarefied genre', examines the impact of Beethoven, who had already figured prominently in the Liebhaberseries ? which Wyn Jones rightly identifies as 'one of the most significant developments in the entire history of music in Vienna: a well-planned, ambitious series of concerts, presented to a high standard by a regular orchestra, and with the symphony playing a defining role in the programmes' (p. 130). Itwas largely the impact of thewar against France that prevented the continuation of these public concerts ? it is among the many notable achievements of The Symphony inBeethoven s Vienna that political and sociological considerations form a strong background feature, especially in the discussion of the years leading up to the final defeat of Napoleon. Thereafter the focus shifts to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and the Concerts spi?tuels, Schubert is discussed...