Re-discovering Franz Anton Hoffmeister

Lovers of the Austro-German Classical symphony will delight intros dic; as will horn players, doubly blessed (quadruply?) by a double horn concerto and a symphony that features the horns prominently.

Franz Anton Hoffmeister was prolific: Nine operas, around 70 symphonies, nearly four dozen string quartets alongside other works of chamber music, and a substantial number of concertos as well as vocal compositions, both sacred and secular. He was a publisher, too: which gave him an acute knowledge of repertoire and of prevailing musical tastes.

The Symphony in D-Major, Op. 14 is known as “La Chasse”: in this genre horns come to the fore typically in teh final (examples occur by the likes of Leopold Mozart, Carl Stamtz, Gossec, Haydn, Wrantizky and Rosetti). The first movement is the epitome of drive and energetic style that characterise “Sturm und Drang” music contrasted with passages of real grace .I love the energy of this performance, by the South West German Chamber Orchestra Pforzheim (Südwetdusches Kammerorchester Pforzeom) under Johannes Moesus:

The symphony is listed as a “Grande Symphony” and is dedicated to Count Johann Baptist Esterházy von Galántha (1748–1800). The slow movement has a slight urgency here (and just listen to how together the first violins are in their linking passages between phrases). It feels as if Moesus aims for Andante rather than Adagio:

Whil the Menuetto is a little workaday, the interesting in the third movement is really in the wind dominated Trio. It is the finale that finds horns brazen, There is no listing of players, so the players may or not be the soloists in the concerto, but the movement is a lot of fun and not just hunting motifs: Hoffmeister injects som nice string "slides," too, and cheeky woodwind, Harmoniemusik moments:

The Concerto for Two Horns and Orchestra features Christoph Eß (pronounced “Ess”) nd Stephan Schottstädt. The piece was composed for the established horn duo of Joseph Nagel (1751/52–1802) and Franz Zwierzina (1751–1825)  and first performed in Count Palm's Vienna Stadtpalais.

Nagel and Zwierzin's modern0-day counterparts of Eß and Schottstädt act as th perfect unit. Their sound is dntifiably MittelEuropa (slightly warmer than a UK sound), which perfectly suits this music And their agility is superb, the two pars absolutely equal. the agllanteie of the first movement is a delight:

The cadenza of the first movement is aside in excellence, perfectly crafted, the two instruments perfectly balanced, dialogue of equals, just one with.higher-pitchd “voice” than the other. And Eß's final high note is stratospheric, but not.a screamer:

The slow movement, a romance, is a dream, dissonances between the two horns exquisite:

The finale is a joy: and listen to Eß's way with decisions - it is hard to get them this light on a horn, while Schottstädt's nimble agility is remarkable:

Finally, the Symphony in F-Major, “La prima vera”. The first movement is notable for its very long slow inroducionz (it is possible to get so involved the one inhabits a slow movement) flute/violin doubled first theme of the Allegro comsas breath of Spring air; and some of the wind solos later in the movement are simply superb. There are touches of “Sturm und Drang” here, though, despite the vernal intent. By the way, for some reason, YouTube calls this Symphony No. 1, but its date of composition is unknown:

I've never seen the tempo indication “Mezzo Adagio” before (half Adagio, so maybe a little faster than expected?). It certainly moves here, finding. little disquiet occasionally if not overt drama. nd linen ou for the cheeky oboe solo, so deliciously phased here:

The Menuetto is distinctly Haydnesque to my ears, and with its almost woodpecker repetitions on one note hs a touch of Nature-based humour:

No missing the cuckoo in the finale (but just in case you do, the conductor, Johannes Mosus, added a cuckoo white later on, which he plays himself). Great fun, and finely-crafted music, too. and do, I implore you, play this to the end. There's a surprise:

A brilliant release. This wonderful disc is available on Amazon here.