Ignace (Ignaz) Pleyel: Symphony in F minor, Ben.138

Ignace Pleyel - Symphony in F Minor, Ben.138, Capella Istropolitana, Uwe Grodd (conductor) I. Allegro con spirito – 00:00 II. Andante grazioso – 07:56 III. Minuetto: Allegretto – 16:20 IV. Finale: Rondo – 19:10 Ignace (Ignaz) Joseph Pleyel, 18 June 1757 – 14 November 1831, was an Austrian-born French composer and piano builder of the Classical period. Remembered mostly as Haydn's rival during his London journey of 1792, Ignaz Josef Pleyel was the 24th child (out of 38!) of an impoverished school teacher. As with Beethoven, born 13 years later, Pleyel benefited in his study from the sponsorship of aristocracy, in this case Count Ladislaus Erdődy. He was admitted to the class of the composer Vanhal and came to the attention of the Hungarian nobleman who paid Pleyel's way to study and live with Franz Joseph Haydn at Eisenstadt. Pleyel made rapid progress, and he reported that he and Haydn enjoyed a close, friendly relationship. His first position was probably as Kapellmeister to Count Erdödy at Pressburg, to whom he gratefully dedicated his string quartets, Opus 1 (1782–83). By 1784 Pleyel had become an assistant Kapellmeister at Strasbourg Cathedral, succeeding as principal Kapellmeister when his predecessor died in 1789. In 1786 he also organized and conducted a series of public concerts, which provided him with additional opportunities to popularize his compositions. The Strasbourg period was his most musically productive, and most of his compositions date from the years 1787–95. In 1791 Pleyel traveled to London, where he led the "Professional Concerts" organized by Wilhelm Cramer. In this capacity Pleyel inadvertently played the role of his teacher's rival, as Haydn was at the same time leading the concert series organized by Johann Peter Salomon. Although the two composers were rivals professionally, they remained on good terms personally. Pleyel was prolific, composing 41 symphonies, 70 string quartets and several string quintets and operas. During his life, his tuneful music, often not too difficult for home music-making, was very popular. A reviewer writing in the Morning Herald of London (1791) said that Pleyel "is becoming even more popular than his master [Haydn], as his works are characterized less by the intricacies of science than the charm of simplicity and feeling."