Josef Myslivecek (1737-1781)

[SonicMan46]

Thanks for persevering, SonicMan!

As some of you may know, a Mysliveček movie is in the works – in the editing room, to be precise. And there's a lot of promise it might turn out good: the director – Petr Václav – is one of Czech's best and his interest in the topic is genuine. His movies are gritty, immediate, with a strong social conscience. Definitely no crowd pleasers! He already made a documentary about Mysliveček and worked on the movie even before that, exchanging notes and meeting with Daniel Freeman. He also brought on board Václav Luks, the artistic director of Collegium 1704 and the orchestra itself participated in the shoot, so in the scenes of Mysliveček conducting, the musicians are playing live. I applaud this approach and can't wait for the premiere, which is scheduled for this fall, although the project underwent some covid-related delays.

Here are a few shots from the set at Teatro Sociale in Como, Italy. Yes, that's Jaroussky in the first one, playing one of the singers:

Thanks Rinaldo for the information above - looking forward to the hopeful outcome!  Dave

[Que]

Dave, excellent idea to revive this thread! 

Probably a question you expected from me: could you possibly point out the period instruments performances? 

[SonicMan46]

Dave, excellent idea to revive this thread! 

Probably a question you expected from me: could you possibly point out the period instruments performances? 

Hi Que - well, not sure if your meant the ones I own and have shown in the thread or the recent Spotify playlist posted?  But I own 9 CDs of Il Boemo's music - see pic below from my database (click to enlarge) - from my quick perusal of the booklet notes (and some web searching), the ones in red are period instrument performances (in several others the notes do not state) - I suspect that you would like the 'Wind Quintets & Octets', although hard to turn down Concerto Köln.

Of the 4 on my Spotify playlist, I have no notes - in the 'Oboe Quintets', the instrument sounds modern, as is the piano in that recording; cannot comment for sure on the other two recordings of 'String Quartets' & 'Quintetti di archi', sorry.  Dave

[Que]

Thanks, Dave! 

[SonicMan46]

This is a fantastic, Florestan-Stamp-of-Approval disc. Too bad Myslivecek wrote so little keyboard music, he really had a knack for it.

Well, a repost below from today's listening thread - with Andrei's encouragement above, plus a Spotify audition and a handful of excellent reviews (attached), I ordered the newest addition to my JM collection - thought that the solo pieces might be a little simplistic but was mistaken and Hammond does a great job playing all!  Dave

Myslivecek, Josef - Keyboard Music w/ Clare Hammond and Nicholas McGegan/Swedish Chamber Orchestra; consists of two piano concertos (about a third of the 76+min disc time, and divertimenti/exercises for solo piano, the remainder of the recording) - first new CD added to my JM collection in a number of years!  Well, I was not sure about this 'dual purpose' recording, i.e. concertos + 'simple' piano pieces, but I first listened on Spotify and was pleased, so ordered the CD - the reviews have generally been excellent (attached).  Dave

 

[Que]

String Quintets - Pro Arte Antiqua Praha w/ two violas - listening @ the moment; superb string writing as usual from Myslivecek - 

Own that recording and love it. 

[SonicMan46]

Own that recording and love it. 

+1 - like his wind works.    Dave

[SonicMan46]

Il Boemo's Symphony numbering - anyone have a handle on the logic, if any?  According to his Wiki Article, Myslivecek has 55 symphonies listed - I own the first 3 single discs shown below; the Bambert recording (done in 2003) has 6 works (claim 'premieres' then) and are labelled F26 to F31; Concerto Köln lists keys and movement names; the Prague CO (third one) also does the same - NOW, there is a new offering to me on Amazon from CPO (4th pic below) w/ 2 discs, first having Symphonies w/ keys and Roman numeral numbers, second having opera overtures except for one symphony - BUT, some clarification, i.e. the attached Fanfare review (text in bold) states that the symphonies on the first disc are the same as those on the Bambert recording, so probably don't need to add to my collection (esp. at the price asked).  Dave

     

[SonicMan46]

TTT after 2 years! - well, my Il Boemo collection is now up to 11 CDs with the addition of the recording below, Oboe & String Chamber pieces. The list of his works (bottom) was compiled by the musicologist Daniel E. Freeman who authored the book on Myslivecek (2009; 2nd ed. 2022) - I read the first release (described in more detail back at the start of this thread for those interested).

There is a double-CD of Symphonies/Overtures on CPO HERE but the F numbers (after Freeman) are not listed - assume same 1772 published ones on the Matthias Bamert Chandos CD, so won't be a purchase for me. But if any new discoveries let us know - he apparently composed 55 'Symphonies' and a lot of Overtures/Operas.  Dave

P.S. "The film Il Boemo (2022), directed by Petr Václav, is a full-length biopic based on incidents from the composer's life. It was selected by the Czech Republic as its entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for the 95th Academy Awards. (LINK)" Not available for streaming on Amazon USA - anyone seen the film?

 

Instrumental Works:
Symphonies - 55
Dramatic Overtures - 29
Solo Concertos - 14 (Violin, 10; Cello, 1; Flute, 1; Keyboard, 2)
Duo Concertos - 3 (2 clarinets & 2 horns)
Wind Ensemble - 9 (Octets, 3; Quintets, 6)
Chamber, Misc. - 6 (Oboe Quintets)
String Quintets - 12 (2 sets of 6)
String Quartets - 23
String Trios - 27 (also 6 cello duets w/ bass)
Flute Trios - 6 (w/ violin & bass)
Flute Duets - 6 (w/ bass)
Violin Sonatas - 23 (w/ bass or keyboard)
Keyboard Sonatas - 13

Vocal Works - 26, Operas; Oratorios, 8; Cantatas, 14; Masses, 7; and much more!
(post of mine on pg. 1)

[SonicMan46]

Two additions to my Myslivecek collection: 1) Trio Sonatas w/ Jaroslav Tüma on harpsichord (1998 recording) and 2) Keyboard Works w/ Marius Bartoccini on fortepiano - new release bought as a MP3 download ($7 USD Prestomusic) - the last pic shows a possible purchase?  Dave

P.S. still interested in seeing the film Il Boemo discussed previously - a search states available on Netflix which I have a subscription but could not find it listed?

   

[SonicMan46]

RE-POST from the film thread - the book by Daniel Freeman has a new cover and is still rather expensive (reviewed by me earlier in the thread, if interested) - Dave

Il Boemo (The Bohemian) (2022) - bio documentary on Josef Mysliveček - short synopsis below; Amazon rental ($4 USD) with English subtitles (languages used are Italian, German, & Czech) - rather somber but atmospheric film; long at nearly 2 1/2 hrs; concentrates on his Italian opera career which earned him the Il Boemo title - we have a short thread HERE, for those interested - also is the recent book by Daniel Freeman (which I review early in the posts).  Dave

Il Boemo is a 2022 period biographical drama film about the Czech composer Josef Mysliveček (1737–1781), written and directed by Petr Václav. Mysliveček was one of the most acclaimed and prolific composers of opera seria in Italy in the second half of the eighteenth century, and friend to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The film stars Vojtěch Dyk, Elena Radonicich, Barbara Ronchi, and Lana Vlady. The music for the film has been recorded by the Czech ensemble Collegium 1704 led by Václav Luks, featuring international soloists. It was selected as the Czech entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards. (Source)

 

[Florestan]

RE-POST from the film thread - the book by Daniel Freeman has a new cover and is still rather expensive (reviewed by me earlier in the thread, if interested) - Dave

 

Do you recommend it, Dave?

The last such biopic I watched, namely Chevalier, about Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was a complete waste of my time, what with its counterfactual history and anachronistic music and ideology.

[SonicMan46]

Do you recommend it, Dave?

The last such biopic I watched, namely Chevalier, about Joseph Bologne Chevalier de Saint-Georges, was a complete waste of my time, what with its counterfactual history and anachronistic music and ideology.

Hi Andrei - well having been the main contributor to the quite short Myslivecek thread, a reader of the Daniel Freeman book on the composer, and owner of about 14 recordings of his non-operatic works, I guess my opinion would be biased -    BUT, I enjoyed the film (e.g. the scene with the young Mozart was excellent and the portrayal of his 'battle' with syphilis tragic) and probably would do a 4*/5* rating on Amazon, SO yes a recommendation from me.  Other ratings: 100%, Rotten Tomatoes (67% audience); 6.7/10, IMDB; but a 2*/5* review HERE, worth a read if you're undecided.  Dave

[Florestan]

Hi Andrei - well having been the main contributor to the quite short Myslivecek thread, a reader of the Daniel Freeman book on the composer, and owner of about 14 recordings of his non-operatic works, I guess my opinion would be biased -    BUT, I enjoyed the film (e.g. the scene with the young Mozart was excellent and the portrayal of his 'battle' with syphilis tragic) and probably would do a 4*/5* rating on Amazon, SO yes a recommendation from me.  Other ratings: 100%, Rotten Tomatoes (67% audience); 6.7/10, IMDB; but a 2*/5* review HERE, worth a read if you're undecided.  Dave

Thanks.

[SonicMan46]

Again stimulated by watching the film Il Boemo, I'm listening to my modest 14 recordings over a few days - this afternoon reviewing the Symphonies owned, which are the same 3 discs discussed in a previous post here nearly 3 years ago (repeated below). Mysliveček wrote 55 symphonies (described in the attachment); Daniel Freeman in his book described them as F 1-55 - SO, what do I own?  The Bamert recordings are the only ones using Freeman numbers and are F 26-31.  The Prague Chamber Orchestra recorded 6 works and from the notes the last 3 appear to be F 45-47; the Concerto Köln did a half dozen (the first may be F 27) which are difficult to assign?  Finally, the 2-CD CPO set is redundant for me, i.e. the first disc is a repeat of the Bamert recordings and the second nearly all overtures; thus believe of the 18 or so symphonies on the 3 CDs in my collection, about half can be given Freeman numbers.  Dave

Il Boemo's Symphony numbering - anyone have a handle on the logic, if any?  According to his Wiki Article, Myslivecek has 55 symphonies listed - I own the first 3 single discs shown below; the Bambert recording (done in 2003) has 6 works (claim 'premieres' then) and are labelled F26 to F31; Concerto Köln lists keys and movement names; the Prague CO (third one) also does the same - NOW, there is a new offering to me on Amazon from CPO (4th pic below) w/ 2 discs, first having Symphonies w/ keys and Roman numeral numbers, second having opera overtures except for one symphony - BUT, some clarification, i.e. the attached Fanfare review (text in bold) states that the symphonies on the first disc are the same as those on the Bambert recording, so probably don't need to add to my collection (esp. at the price asked).  Dave

     

[SonicMan46]

Well, this afternoon ending my listening to Il Boemo w/ his string and oboe chamber works on the 3 recordings below. In the listing, Mysliveček wrote 18 String Quartets (I own 9 but w/ likely 2 overlaps), 12 String Quintets (6 in my collection), and 6 Oboe Quintets (have 3) - Dave

GOAL - add a few more posts to get to pg. 4! 

String quartets
*Sei quartetti a due violini alto e basso, op. 3. Paris: La Chervardière; Lyon: Castaud, c. 1768. [A major, F major, B-flat major, G major, E-flat major, C major]
*Sei quartetti a due violini, viola e violoncello, op. 1. Offenbach: Johann André, 1777. [E-flat major, C major, D major, F major, B-flat major, G major]
*Six quatuors à deux violons, taille et basse, op. post. Berlin: Hummel, c. 1781.

String quintets
*VI Sinfonie concertanti o sia quintetti per due violini, due viole, e basso, Op. 2. Paris: Venier; Lyon: Castaud, c. 1767. [B-flat major, E major, G major, A major, D major, C major]
*6 string quintets in an undated manuscript in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena [G major, E-flat major, C major, A major, F major, B-flat major]

Oboe quintets
*6 quintets for oboe with string quartet in an undated manuscript in the Biblioteca Comunale in Treviso [B-flat major, D major, F major, C major, A major, E-flat major] (Source)