Florian Leopold Gassmann: The Concerto in C minor for flute, two violins, viola and bass | 1760

00:00 I. Allegro
04:38 II. Adagio non tanto
09:44 III. Allegro di molto
Florian Leopold Gassmann (Gaßmann) trained in Venice, where by 1757 he had already acquired a reputation as an opera composer at the local theaters. In 1763 he received an appointment as ballet composer in Vienna, and one year later he succeeded Gluck as theatre conductor. But he continued to maintain contacts with Venice and it was in Venice that in 1766 he discovered 16-year-old Antonio Salieri, whom he took to Vienna and oversaw his musical training. Gassmann enjoyed the special protection of Joseph II, numbering among the emperor’s daily circle of chamber musicians. Although Gassmann came from the world of the theatre, he also wrote a large body of instrumental music, including symphonies, quartets, quintets, trios (six for flute, violin and bass) and only one flute concerto (this video).
Gassmann’ flute concerto in C minor was composed in 1760 during his years in Venice and was presumably intended for performance in one of the palaces of is aristocratic patrons. It is laid out along the familiar Venetian lines, with upper parts (flute and two violins) basically detached from the bass foundation (viola, cello and bass).
All the parts play together in the tutti sections, although the flute occasionally falls silent. In contrast the bass parts are either thinned out or omitted entirely in the solo passages to highlight the soloist. The two violin parts appear in dialogue with the flute, as can be heard in the large-scale solo sections of the opening movement. A cadenza at the end of the final solo section is followed by a brief coda. In the Adagio non tanto the flute part is richly embellished and great skill is required to negotiate its complex chromaticism and the 32nd and 64th notes with interpolated mordants and trills; the flute plays virtually alone for long stretches at a time, being accompanied by the full orchestra only in short passages of tutti. The quick final movement Allegro di molto is dominated by a constant alternation between groups of instruments (the movement is a ‘concerto’ between flute and two violins, above all in the solo sections) and the dynamic levels forte and piano. This movement, too, ends with a virtuosic cadenza for the flute and concluding coda that again quotes the opening motif.
Performed by:
● Sieglinde Größinger, transverse flute and conductor. Born in Salzburg, Sieglinde studied concert flute and transverse flute at the universities and conservatories in Vienna, Graz, Oslo, Amsterdam and Brussels, taking her degree with high honours and receiving many grants and scholarships. More info at www.sieglindegroessinger.at
● Klingekunst Enseble: founded in 2009 by Maja Mijatović and Sieglinde Größinger. Kliengekunst frequently make live appearances on Austria's cultural broadcasting system Ö1. They have also appeared at the St. Pölten Baroque Festival, the Brunnenthal Concert Summer, the Handel House in Halle (Germany), the Thun Castle Concerts (Switzerland) and many other.
Notes by:
● Elisabeth Theresia Hilscher
● Translated by J. Bradford Robinson
Cover art:
"Landscape with Diana and her nymphs resting after the hunt" by Filippo Lauri (1623 - 1694). Lauri's output anticipated the eighteenth-century Arcadian taste, and he began his artistic education as a pupil of his father, the Flemish artist Balthasar Lauwers, followed by training in Rome under the tutelage of Angelo Caroselli and Pietro da Cortona. Lauri´s classicising landscapes with figures, such as the present work, shows the significant Emilian influence in Roman art derived from the works of Albani and Domenichino.
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[@MrWoodCy]

I can hear why he was a favourite in Vienna and through Italy in his time. I’m happy this showed up on my feed…

[@migves540]

Fantástico.

[@danielrodriguez9630]

No lo conocia.
Me ha gustado es un gran maestro.
Deberiamos conocerlo mas...

[@alessandrofinozzi8265]

deliziosamente insignificante

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Col