Sinfonia in C

Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) was at one time the most famous composer in the world. The popularity of his music eclipsed that of even his teacher Haydn and publishers vied to bring out his latest works as soon as they were finished. Some 2000 separate prints of Pleyel works had appeared by 1800 and his fame extended to every corner of Europe as well as North America. Pleyel’s career as a composers spanned less than thirty years with the majority of his works composed in the 1780s. He founded a successful publishing house in Paris in the mid-1790s and later began manufacturing keyboard instruments. With increasing demands on his time from his business concerns Pleyel’s productivity as a composer dropped sharply and he ceased composing around 1805. Pleyel was a prolific and successful composer in many genres and unsurprisingly, given his close relationship with Haydn, he was an extremely accomplished composer of symphonies. The Sinfonia in C (Ben 128) dates from 1786 and was published in Paris by Imbault in 1787. Imbault’s edition calls for horns and timpani rather than the more usual trumpets (clarini) and timpani. It is possible that the parts were intended to be played by horns in C alto, a favourite device of Haydn, but the substitution of trumpets for horns in such a dazzling symphony was surely a very common occurrence. There are no weak movements in Ben 128. The opening Allegro molto spiritoso has a great sense of space and a relaxed, genial power. Its well-argued development section makes some unexpected and delightful tonal excursions in the course of a rigorous examination of the movement’s principal thematic material. The expressive Adagio is one of Pleyel’s most haunting symphonic slow movements. It has a distinctly Haydnesque quality to it as does the jaunty Minuet and Trio which follows. The Finale, cast once again in the fashionable rondo form of the period, has an irresistible main theme and a long drawn out coda of impressive breadth and power.