Sinfonia in Eb

Johann Stamitz (1717-1757) was one of the one the most influential figures in European music during the mid-18th century. Born in Bohemia and educated in Prague, he was probably engaged as a violinist by the Mannheim Court in 1741-42 as a result of contacts made during the coronation in Prague (as King of Bohemia) of the Bavarian Elector Carl Albert, one of whose closest allies was the Elector Palatine. In 1743 he was named "Erster Hoff Violinist" (First Court-Violinist); in 1745 or 1746 - the date is uncertain - he was awarded the title Concertmeister and in 1750, was appointed to the newly-created post of "Instrumental-Music Director". Under Stamitz’s direction the orchestra developed into a formidable ensemble and within was a nucleus of excellent soloists and talented composers foremost among them Stamitz himself. The interest in Stamitz’s symphonies goes far beyond their brilliant exploitation of the orchestra and their success lies in the quality of their musical invention and organization. The present work exists in two versions both of which were published around the same time. Wolf Eb 6a has a slightly longer first movement (236 bars c.f. 220) based on the same material but has a different slow movement, a shortened Minuet and Trio and a truncated finale (108 bars c.f.314) also based on the same material as Wolf Eb 6b.Version ‘A’ was issued as ‘Sinfonia VI’ in a set of six symphonies by ‘Differents Auteurs’Op.1.Version ‘B’, Wolf Eb 6b,was issued the same year (1759) as the first of a set of six symphonies by ‘Differents Auteurs’ and this version, possibly representing a revision by the composer, seems to have been considerably more popular.