Francesco Zappa (, 1717 most likely in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
– 17 January 1803 in The Hague) was an Italian cellist and
composer who lived most of his adult life in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
He was highly regarded for his virtuoso
cello
The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G ...
playing and his compositions were published and distributed throughout Europe. Zappa was of importance to the musical life of the Netherlands, and made substantial contributions to the quality, vibrancy and international outlook of The Hague's 18th-century music scene as a performer, composer, concert organiser and teacher.
Life
Little is known about Zappa's early life. Zappa was first employed by the Sicilian Count Catani, to whom he dedicated his first work, ''6 Trio sonatas''. He worked for the
Duke of York, giving him music lessons during the Duke's stay in Italy, from November 1763 to the middle of 1764, listing himself as ''maestro di (musica)'' to the Duke on the title page of his ''Trio sonatas Opus 2''.
In mid-1764, Zappa and compatriot
Ricci Ricci () is an Italian surname, derived from the adjective "riccio", meaning curly. Notable Riccis Arts and entertainment
* Antonio Ricci (painter) (c.1565–c.1635), Spanish Baroque painter of Italian origin
* Christina Ricci (born 1980), Ameri ...
embarked on a tour of Europe, visiting
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
,
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
,
Mainz
Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...
and
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
. In September 1764, the two performed concerts around the Netherlands. In this period, Zappa established himself in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
, where he was subsequently employed by the Court of the
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title originally associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by sovereigns in the Netherlands.
The title ...
with regularity for the next four decades, first appearing on the payroll for the court's Winter concert season in 1766.
In 1771 he played a series of concerts in Germany, visiting
Danzig and, on 22 September,
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
. It is likely that he was also active in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
in the 1770s. According to Mendel (1879), he undertook another tour of Germany in 1781, and with "his gentle and beautiful sound" inspired wonder in all who listened.
At the end of the 1780s Zappa was still gainfully employed as a music master based in
The Hague
The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...
(''Maître de musique à la Haye''), as noted in the 1788 manuscript of his ''Quartetto concertante''. Other documentation confirms his continued presence in the city. He received a permanent Dutch residence permit on 1 August 1791.
In The Hague's Binnenhof on 2 November 1794, Zappa played in the court's last concert before the
stadholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...
's family abdicated, fleeing to England in the face of the invading French army, which put an end to the court's music programme.
Musical output
Zappa's oeuvre includes
symphonies,
trios,
sonatas,
divertimenti and songs. His compositions often feature a prominent role for the cello.
Frank Zappa (1940–1993) found out about him and performed Francesco Zappa's Opus 1 trios and Opus 4 sonatas on a
digital synthesizer called the
Synclavier. The recordings were released on the album ''
Francesco Zappa'' in 1984.
Frank Zappa described the album as "His (Francesco Zappa's) First Digital Recording in over 200 Years". While assumed by many to have been related, Frank Zappa stated in ''
The Real Frank Zappa Book
''The Real Frank Zappa Book'' is an autobiography/memoir by Frank Zappa, co-written by Peter Occhiogrosso, and published by Poseidon Press. The text is copyright 1989 Frank Zappa, and copyright 1990 Simon & Schuster, Inc. Since 1999, the book has ...
'' that in fact they were not.
The first recording of Francesco Zappa's symphonies was made by the
New Dutch Academy directed by
Simon Murphy;
PENTATONE PTC 5186 365, released in 2009. The recording features American Baroque cellist
Caroline Kang in the solo role in Zappa's "cello symphonies".
Works
*Duets:
**6 Sonatas for keyboard/harpsichord and violin, Opus 6 (Paris, n.d.)
**6 Duos (violin, cello/2 violins) (Paris, n.d.)
**Duo for 2 cellos, Ms., m. 5740, ''Sammlung Hausbibliothek''
*Trio sonatas, 2 violins and bass:
**6 Trios (London, 1765), Opus 1 (The Hague, n.d.)
**6 Trios Opus 2 (London, ca. 1767)
**6 Trios Opus 3 (Paris, n.d.)
**6 Trios Opus 4 (London, n.d.)
**''6 Sonates à deux Violons & Basse'', (The Hague, n.d.), ''Sammlung Thulemeyer''
*Other Works:
**6 Symphonies (Paris, n.d.)
**2 Romances, 1 violin (The Hague, n.d.)
**Sonata for cello, Mus. ms. 23490, Berlin ''Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz''
**''Sinfonia con Violoncello obbligato'' No. 1 for 2 violins, viola, violoncello obbligato, 2 oboes, 2 horns, Ms., m. 5737, ''Sammlung Hausbibliothek''
**''Quartetto Concertante'' for 2 violins, viola, cello, "''composta all Aya li 8 Liuglio 1788''," Ms. m. 5740, ''Sammlung Hausbibliothek''
**7 Pieces, 2 for piano, 5 for 1 violin, piano, Opus 11 (The Hague, n.d.)
**2 ''Sonata à tre'' for violin, violoncello obbligato, bass, in ''Early Cello Series'', xxiii (London, 1983)
**Other works: Vienna ''Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde'', Bad Schwalbach ''Evangelisches Pfarrarchiv'', Milan ''Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi''
References
Further References
*Francesco Zappa, Symphonies, edited by Simon Murphy, The Hague, 2007
*Francesco Zappa, Symphonies, Simon Murphy (conductor), New Dutch Academy, PentaTone Classics SA-CD, 2009
*Simon Murphy and Cornelia Klugkist "ZAPPA IN THE NETHERLANDS New Discoveries on the life of Francesco Zappa (1717 – 1803), Cellist and Composer at the 18th Century Court of Orange in The Hague" Spring 2013 at http://www.newdutchacademy.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96:zappa&catid=40:articles&Itemid=55
*Francesco Zappa, "Sinfonie", critical edition by Jacopo Franzoni (Milano: Ricordi, 2010 - Archivio della sinfonia milanese, 3)
*Jacopo Franzoni, "Chi Era Francesco Zappa?" in "Antonio Brioschi e il nuovo stile musicale del Settecento lombardo" by Davide Daolmi and Cesare Fertonani (Milano: LED, 2010)
*Karl-Heinz Köhler. "Francesco Zappa" in Friedrich Blume (ed.). ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'' (Kassel, Basel ''et al.'' 1968), Band 14
*H. Mendel & A. Reissmann, (eds.). ''Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon'' (Berlin, 1870–79), Band 11, 1879)
*David Ocker. "The Musical Times of Francesco Zappa," liner notes from the album ''Francesco Zappa'', Barking Pumpkin Records, 1984
*Guido Salvetti & Valerie Walden in Stanley Sadie, (ed.). ''The New Grove Dictionary Of Music & Musicians'' (London, New York, Massachusetts 2001), 2nd. ed.,
*E. van der Straeten. ''The History of the Violoncello'' (London, 1915/R1971), quoted by Köhler (1968)
External links
Researching on Francesco Zappa since 2007*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zappa, Francesco
1717 births
1803 deaths
Composers from Milan
Musicians from The Hague
Italian male classical composers
Italian classical cellists
Italian Classical-period composers
Italian expatriates in the Netherlands
19th-century Italian male musicians