Franz Ignaz Danzi (15 June 1763 – 13 April 1826) was a German cellist, composer and conductor, the son of the Italian cellist Innocenz Danzi (1730–1798) and brother of the noted singer
Franzeska Danzi. Danzi lived at a significant time in the history of European music. His career, spanning the transition from the late Classical to the early Romantic styles, coincided with the origin of much of the music that lives in our concert halls and is familiar to contemporary classical-music audiences. As a young man he knew
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
, whom he revered; he was a contemporary of
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
, about whom he — like many of his generation — had strong but mixed feelings; and he was a mentor for the young
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...
, whose music he respected and promoted.
Life and career
Born in
Schwetzingen
Schwetzingen (; pfl, Schwetzinge) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim.
Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-sized ...
and raised in
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 2 ...
, Danzi studied with his father and with
Georg Joseph Vogler
Abbé Vogler
Georg Joseph Vogler, also known as Abbé Vogler (June 15, 1749 – May 6, 1814), was a German composer, organist, teacher and theorist. In a long and colorful career extending over many more nations and decades than was usual at the t ...
before he joined the superlative orchestra of the Elector
Karl Theodor in 1778 as a teenager.
In 1780, the first of his woodwind compositions was published at Mannheim. His father, principal cellist of the orchestra, was praised by
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
for his playing at the premiere of ''
Idomeneo
' (Italian for ''Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', K. 366) is an Italian language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Varesco from a French ...
''. Danzi remained behind in a Mannheim that was rendered more provincial when Karl Theodor moved his court to
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
in 1778. After an apprenticeship with the small theatre orchestra left in Mannheim, he rejoined the main court in Munich as principal cellist — taking his father's position — in 1784.
In 1790, he married the singer and composer
Maria Margarethe Marchand, with whom he travelled in an opera troupe to Leipzig, Prague, Venice, and Florence.
By 1798, once more in Munich, he rose to the position of assistant
Kapellmeister
(, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...
in one of the most important musical centers of Europe, but in 1807, unhappy at the treatment he received at court and despairing of any further advancement, he left Munich to be Kapellmeister in the smaller and less important
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
court of the new king of
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
,
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...
.
After five years he moved again to
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, where he spent the last years of his life at the Royal Konservatorium struggling to raise the modest courtly musical establishment to respectability.
He died in
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
, aged 62.
Contribution
Danzi is known today chiefly for his
woodwind quintets, in which he took justifiable pride for the idiomatic treatment of the individual instruments. He composed in most major genres of the time, including opera, church music, orchestral works, and many varieties of chamber music. He was a first-rate cellist as well as a conscientious and — by all reports — effective orchestra leader and conductor.
At
Schwetzingen
Schwetzingen (; pfl, Schwetzinge) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim.
Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-sized ...
, the city concert hall was renamed in his honour in 2005.
Family
Francesca Lebrun
Francesca Lebrun (née Danzi; 24 March 1756 – 14 May 1791) was a noted 18th-century German singer and composer. Her talent extended beyond the stage to music composition and keyboard performance. As a composer, her twelve sonatas, six each in ...
(1756–91), a singer and composer, was Franz Danzi's sister.
Selected works
Among his compositions are:
* ''Symphonie Concertante'' in E major for Wind Quintet and Orchestra (1785)
* 3 String Quartets, Op. 5
* 6 String Quartets, Op. 6
* 3 Duos for viola and cello (book 1)
* 3 Duos for viola and cello, Op. 9 (book 2)
* Wind Sextet in E major, Op. 10
* Septet in E major, Op. 10 (arrangement of Sextet, Op. 10)
* Septet in E major, Op. 15
* Sinfonia in C major for Orchestra, Op. 25 (Danzi wrote 8 Sinfonias)
*
Horn Sonata in E major, Op. 28 (c.1804)
* 3 String Quartets, Op. 29
* Flute Concerto No. 1 in G major, Op. 30
* Flute Concerto No. 2 in D minor, Op. 31
* 3 Quartets for Bassoon and Strings, Op. 40
* Quintet in D minor for Piano and Winds, Op. 41
* ''Symphonie Concertante'' in B major for Flute, Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 41
* Flute Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 42
* Flute Concerto No. 4 in D major, Op. 43
*
''Sonata concertante'' in E minor for Horn and Piano, Op. 44
* 3 Potpourris for Clarinet and Orchestra, Op. 45 (1814)
* Concertino, for Clarinet, Solo Bassoon and Chamber Band, Op. 47
* Quintet in F major for Piano and Winds, Op. 53
* Quintet in D major for Piano and Winds, Op. 54
* 3 Wind Quintets, Op. 56
* 6 String Quintets (with 2 violas), Op. 66
* 3 Wind Quintets, Op. 67
* 3 Wind Quintets, Op. 68
* 3 Trios for Flute and Strings, Op. 71
* 4 Bassoon Concertos
* Cello Concerto in A major
* Cello Concerto in E minor
* Horn Concerto in E major
* ''Ouvertüre'' in E major for Orchestra
* Piano Concerto in E major
* Sonata in D major for 2 Organs
* Sonatina in D major for Flute and Piano
* Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in B major "Sonata Concertante"
* Sinfonia Concertante in E major for Flute, Oboe, Horn, Bassoon and Orchestra
* 6 Pieces Faciles for Piano, Op. 73
* 4 Arias from Operas by Mozart (arranged by Danzi for 2 cellos)
External links
Composer biography at Naxos website
*
*
A substantial list of newly-published editions of Danzi's works in Russian Wikipedia
Article on the 9 Danzi Wind Quintets at the Double Reed Society website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danzi, Franz
1763 births
1826 deaths
18th-century classical composers
18th-century German people
19th-century classical composers
German Classical-period composers
German classical cellists
German conductors (music)
German male conductors (music)
German expatriates in the Czech lands
German expatriates in Italy
German people of Italian descent
People from Schwetzingen
Pupils of Georg Joseph Vogler
German Romantic composers
German male classical composers
19th-century German composers
18th-century German composers
18th-century German male musicians
19th-century German male musicians
20th-century cellists