Portrait of Josef Mysliveček
Josef Mysliveček (March 9, 1737 – February 4, 1781) was a Czech composer who contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music. Outside of the Czech Republic, his reputation is substantially sustained from his close relationship with the Mozart family between 1770 and 1778.
The house of Mysliveček's parents on Melantrichova Street in Prague, where the composer spent much of his childhood and early manhood
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Bust on the Mysliveček house in Prague
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Biography
He was born in Prague, one of twins who were sons of a prosperous mill owner, and studied philosophy at Charles-Ferdinand University before following in the footsteps of his father.[1] No documentation exists to support claims that he was actually born in Horní Šárka, a rural district to the north and west of Prague in the early eighteenth century. He achieved the rank of master miller in 1761, but gave up the family profession in order to pursue musical studies. In Prague, he studied composition with Franz Habermann and Josef Seger in the early 1760s. His ambitions led him to travel to Venice in 1763 to study with Giovanni Pescetti. His travel to Italy was subsidized in part from family wealth, in part from the Bohemian nobleman Vincenz von Waldstein. In Italy he became known as Il Boemo ("the Bohemian") and also "Venatorini", "the little hunter," a literal translation of his name. Reports that he was known as Il divino Boemo during his lifetime are false. The nickname originated from the title of a romanetto about the composer by Jakub Arbes that was first published in 1884. He was made a member of the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna in 1771. Mysliveček prized freedom of movement and was never employed directly by any noble, prelate, or ruler, unlike most contemporary composers. He earned his living through teaching, performing, and composing music, and frequently received gratuities from wealthy admirers. Financially irresponsible throughout his life, he died destitute in Rome in 1781. After his arrival in Italy in 1763, he never left the country except for a visit to Prague in 1767-68, a visit to Vienna in 1773, and a stay in Munich between December 1776 and April 1778. His return to Prague led to the production of several of his operas. He was invited to Munich by the musical establishment of the Elector Maximilian III Joseph to compose an opera for the carnival season of 1777 (Ezio).
Mysliveček's first opera was performed at Bergamo in 1766. His Il Bellerofonte was a great success in Naples after its first performance at the Teatro San Carlo on 20 January 1767, and it led to a number of commissions from Italian theaters. In 1770 Mysliveček met the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Bologna. He was close to the Mozart family until 1778, when contacts were broken off after he failed to make good on a promise to arrange an opera commission for Mozart at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Earlier, the Mozarts found his dynamic personality irrestisible. In a letter to his father Leopold written from Munich on October 11, 1777, Mozart described his character as "full of fire, spirit and life." Similarities in his musical style with the earlier works of Mozart have often been noted. Additionally, Mozart used musical motives drawn from various Mysliveček compositions to help fashion opera arias, symphonic movements, keyboard sonatas, and concertos. He also made an arrangement of Mysliveček's aria "Il caro mio bene" (from the opera Armida of 1780). The old text was replaced with the new text "Ridente la calma," KV 152 (K⁶ 210a) in a scoring for soprano with piano accompaniment.
According to the same letter of Wolfgang Mozart written from Munich on October 11, 1777, an incompetent surgeon burned off Mysliveček's nose while trying to treat a mysterious illness. A letter of Leopold Mozart to his son of October 1, 1777, refers to the illness as something shameful for which Mysliveček was deserving of social ostracism. Mysliveček's reputation for sexual promiscuity, Leopold's insinuations, and the reference to facial disfigurement in Wolfgang's letter hint unmistakenly at the symptoms of tertiary syphilis. Mysliveček's explanation for his condition to Wolfgang--bone cancer caused by a carriage accident--is preposterous on its face. The concern Mozart revealed to his father at this time for Mysliveček's sufferings was very touching. In the entire Mozart correspondence, no individual outside the Mozart family was ever the cause for so much outpouring of emotion as what is found in Wolfgang's letter of 11 October 1777.
Mysliveček never married and no names of lovers are recorded. Reports of romantic liaisons with the singers Caterina Gabrielli and Lucrezia Aguiari do not pre-date the publication of the fifth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1954).
Compositions
In all, he wrote twenty-six opere serie, including the aforementioned Il Bellerofonte. Nearly all were successful at their first performances until the diasaster of Armida at La Scala during carnival of 1780. Some of the irregularities that doomed this production were not Mysliveček's fault, however, for example the interruption of performances caused by the lying-in of the prima donna Caterina Gabrielli, who gave birth in the middle of the run out of wedlock at the age of 49. During the period of his activity as a composer of operas (1766-1780), Mysliveček succeeded in having more new opere serie brought into production than any other composer in Europe. Mysliveček and Gluck were the first composers raised in the Czech lands to become famous as operatic composers, but their operatic output exhibits few, if any, Czech characteristics. Mysliveček's operas were very much rooted in a style of Italian opera seria that prized above all the vocal artistry to be found in elaborate arias .
Among his other pieces were oratorios, symphonies, concertos, and chamber music, including some of the earliest known string quintets composed with two violas. He was also a pioneer in the composition of music for wind ensemble. It may be fair to say that his greatest composition is the oratorio Isacco figura del redentore, first performed in Florence in 1776. His violin concertos are perhaps the finest composed between the generation of Vivaldi and the Mozart violin concerto of 1775. He was also one of the most gifted and most prolific composers of eighteenth-century symphonies. Nearly all of them are cast in three movements without a minuet, following Italian traditions that originated in opera overtures. Mysliveček's opera overtures were also cast in three movements and frequently performed as independent instrumental pieces. In the 1770s, he was the finest symphonist resident in Italy, and the esteem he enjoyed is reflected in the issuance of a set of symphonies (originally opera overtures) published by Ranieri del Vivo in Florence that was the first anthology of symphonies ever printed in Italy.
Mysliveček's compositions evokes a gracious, diatonic style typical of Italian classicism in music. His best works are characterized by melodic inventiveness, logical continuity, and a certain emotional intensity that may be attributable to his dynamic personality.
Works' List
Instrumental works
Mysliveček's instrumental music includes divertimenti, sonate, symphonies, etc.[2] Lost and questionable works have been omitted from this works' list, however they are inventoried fully in Freeman, Josef Mysliveček.
Works for Solo Keyboard
Six Easy Divertimentos for the Harpsichord or Piano-Forte. London: Longman & Broderip, 1777. [F major, A major, D major, B-flat major, G major, C major]
Six Easy Lessons for the Harpsichord. Edinburgh: Corri & Sutherland, 1784. [C major, B-flat major, A major, G major, F major, D major]
1 undated sonata in C major in the Archivio e Museo della Badia of the Basilica Benedettina di San Pietro, Perugia
Violin Sonatas
5 sonatas for violin and a bass line preserved in manuscripts in the library of the Conservatorio di Musica Niccolò Paganini in Genoa, perhaps from the 1760's
Six Sonatas for the Piano Forte or Harpsichord with an Accompaniment for a Violin. London: Charles & Samuel Thompson, ca. 1775. [E-flat major, D major, C major, B-flat major, G major, F major]
6 sonatas for violin and keyboard in a manuscript dated 1777 in the České Muzeum Hudby in Prague [D major, F major, E-flat major, G major, B-flat major, E-flat major]
6 sonatas for violin and keyboard in an undated manuscript in the České Muzeum Hudby in Prague [D major, G major, C major, B-flat major, F major, C major]
Sonatas for Two Cellos
6 sonatas for two cellos and a bass line in an undated manuscript in the České Muzeum Hudby in Prague [A major, D major, G major, F major, C major, B-flat major]
Sonata for Violin, Cello, and Bass
1 sonata in G major for violin, cello, and a bass line in an undated manuscript in the České Muzeum Hudby in Prague
Duets for Two Flutes
6 duets for two flutes and a bass line in an undated manuscript in the private collection of Antonio Venturi in Montecatini-Terme, Italy [G major, C major, A minor, E minor, D major, B-flat major]
Trios for Flute, Violin, and Cello
Sei trii per flauto, violino, e violoncello. Florence: Del Vivo, ca. 1778 [D major, G major, C major, A major, F major, B-flat major]
String Trios
1 trio for 2 violins and cello in E-flat major in the Music Library of the University of California at Berkeley (remnant of a set of six advertised in the Breitkopf catalog of 1767)
Six sonates, op. 1, for 2 violins and cello published by La Chevardière in Paris ca. 1768 [C major, A major, D major, F major, A major, E-flat major]
Four of the trios in the Op. 1 set of La Chevardière also appear in Six Orchestra Trios for Two Violins and a Violoncello (London: Welcker, ca. 1772), but the English print also contains two new trios [G major, B-flat major]
Six sonates, op. 1, for 2 violins and cello published by La Menu in Paris in 1772 [C major, G major, E-flat major, A major, B-flat major, F major]
5 additional trios for 2 violins and cello survive in undated manuscripts in the České Muzeum Hudby in Prague [D major, F major, F major, G major, A major]
1 additional trio in E major for 2 violins and cello (remnant of an original set of six) survives in the Biblioteca Antoniana in Padua
Trio for Violin, Cello, and String Bass
1 trio in G major for this combination of instruments survives in the České Muzeum Hudby
String Quartets
Sei quartetti a due violini alto e basso, op. 3. Paris: La Chervarière; Lyon: Castaud, ca. 1768. [A major, F major, B-flat major, G major, E-flat major, C major]
Sei quartetti a due violini, viola e violoncello, op. 1. Offenbach: Johann André, 1777. [E-flat major, C major, D major, F major, B-flat major, G major]
Six quatuors à deux violons, taille et basse, op. post. Berlin: Hummel, ca. 1781.
String Quintets
VI Sinfonie concertanti o sia quintetti per due violini, due viole, e basso, Op. 2. Paris: Venier; Lyon: Castaud, ca. 1767. [B-flat major, E major, G major, A major, D major, C major]
6 string quintets in an undated manuscript in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena [G major, E-flat major, C major, A major, F major, B-flat major]
Wind Quintets
6 quintets for 2 oboes, 2 horns, and bassoon in undated manuscripts in the Santini-Bibliothek in Münster, probably composed in Rome in 1780 or 1781 [D major, G major, E-flat major, B-flat major, F major, C major]
Wind Octets
3 octets for 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, and 2 bassoons in undated manuscripts from the Fürstlich Fürstenburgische Hofbibliothek, probably composed in Munich in 1777 or 1778 [E-flat major, E-flat major, B-flat major]
Oboe Quintets
6 quintets for oboe with string quartet in an undated manuscript in the Biblioteca Comunale in Treviso [B-flat major, D major, F major, C major, A major, E-flat major]
Miscellaneous Work for Wind Instruments
"Cassation" for 2 clarinets & horn in B flat major in an undated manuscript in the Rossijskaja Nacional'naja Biblioteka in St. Petersburg
Concertos
Violin Concerto in D major cited in the Breitkopf catalog of 1769, preserved in an undated manuscript in the České Muzeum Hudby in Prague
Violin Concerto in C major cited in the Breitkopf catalog of 1770, preserved in an undated manuscript in the Thüringesches Hauptstaatsarchiv in Weimar, the original version of the Cello Concerto in C major
Violin Concerto in C major preserved in an undated manuscripts in the České Muzeum Hudby in Prague and other archives
Six violin concertos preserved in an undated manuscript in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, almost certainly composed by 1772 [E major, A major, F major, B-flat major, D major, G major]
Cello Concerto in C major preserved in an undated manuscript in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna, an arrangement of a violin concerto preseved in Weimar
Flute Concerto in D major preserved in an undated manuscript in the Biblioteka Uniwersytecka in Wrocław
2 Keyboard Concertos preserved in undated manuscripts in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris
3 concertos for wind quintet & orchestra in undated manuscripts in the library of the Monumento Nazionale di Montecassino
Symphonies
E10:A 1 - Symphony in A major
E10:A 3 - Sinfonia a 4 in A major
E10:B 2 - Symphony in B flat major
E10:B 3 - Overture No. 5 in B flat major
E10:B 6 - Sinfonia a 4 in B flat major
E10:B 8 - Symphony in B flat major
E10:C 1 - Symphony in C major
E10:C 2 - Symphony Op. 1 No. 3 in C major
E10:C 6 - Symphony in C major
E10:C 7 - Overture No. 1 in C major
E10:C11 - Symphony in C major
E10:C14 - Symphony in C major
E10:D 1 - Symphony Op. 1 No. 1 in D major
E10:D 2 - Symphony Op. 1 No. 6 in D major
E10:D 4 - Symphony in D major
E10:D 6 - Symphony in D major
E10:D 7 - Symphony in D major
E10:D 8 - Symphony in D major
E10:D12 - Symphony in D major
E10:D14 - Overture No. 4 in D major
E10:D17 - Sinfonia a 4 in D major
E10:D21 - Symphony in D major
E10:D23 - Symphony in D major
E10:DQ1 - Symphony in D major
E10:E 2 - Sinfonia a 4 in E major
E10:Es1 - Symphony in E flat major
E10:Es2 - Symphony in E flat major
E10:Es4 - Sinfonia a 4 in E flat major
E10:Es6 - Symphony in E flat major
E10:F 1 - Symphony Op. 1 No. 4 in F major
E10:F 2 - Symphony in F major
E10:F 3 - Symphony in F major
E10:F 5 - Symphony in F major
E10:F 6 - Overture No. 3 in F major
E10:F 8 - Symphony in F major
E10:F 9 - Symphony in F major
E10:F10 - Symphony in F major
E10:F11 - Symphony in F major
E10:G 1 - Symphony Op. 1 No. 2 in G major
E10:g 1 - Symphony Op. 1 No. 5 in G minor
E10:G 3 - Symphony in G major
E10:G 5 - Overture No. 6 in G major
E10:G 7 - Sinfonia a 4 in G major
E10:G10 - Symphony in G major
E10:G11 - Symphony in G major
E10:G12 - Symphony in G major
E11:B1 - Orchestral piece in B flat major
Overtures
Overtures are preserved for all of Mysliveček's surviving operas and oratorios, most of them disseminated in manuscript and printed form to be performed as separate instrumental pieces. A complete listing of sources is presented in Freeman, Josef Mysliveček. The most significant print of overtures is the Sei sinfonie da orchestra published by Ranieri del Vivo in Florence ca. 1777, the first anthology of symphonic works ever known to have been published in Italy.
Operas
- Semiramide (Bergamo, 1766)
- Il Bellerofonte (Naples 1767)
- Farnace (Naples, 1767)
- Il trionfo di Clelia (Turin, 1768)
- Demofoonte [1st version] (Venice, 1769)
- L’Ipermestra (Florence, 1769)
- La Nitteti (Bologna, 1770)
- Motezuma (Florence, 1771)
- Il gran Tamerlano (Milan, 1772)
- Il Demetrio [1st version] (Pavia, 1773)
- Romolo ed Ersilia (Naples, 1773)
- Antigona (Turin, 1774)
- La clemenza di Tito (Venice, 1774)
- Atide (Padua, 1774)
- Artaserse (Naples, 1774)
- Demofoonte [2nd version] (Naples, 1775)
- Ezio [1st version] (Naples, 1775)
- Adriano in Siria (Florence, 1776)
- Ezio [2nd version] (Munich, 1777)
- La Calliroe (Naples, 1778)
- Olimpiade (Naples, 1778)
- La Circe (Venice, 1779)
- Demetrio [2nd version] (Naples, 1779)
- Armida (Milan, 1780)
- Il Medonte (Rome, 1780)
- Antigono (Rome, 1780)
- Il Parnaso confuso (c.1765), dramatic cantata
- Elfrida (1774), play with choruses (lost)
- Das ausgerechnete Glück (1777), children operetta (lost)
- Theodorich und Elisa (c.1777), melodrama
Oratorios
- Il Tobia (Padua, 1769)
- I pellegrini al sepolcro (Padua, 1770)
- Giuseppe riconosciuto (Padua, c.1770) - lost
- Adamo ed Eva (Florence, 1771)
- La Betulia liberata (Padua, 1771) - lost
- La passione di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo (Florence, 1773)
- La liberazione d'Israele (1773-74?) - lost, perhaps composed in Naples, first recorded performance in Prague in 1775
- Isacco figura del redentore (Florence, 1776)
Other vocal works
Secular cantatas
- Cantata per S.E. Marino Cavalli (1768) - lost
- Narciso al fonte (1768) - lost
- Cantata a 2 (by 1771)
- Enea negl'Elisi (1777) - lost
- Armida
- Ebbi, non ti smarir
- Non, non turbati, o Nice
- 6 birthday cantatas written between 1767 and 1779 during his stay in Naples - lost
Arias
- Ah che fugir … Se il ciel mi chi rida;
- 3 duetti notturni (2 vv, insts)
Sacred works
- Veni sponsa Christi (1771)
- Lytanie laurentanae
- Offertorium Beatus Bernardy
Notes
- ^ A comprehensive treatment of Mysliveček's life and works is found in Daniel E. Freeman, Josef Mysliveček, "Il Boemo" (Sterling Heights, Mich.: Harmonie Park Press, 2009).
- ^ A. Evans & R. Dearling, Josef Mysliveček (1737-1781): a Thematic Catalogue of his Instrumental and Orchestral Works, Musikwissenschaftliche Schriften XXXV (Munich & Salzburg: Katzbichler, 1999) is the only published thematic catalog of Mysliveček's works. Freeman, Josef Mysliveček, contains new works' lists with corrections to the Evans/Dearling catalog.
External links
References
