Franz Danzi (1763-1826) was born near and grew up in Mannheim. Danzi studied cello with his father and composition with Abt Vogler before he joined the famous Mannheim orchestra of the Elector in 1778. His career spanned the transition from the late Classical to the early Romantic styles. Danzi knew Mozart and mentored Carl Maria von Weber. In 1783, Danzi succeeded his father as one of the conductors of Elector’s orchestra. He eventually rose to the position of Kapellmeister at the courts in Munich and later Stuttgart. He was a prolific composer who wrote works in virtually every genre. Danzi's chamber music includes sextets, quintets, quartets and trios, some for strings, some for wind instruments and some for a combination of the two. These works are generally in a style that reflects his own early experience in Mannheim.
The Wind Quintet Op.56 No.3 in F Major is the third of a set of three such works. Very few composers had written wind quintets before him. Anton Reicha published his first set of six in 1817. They turned out to be tremendously popular. Danzi followed suit with his Op.56 in 1821 dedicating them to Reicha who was then living in Paris. Danzi with an eye for the marketplace lavished his gift for attractive melodies upon these works. But unlike Reicha whose parts often demanded players of a very high technical caliber, Danzi’s were written for Everyman and are technically undemanding. But he did follow Reicha’s practice of treating all of the voices as equals. The opening Andante sostenuto-Allegro begins with a lengthy slow and rather sedate introduction, which leads to a chirpy and upbeat main section. Next comes a stately and reflective Andante, which is interrupted by a quicker episode. A Haydnesque and Viennese Menuetto follows. The genial finale, Allegretto, begins in dignified fashion and moves forward in leisurely fashion but also with some exciting passage work.
Our edition is based on the original Schlesinger Paris edition of 1821, however, we have entirely reset the work, added rehearsal numbers and corrected mistakes. This is a tuneful work which should be enjoyed by quintet groups be they professional or amateur.
