“The music of Wranitzky was in fashion when it was new because of his natural melodies and brilliant style…I recall that, in my youth, his works held up very well in comparison with those of Haydn. Their premature abandonment of today has been for me a source of astonishment.”
—The famous French critic, musicologist and composer François-Joseph Fetis
Paul Wranitzky (1756-1808) (Pavel Vranický in the Czech form) was born in the town Nová Ríše (then Neureisch) in Moravia. At age 20, like so many other Czech composers of that period, he moved to Vienna to seek out opportunities within the Austrian imperial capital. Wranitzky played a prominent role in the musical life of Vienna. He was on friendly terms and highly respected by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven who preferred him as the conductor of their new works. Wranitzky was, as so many of his contemporaries, a prolific composer. His chamber works number over 100. Although some scholars believe that Wranitzky studied with Haydn, there is no proof of this. But there can be no question that he studied and was influenced by Haydn. Like Haydn, Wranitzky’s writing went through many stages of development beginning with the pre-classical and evolving to the finished sonata form of the late Vienna Classics. The majority of Wranitzky’s chamber works are set in the three-movement format favored by the Parisians, a style then in vogue.
Sextet No.3 in E flat Major is the third of a set of six dating from 1790. The set is actually an arrangement of six symphonies which Wranitzky wrote. This was a common practice at the time and composers, including Beethoven, made arrangements fo their symphonies for chamber ensembles and home use. Often, the symphonies disappeared but the chamber works survived. This sextet appears to be an arrangement of his Symphony in E flat Major, Op.35 No.3. It is in three movements. The opening movement begins with an Adagio introduction which leads to the lively main section, Allegro. The middle movement is a lovely Andante and the finale, Presto is full of energy and forward motion. The work was originally for an ensemble of flute, oboe, violin, 2 violas and cello, a combination for which composers at the time frequently wrote, today this combination is rare. Hence we created a version which replaces the second viola with a second violin part make it more accessible to modern groups.
