Francesco Zappa

The title of this article is ambiguous. For the album of the same name, see Francesco Zappa (album) .

Francesco Zappa (* in Milan , creative period from 1763 to 1788) was an Italian cellist and composer . He was considered a virtuoso violoncello player.

Life

Little is known about Zappa's life: most of the known information comes from his music publications and manuscripts. Zappa was initially in the service of the Sicilian Count Catani, to whom he dedicated his first work, 6 trio sonatas . He then worked for the Duke of York , whom he gave music lessons during his stay in Italy from November 1762 to mid-1763. When the Duke died in 1767, he was in the rank of maestro di musica ( Kapellmeister ), as the title of his Trio Sonatas Opus 2 shows. He then seems to have gone to The Hague as a music master. In 1771 he played on a concert tour through Germany in Danzig and on September 22nd in Frankfurt am Main. In 1781 another concert tour took place through Germany, during which he aroused the admiration of the audience with "his soft and beautiful tone".

From the end of the 1880s , Zappa was employed as Mâitre de musique à la Haye as Kapellmeister in The Hague, for 1788 this is stated in the manuscript Quartetto concertante .

Musical creation

Zappa composed symphonies , trios , sonatas , divertimenti and songs, some of which are only quoted but no longer passed down. According to Köhler (1968), he prefers the cello in his compositions, to which he assigns “grateful tasks”.

His work is described by Guido Salvetti and Valerie Walden as lyrical , his style tends towards a "... serious way in which the gallant elements are toned down by classical dignity". Karl-Heinz Köhler describes Zappa's style as pre-classical and points to similarities to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach . The virtuoso held style of cello going through Sforzato technology and suspensions accentuated.

Zappa was one of the leading cellists of his time; his compositions for this instrument were technically, musically and stylistically up to date in the Netherlands.

In 2009, Simon Murphy recorded two zappa symphonies with the New Dutch Academy , the symphony in B minor Concertata Sinfonia à più Stromenti Obbligati (The Cello Symphony) and the symphony in D.

reception

Opus 1 and Opus 4 were recorded in 1984 by Frank Zappa as the “first digital recording in 200 years” on the Synclavier and published on CD and record under the title Francesco Zappa .

plant

• Duets:
  • 6 sonatas piano / harpsichord, as opus 4a (Paris, no year)
  • 6 duets violin, violoncello / 2 violins (Paris, no year)
  • Duo for 2 cellos, Ms., m. 5740, house library collection

• Trio sonatas, 2 violins and bass
  • 6 trios (London, 1765), as opus 1 (The Hague, no year)
  • 6 as Opus 2 (London, ca.1767)
  • 6 as Opus 3 (Paris, no year)
  • 6 as opus 4 (London, no year)
  • 6 Sonates à deux Violons & Basse , (The Hague, no year), Thulemeyer Collection

• Other works:
  • 6 Piano Sonatas, Opus 6 (Paris 1776), mentioned by Mendel (1879)
  • 6 symphonies (Paris, no year)
  • 2 romances, 1 violin, piccolo, as opus 4 (The Hague, no year)
  • 2 romances, 1 violin (The Hague)
  • A-Wgm, D-Bds, I-Mc
  • Sonata for violoncello, mus. ms. 23490, Berlin Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
  • Sinfonia con violoncello obligato No. 1 for 2 violins, viola, cello obligata, 2 oboes, 2 horns, Ms., m. 5737, House library collection
  • Quartetto Concertante for 2 violins, viola, violoncello, “composta all Aya li 8 Liuglio 1788”, Ms. m. 5740, house library collection

literature

• Karl-Heinz Köhler: Francesco Zappa , in: Friedrich Blume (Hrsg.): The music in past and present (Kassel, Basel et al. 1968), Volume 14
• H. Mendel & A. Reissmann (eds.): Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon (Berlin, 1870-79), Volume 11, 1879, p. 432
• David Ocker: The Musical Times of Francesco Zappa , liner notes from the album “Francesco Zappa”, Barking Pumpkin Records, 1984
• Guido Salvetti and Valerie Walden in: Stanley Sadie (Eds.): The New Grove Dictionary Of Music & Musicians (London, New-York, Massachusetts 2001), 2nd edition, ISBN 1-56159-239-0
• E. van der Straeten: The History of the Violoncello (London, 1915 / R1971), quoted in Köhler (1968)

Web links

• Sheet music and audio files by Francesco Zappa in the International Music Score Library Project
• Official website
• Quote from Guido Salvetti's article about Francesco Zappa

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Guido Salvetti and Valerie Walden in: Stanley Sadie (eds.): The New Grove Dictionary Of Music & Musicians (London, New-York, Massachusetts 2001), 2nd edition. ISBN 1-56159-239-0 , p. 748.
2. ↑ H. Mendel and A. Reissmann (eds.): Musikalisches Conversations-Lexikon (Berlin, 1870–79), Volume 11, 1879, p. 432.
3. ↑ Karl-Heinz Köhler: Francesco Zappa , in: Friedrich Blume (Ed.): The music in past and present. Kassel, Basel a. a. 1968, Volume 14, p. 1015.
4. ↑ Simon Murphy: Crowning Glory. The Musical Heritage of the Netherlands, CD booklet, Crowning Glory. The Musical Heritage of the Netherlands. Dutch Crown Jewels: Symphonies from the 18th Century Court of Orange in The Hague . Pentatone 2009, PTC 5186 365
5. ↑ www.newdutchacademy.nl (as of 10/2009)
6. ↑ cf. pentatonemusic.com ( Memento of the original from February 26th, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , (no direct link, Pentatone 5186 365)