Gaspard Fritz

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Gaspard Fritz , also Kaspar Fritz and Kaspar Friz , (born February 18, 1716 in Geneva ; † March 23, 1783 ibid) was a Geneva violinist and composer .

Life

Gaspard Fritz was the son of the violin teacher Philippe Fritz and Jeanne Guibordanche from Celle. In 1737 he married Charlotte Foix, daughter of Jacob Foix. He studied with Giovanni Battista Somis in Turin . From 1737 at the latest until his death, Fritz worked as a violinist and music teacher in Geneva. In 1756 he made a trip to Paris, where he appeared on March 1st and 9th and April 18th with two of his own sonatas and a violin concerto with the Concert Spirituel . Thanks to the sons of English aristocrats traveling through, he was particularly valued in England. Fritz played for Voltaire in 1759 and in 1770 for the music historian Charles Burney , who praised Fritz's bowing.

Fritz composed mainly four-movement sonatas for solo violin or for two string instruments and figured bass in the late Baroque Italian style. Fritz later turned to the symphony; in his symphonies he showed himself to be an early representative of the gallant style , in the fast movements two horns and two flutes are added. These works show parallels to the Mannheim school .

Works (selection)

  • Concerto a 5, violino pricipale, 2 violini, viola, basso (around 1740)
  • Op. 1: Sei Sonate a quatro Stromenti (Walsh, London, 1742; Le Clerc / Boivin, Paris)
  • Op. 2: VI Sonata a Violino o Flauto traversière solo col Basso
  • Op. 3: Sei Sonata a Violino solo e Basso (Le Clerc / Boivin, Paris, around 1755)
  • Op. 4: Be Sonata a due Violini e Basso
  • Op. 6: Sei Sinfonie a piu Strumenti (around 1770)
  • 1 Concerto for harpsichord (lost), mentioned in the “Feuille d'Avis de Genève” 1774

literature

  • J. Horneffer: Gaspard Fritz , in: Revue musicale de la Suisse Romande , 37th year 1984, pp. 120-131; 39, 1986, pp. 178-188
  • RA Mooser: Deux violonistes genevois . 1968 (with catalog raisonné)
  • Hans Peter Schanzlin:  Fritz, Kaspar. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 5, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1961, ISBN 3-428-00186-9 , p. 632 ( digitized version ).

Discography

  • MH CD 90.2: "Swiss Composers II". Sibylle Tschopp (violin); Mirjam Tschopp (violin); Isabel Tschopp (piano). Published by Schweiz Radio International / Musica Helvetica .
  • 6 sonatas for flute and basso continuo op. 2 , Anna-Katharina Graf, flute, Susanne Baltensperber, harpsichord, Jecklin + Co. AG, Zurich 1992
  • Violin Sonatas (1756) , Plamena Nikitassova (violin), Maya Amrein (violoncello), Jörg-Andreas Bötticher (harpsichord), panclassics 2014

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Fritz, Gaspard
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fritz, Kaspar; Friz, Kaspar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss violinist and composer
DATE OF BIRTH February 18, 1716
PLACE OF BIRTH Geneva
DATE OF DEATH March 23, 1783
Place of death Geneva