Asplmayr: Six Quatuors Concertantes, Op. 2

Franz Asplmayr was a prolific composer and prominent professional violinist in Vienna during the eighteenth century. His collaboration with the choreographer Jean George Noverre resulted in several groundbreaking ballets, and Asplmayr also composed numerous string quartets, symphonies, string trios, and partitas. His works were performed in distinguished venues and were widely disseminated both in manuscript and in printed form. In spite of his position in the musical life of Vienna his work has been largely ignored by modern musicologists and, perhaps worse, many serious errors about his life and works have been uncritically repeated. The string quartets in this volume, composed before Haydn's Opus 9 quartets, represent an important stage in the development of the genre. Though first published in Paris, these quartets anticipated many of the most important style characteristics of the developing Viennese style, a style which has been greatly misunderstood in the shadow of Moazart and Haydn.

String Quartet in G Major, op. 2, no. 1

  Tempo giusto

  Menuetto

  Andante poco adagio

  Allegro assai

String Quartet in D Major, op. 2, no. 2

  Vivace

  Minuetto mezza voce

  Andante cantabile

  Allegro ma poco

String Quartet in F Major, op. 2, no. 3

  Allegro

  Minuetto mezza voce

  Andante cantabile

  Allegro moderato

String Quartet in E Major, op. 2, no. 4

  Allegretto

  Minuetto

  Andante poco adagio

  Allegro assai

String Quartet in C Major, op. 2, no. 5

  Vivace

  Minuetto mezza voce

  Andante poco adagio

  Allegro

String Quartet in E-flat Major, op. 2, no. 6

  Allegro moderato

  Menuetto mezza voce, Allegretto

  Andante poco adagio

  Allegro assai

L.F., American String Teacher, May 2000