Stamitz · Four Symphonies

It is difficult to understand why Johann Stamitz (1717-57), the father of Carl, has always received more attention than his son, whose music is much more pleasing to the ear. Possibly one reason was that German musicologists a century ago were very anxious to prove that the Mannheim School, led by Johann Stamitz, invented the symphony, and that its composers were therefore the pioneers of the greatest musical form in history. In fact, Carl’s symphonies are delightful. The four on this CD make very easy listening, especially when they are as gracefully performed as they are here. If you like Haydn and Mozart, you may be won over by these Carl Stamitz symphonies. One of them, La chasse, the earliest of the four published by Sieber in Paris in 1772 as ‘Simphonie de chasse’, has trumpets and timpani and figured on London concert programmes as late as 1794. The performances, by the London Mozart Players under Matthias Bamert, are first-rate (we noticed with pleasure his previous CD of Krommer symphonies in these pages). In short, a welcome addition to the record catalogues. HC Robbins Landon