Myslevicek Il Divino Boemo

I am not sure if this has been reviewed here before, but it's an Archiv
recording from about a year ago recorded by the forces of the Concerto Koln
under Werner Ehrhardt (wasn't he the guy who developed EST? He really gets
around; I guess if you call them, they will come).

Anyway, it's a completely wonderful recording of operatic overtures,
symphonies (as it were at the time) and pieces for mixed strings and winds,
and it's one of the most enjoyable orchestral discs I've listened to in a
long while. If Boccherini was described as the Wife of Haydn (although I'm
sure his intentions were honorable), Myslevicek's style could best be
described as the Older Brother of Mozart -although in his personal life he
ended up a little more like Eddie Haskil. There is a lovely lyricism about
these works, and the line is not a short one - he seems able to develope
melodies, if not in the more expansive way that the 'mature' Mozart would
enjoy, at least beyond the more limited scope of CPE Bach and the Rococco.
There's something to me of the Mannheim School in his music, but it's not
entirely Mannheim (which I tend to think of as associated with a lot of
'effects'), and so he seems in a way a transitional figure between early to
middle Haydn and the later classical school. But you can forget all that and
just enjoy lovely wind and string 'chamber music', beautifully played and
recorded.

He wrote about 50 operas, and I have one, which has been recorded several
times (Arbramo and Isacco, I have the earlier and I think somewhat
incomplete recording on Bonton), and his operatic works pop up from time to
time in performance and on recordings. I must say that I find these
orchestral works more engaging - there's something a little bit limited in
scope in Abramo, and it reminds you of the lesser Haydn, or perhaps of
Galuppi - Italianate and rather short in melodic scope and character
development. I know much better some of his breathtaking partitas and
notturnos for voice and strings that appeared many years ago on Crossroads
LP and are a treasured possession, and have one of the discs of his violin
sonatas recently issued, which again seems a bit limited in scope.

Some of the variability in his output may be because he did so much so
early, and died pretty early (though he was not the genius that Mozart was,
not the kind of slower, more mature developer that Haydb was). He died
pretty young, in his early 40s, of a botched operation for syphilis, and was
close to the Mozart family and an influence, apparently, on early Mozart,
more through Leopold I think than through fils. He was apparently a
ladykiller and man about town, but his reach exceded his grasp in a number
of ways and he ended up poor and out of favor with opera houses. There's
apparently been an opera written about him at the turn of the last century
by Suda (??) which I don't know.

In any case, this disc is well worth picking up.

On 27 Jun., 13:38, "REG" wrote:

> He wrote about 50 operas, and I have one, which has been recorded several
> times (Arbramo and Isacco, I have the earlier and I think somewhat
> incomplete recording on Bonton)


First it is Myslivecek, second it is "Abramo ed Isacco", third it is
an oratorio, not an opera.

As an opera I have "Il Bellerofonte" with a rather interesting cast
(Raul Gimenez, among others), but unfortunately Zoltan Pesko conducts
with a leaden baton and doesn't seem to approve any ornamentation
(give me Muti any time!)

A couple of arias by Myslivecek are to be found in Magdalena Kozena's
CD "Le Belle immagini", among arias by Gluck and Mozart. Ms Kozena was
reported to record an all-Myslivecek CD but probably the marketing
staff of DGG imposed some less obscure composers. Anyway this CD is
highly recommandable.

th.