Beck: Six Symphonies, Op.1 - New Zealand CO, Donald Armstrong

Franz Ignax Beck
Six Symphonies, Op.1
New Zealand Chamber Orchestra, Donald Armstrong
Naxos 8.554071

Haydn may have been called the "Father of the Symphony" but the genre certainly preceded him with composers such as Sammartini and Johann Stamitz making significant early contributions.

Franz Beck started life in Mannheim and was taught by Stamitz before spending time in Venice and Naples then eventually settling in France. He seems to have been an interesting character, reputedly leaving Mannheim after a duel and then eloping from Venice with his boss’s daughter. In the midst of such intrigue the present symphonies were published in Paris in 1758 and were soon followed by three more sets. Beck then appears to have lost interest in the form. They were originally styled as Overtures but, given their consistent three-movement form have become known as sinfonias.

Allan Badley states in the booklet that Beck’s symphonies have "long been regarded as amongst the most striking of the mid-18th century". On the evidence of this disc that seems a plausible claim but Beck is hardly a well-known figure. For example, he doesn’t warrant an entry in the current edition of the Oxford Companion to Music. Recordings of his music have so far been quite rare although there is a Naxos disc in their series "The 18th century symphony" partly devoted to some his later symphonies (8.553790). The series also features two discs of symphonies by Stamitz and it is not clear to me why this new release isn’t considered to be part of it.

Each of the sinfonias has a central andante framed by two quick movements. Most of the finales are marked Presto but the second has a notable Vivace minuet. The opening G minor symphony is perhaps the most interesting and, in the extended opening allegro, seems to point towards Haydn. Within the set, there is plenty of variety of mood and imaginative touches abound making an hour in the company of this disc pass by quickly.

The New Zealand Chamber Orchestra was as unfamiliar to me as Beck but it was also pleasing to make their acquaintance. Formed in 1987 as an offshoot of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, they play on modern instruments and are directed by their leader Donald Armstrong. Their playing is lively and they give these works a fairly light touch. Orchestral numbers are not given but I would guess about twenty string players with harpsichord continuo. The recording is well-balanced and was produced by Stephen Managh, the founder of the orchestra who, sadly, did not live to see the disc issued.

This CD is recommended to anyone interested in the origins of the symphony and to collectors of worthwhile little-known music. Please Naxos can we have the rest of Beck’s symphonies?

Patrick C Waller, Musicweb-International.com

Beck: Symphonies Op.3 - Toronto Chamber Orchestra, Mallon

Franz Ignaz Beck
Symphonies Op.3 Nos. 1-4
Toronto Chamber Orchestra, Kevin Mallon
Naxos 8.570799

Beck was a major composer. His Op. 3 symphonies, published in 1762, are substantial. They have four movements each and, while none of the works are long in total (15-17 minutes each), they contain a great deal of arresting musical invention. No. 3 is the most obviously affecting of the four, with its G minor tonality, and it's also the biggest single piece. The performances here are all very well played, as we have come to expect from these forces, and Kevin Mallon paces each movement with unaffected naturalness. My only reservation, as so often in music of this period, concerns the harpsichord continuo, an unnecessary anachronism that is not only too loudly recorded but, especially in quick movements, too frequently employed. I find it very hard to believe that bass lines in rapidly repeated eighths had a harpsichordist flailing away on each note like a petulant child throwing a tantrum, but that's how these things are done today. Still, for the otherwise fine performances and the far more numerous beauties that the music affords, I'm willing to put up with it, and others may not share my reservations in this respect. Recommended.

David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Beck: Symphonies - Northern Chamber Orchestra, Ward

Franz Ignaz Beck
Symphonies
Northern Chamber Orchestra, Nicholas Ward
Naxos 8.553790

Not another early symphonist! Well, Franz Beck is an early symphonist with a difference. Certainly, his roots are immediately clear. Born as he was in Manheim, the influence of the Manheim school is apparent--here and there a so-called Manheim rocket, as well as the kind of question-and-answer (soft answered by loud) or call-and-echo (loud followed by soft) format of first subjects, especially in the last movements, that the Manheimers favored. But given that Beck's symphonic career ended in the 1760s and that Mozart nonetheless admired him years afterward, he must have had something on the ball. And that something is found in the remarkable slow movements of the Sinfonias in B-flat and G. The slow movement of the B-flat Sinfonia is as long as some whole Manheim symphonies by the likes of Stamitz, and it has a tender, balletic quality that is almost proto-Romantic in feeling. I can't recall another symphony from circa 1760 that has such an individualistic movement. Did Mozart know this movement and think of it as he wrote the beloved slow movement of his Piano Concerto No. 21 a generation later? Perhaps not, but still, I hear echoes in the piano concerto that cause me to wonder if Mozart didn't learn almost as much from Beck as he did from his hero J. C. Bach.

Of the five symphonies on this disc, only Beck's Sinfonia in D, Callen 30, is in four movements. The rest are in the three-movement format favored by the Manheim symphonists. Some of the finales, notably the finale of this symphony and of the E-major Sinfonia, have the athletic fervor of early Haydn. But again, the gentle, distinctive Allegro first movement of the B-flat Sinfonia shows that Beck was his own man. Now, I must say that listening to him, you won't rethink the history of the symphony; you'll still come away astounded at what Mozart and especially Haydn contributed to the primitive musical form that Beck and others pioneered back in the 1750s. But I think you will see the merit in Beck's art, a merit that no less an authority than Mozart acknowledged.

These are very fine performances, characterized by good, vital playing from the whole orchestra; tasteful contributions from the continuo harpsichord; and special attention to that tender elegance that is Beck's calling card. The recording was made in a hall that imparts a special glamour to the strings, making the string body sound a bit bigger than it probably is in real life. But this seems just right too. Beck is a special case and deserves the special advocacy he receives from Nicholas Ward and his orchestra.

Amazon Customer Review

Beck: Symphonies Op.4 1-3 - La Stagione Frankfurt, Schneider

Franz Ignaz Beck
Symphonies Op.4 Nos. 1-3
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider
CPO 777 390-2

This is one of three of Beck’s symphonies to come out in recent months, with the six Op. 3 examples released on CPO 777034-2 and 999390-2 with the same ensemble, also under the baton of Michael Schneider. A contemporary of Haydn, Beck has much of the Eszterhazy master’s charm. Though there is no real way to determine chronological order for the symphonies, the Op. 4 works here appear to be the last of Beck’s symphonies to be published. You can hear the Op. 1 set on Naxos.

Op. 4 No. 1 in D certainly has the greatest amount of kinetic energy, beginning with three forte chords, in the fashion that Parisian society found so exciting in Mozart’s time and which Mozart rather bemusedly indulged in several of his works written specifically for such an audience. Beck’s symphony carries it further, also ending the opening movement with those forceful three chords. He stays rather on the forceful side overall in the outer movements, the last movement of Symphony 1 has its joyously rustic outbursts emphasising the upbeat in wide and sudden dynamic shifts. The two shorter inner movements are quite enjoyable as well, with a slow movement played before a menuetto movement, as with the other two symphonies on this disc. For Symphony 1, the andante begins in blissful, stately calm, with some chordal changes right around the three-minute mark to keep things interesting. Shortly after, the piece is brought up short twice before continuing on, unruffled.

Symphony No. 2 churns busily along before calming down to a presentation of the thematic material in an extended duet of oboes before the strings and continuo ratchet things up again with a building crescendo. The piece is charmingly outgoing and enjoyable, and the formula carries over to the more restrained opening movement of Symphony 3, much reminiscent of Haydn. Again, the main thematic material is iterated by oboe duet, which soon is overtaken by tremolo strings in a - albeit more restrained - crescendo before the cooler heads of the oboes re-take the floor.

Another standout is the Andante arioso second movement of Symphony 3, which glides smoothly along as the strings give the woodwinds a reprieve. The pauses here in this movement are delicious; a slight hesitation before the development begins.

As with two of the other Beck releases, included is a theatre music bonus to the symphonies, in this case the overture to L’Isle déserte, one of my favourite pieces on this disc, composed in 1799. The liner notes, written by the conductor, indicate the use of tone painting, in which the elements of the plot - written by Metastasio, also given musical treatment by Haydn as Isola disabitata - are given rather straightforwardly. These include the sudden storm at sea that strands the two sisters of the play on the island, as well as the rather sad chisel blows - played by the oboe - of one of the sisters as she chips her own suicide statement in stone. It’s a strange piece to end the disc on, not only from the tone of the piece, but in the fact that it was originally written to begin things. The disc seems to end with a strange unresolved upward inflection, a statement spoken as a question, but this is rather a small criticism for what is quite enjoyable music. The review of this SACD is based on playback on various standard players — the sound is excellent, and the recording space gives the ensemble room to breathe without sounding the slightest bit remote or boomy. La Stagione Frankfurt sound wonderful in this recording, which certainly has me looking forward to future releases.

David Blomenberg, Musicweb-International.com

Beck: Symphonies Op.3 3-5 - La Stagione Frankfurt, Schneider

Franz Ignaz Beck
Symphonies Op.3 Nos. 3-5
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider
CPO 777 390-2

Schneider makes the symphonies of full pelvic discontinuity, making music full of sudden change of expression, the volume and tone, the listener so that electrified every motive, every orchestra beat, every melody followed. That this music sound so sophisticated, in the rhythm so infectious and the expression can be so upsetting that they compare with Mozart or Beethoven, no need to fear, proves La Stagione Frankfurt. Sound: clear, wide dynamic contrasts, clear outlines.

Google translation of a review in the german magazine FonoForum. Read the original review in german here.

Beck: Symphonies Op.3 1,2&6 - La Stagione Frankfurt, Schneider

Franz Ignaz Beck
Symphonies Op.3 Nos. 1, 2 & 6, Overture "La mort d'Orphee"
La Stagione Frankfurt, Michael Schneider
CPO 777 034-2

Listeners who enjoy the symphonies of Franz Joseph Haydn surely will admire these works, composed by Haydn's lesser-known contemporary Franz Ignaz Beck. Like Haydn's, Beck's symphonies consistently display a clever use of harmony, rhythmic flexibility, and most importantly, a wealth of melodic imagination. However, unlike Haydn (at least as evinced by the three works offered here), Beck never draws on the past for inspiration, eschewing any reference or allusion to galant convention. Quite the opposite in fact, since Beck's fiery outer movements, played with exceptional panache by La Stagione Frankfurt, more often than not sound as if the composer is anticipating the charged romanticism of Beethoven.

The lighter inner movements also demonstrate Beck's exceptional creativity and technical skill. The broad sweeping gestures of the third-movement Minuetto of the Symphony in B-flat major are regularly (and often humorously) punctuated by various combinations of soloists from each of the orchestral sections. The delicate nobility that characterizes the pensive second-movement Andante grazioso of the Symphony in F major as well displays a familiarity if not mastery of symphonic form on par with any of Beck's contemporaries.

CPO's sound is well balanced and clearly detailed. While conductor Michael Schneider's informative and entertaining notes make a very strong case for rescuing Franz Beck from obscurity, the orchestra's expert performances under his leadership make an even stronger one. Highly recommended.

John Greene, ClassicsToday.com