The current expansion of the Classical-era repertory, with thanks due in many cases to the Naxos label, has only rarely touched on Haydn's student Ignaz Pleyel, although his name surfaces during several key episodes in Haydn's life. Pleyel, said to be one of 38 (!) children, traveled to Italy after studying with his famous teacher, so one might expect music with Mozartian as well as Haydn-esque qualities. Both are there in this music, but the overall effect, to Pleyel's credit, does not sound derivative of either composer. ...
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The current expansion of the Classical-era repertory, with thanks due in many cases to the Naxos label, has only rarely touched on Haydn's student Ignaz Pleyel, although his name surfaces during several key episodes in Haydn's life. Pleyel, said to be one of 38 (!) children, traveled to Italy after studying with his famous teacher, so one might expect music with Mozartian as well as Haydn-esque qualities. Both are there in this music, but the overall effect, to Pleyel's credit, does not sound derivative of either composer. Pleyel wrote the six mostly three-movement quartets of his Opus 2 (this CD is one of a pair from the Enso Quartet covering the entire set) in the early 1780s, during a period when both Haydn and Mozart had given up quartet composition. He seems to be consciously trying to fill the void, with spacious movement structures whose parts relate to each other in logical ways while the local surfaces remain sparkling and graceful. If Pleyel had neither Haydn's skill with motives nor Mozart's...
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