Carl Stamitz (1745-1801)
Symphonie Concertante n° 2 en ré majeur, op. 2
Symphonie Concertante n° 9 en do majeur
Symphonie Concertante n° 12 en si bémol majeur

Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester
Paul Meyer, clarinette, direction

A la mode entre 1760 et 1780, tout particulièrement à Paris, la symphonie concertante est une forme musicale hybride, avatar tardif du concerto grosso baroque. Elle requiert toujours au moins deux solistes et peut se rapprocher plutôt de la symphonie ou du concerto. Les trois de Carl Stamitz proposées dans cet enregistrement tendent vers le concerto et, en trois mouvements, offrent la particularité de ne conserver qu'un seul soliste dans les mouvements médians. La n° 9 en ut majeur présente même l'originalité de remplacer dans son Andante central les deux violons des mouvements qui l'encadrent par une clarinette. Les n° 12 en si bémol majeur et op. 2 n° 2 en ré majeur ont recours à un violon et un violoncelle. Rien de monolithique côté orchestre, mais une richesse d'instrumentation où flûtes et cors notamment sont souvent mis en évidence. A la tête du Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester, le clarinettiste et chef Paul Meyer atteint des sommets de raffinement et d'émotion avec des sonorités envoûtantes et veloutées. Ses solistes s'intègrent à l'ensemble sans chercher à tirer la couverture à eux ce qui, paradoxalement, les magnifie. 38 symphonies concertantes sont inscrites au catalogue de Carl Stamitz. On en redemande. (Michel Lorentz-Alibert)

With 38 known works, Carl Stamitz is one of the most important composers of concertante symphonies. The Sinfonia concertante was a hybrid form between symphony and concerto popular in the 1760s and 1770s. One model may have been the baroque concerto grosso, in which a group of soloists alternated with the orchestral tutti. In the sinfonia concertante, there are always at least two soloists facing the orchestra. The concertante differs from the symphony in the number of movements; many are only in two movements, but none in more than three. As in the concerto, tutti and solo sections are juxtaposed in the Sinfonia concertante, with the difference that here the orchestral tutti is usually given a larger share. In this way, the Sinfonia concertante combines a large orchestral sound with opportunities for the instrumentalists to display their virtuosity and brilliance. Three-movement works predominate in Carl Stamitz's oeuvre, and the works recorded here are among them. Most of them were written in Paris in the 1770s and most of them were printed there. The use of two solo instruments is the rule with Stamitz, especially the combination of violin and violoncello, but he also composed works with up to seven solo instruments. His contributions to the genre are closer to the concerto than to the symphony; one might well call them group concerts. In the section of his book dedicated to Carl Stamitz, Ideen zu einer Ästhetik der Tonkunst (Ideas for an Aesthetic of the Art of Music), Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart went into raptures, so highly did he esteem the performer, composer and man: "Stamitz the son, the most famous violist in Germany, and one of our most amiable composers. [...] One finds so much truth, so much beauty and grace in his movements that he is generally recognised in Germany, Italy, France and England as a pupil of the Graces. His symphonies also have a peculiar character: they are full of splendour and harmony. In particular, his andantes are masterly - a consequence of his sensitive heart".