Gaspard Fritz (1716-1783) - Violin Concerto in E

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Composer: Gaspard Fritz (1716-1783)
Work: Violin Concerto in E
Performers: Jens Lohmann (violin); English Chamber Orchestra; Howard Griffiths

Painting: Carl Ludwig Hackert (1740-1796) - Vue sur le Mont Blanc et Genève (1796)

Further info: https://www.amazon.com/Scherrer-Fritz-Symphonies-Nicolaus/dp/B0000260FE
Listen free: No available

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Gaspard [Kaspar] Fritz
(Geneva, 18 February 1716 - Geneva, 23 March 1783)

Swiss composer and violinist. His father, Philipp Fritz (1689-1744), came from Celle and settled as a music teacher in Geneva in 1709. Burney mentioned that Gaspard was a pupil of G.B. Somis in Turin, where he undoubtedly learnt composition. At the end of 1736 or the beginning of 1737 he returned to Geneva, where in April 1737 he married. As his four children all had godparents from highly placed families in Geneva, Fritz presumably moved in such circles from an early age as a violin teacher. Between 1738 and 1743 he directed the music at social occasions held by English residents in Geneva; the dedications of his printed works further indicate his connections with aristocrats staying there. In 1756 he went to Paris for the publication of his opp.3 and 4 and on 9 and 12 March and 18 April he appeared at the Concert Spirituel, but his Italian style of playing acted against his success. He returned to Geneva, where, to judge from the legacy he left, he re-established a successful career as a teacher. In June 1759 he played at Voltaire’s residence, but opportunities to appear in public in Geneva arose only gradually after 1770. Fritz’s excellence as a virtuoso violinist was stressed both by A. Ryhiner of Basle in 1758 (who, however, found his ornamentation excessive and his gestures too vigorous; see Staehelin) and by Burney in 1770 (who particularly emphasized Fritz’s powers of expression). Some of Fritz’s published works had considerable success and were subsequently reprinted. The three-movement sonatas of op.1 (which Handel judged favourably) exhibit sectional contrasts characteristic of the ripieno concerto. In the op.2 sonatas, also in three movements, Fritz approached the style of the Turin school, with a richly decorated solo line supported by a thematically unrelated bass; some of the final movements are sets of chaconne variations. These elements are present on a much larger scale in op.3 and, together with greater demands on the player’s technique, make for a splendidly expressive melodic style. The simpler op.4 trios (in fact trio sonatas) show similarities with the works of Antonio Campioni and Alessandro Besozzi in their clear formal layout and frequent short sections of imitation in all parts. Scherchen, who edited the first of the six symphonies op.6, drew attention to their formal elegance, nobility of expression and highly individual orchestral writing; these qualities lend the symphonies a more original flavour than most of the early Classical works produced by the Mannheim school (it should however be said that the date Scherchen gave them, before 1760, is probably too early). #ClassicalMusic