# Franz Ignaz von Beecke



## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

*Franz Ignaz von Beecke* (28 October 1733 - 2 January 1803) was a classical music composer born in Wimpfen am Neckar, Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Ignaz_von_Beecke

Von Beecke served in the Bavarian Dragoon Regiment of Zollern from 1756, during which time he fought in the Seven Years' War. He served with distinction and was promoted to Captain. He was known at the time chiefly for his great skill in playing the harpsichord, although he composed a wide range of music as well, having studied with Christoph Willibald Gluck. He died in Wallerstein, Germany.






In 1775, von Beecke met the 19-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Munich and the two engaged in a piano playing competition at the well-known inn Zum Schwarzen Adler. The poet and composer Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, who was in the audience, wrote in his Teutsche Chronik (27 April 1775) that in his opinion, von Beecke played far better than Mozart: "In Munich last winter I heard two of the greatest clavier players, Mr Mozart and Captain von Beecke. Mozart's playing had great weight, and he read at sight everything that we put before him. But no more than that; Beecke surpasses him by a long way. Winged agility, grace and melting sweetness."

Stage works

Roland (opera) - 1770?
Claudine from Villa Bella (singspiel in one act with libretto by Goethe) - 1780
The jubilee wedding (comic opera in 3 acts with libretto by Weiße) - 1782
The grape harvest (singspiel in 2 acts) - 1782
List against List (The Bell) (singspiel) - c.1785
The heart retains its rights (singspiel) - 1790
The destroyed pastoral celebration (pastoral) - 1790
Nina (singspiel) - 1790
Instrumental music

33 symphonies
1 sinfonia concertante
Several piano concertos
Piano quintet in A minor
17 string quartets
6 flute quartets
Numerous works for piano


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2019/Apr/Beecke_chamber_7776822.htm
"Beecke's renown as a pianist and composer is also to be found in contemporary records, though this reputation has long been forgotten. He travelled widely and met Mozart several times, Günther Grünsteudel's booklet notes recalling their participation in a clavier competition in 1775 and Mozart's father Leopold's complaint "that Beecke wanted to harm his son and plotted against him - an insinuation entirely lacking in proof."

The *Piano Quintet in A minor* (ca. 1770) can lay claim to being one of the earliest examples of its genre, though its appearance as a kind of reduced-forces piano concerto is also pointed out in the booklet. The alternating solo/ripieno character of the writing in the first movement would seem to bear this out, but the piano part is not particularly virtuoso and it all works well as even-handed and nicely finished chamber music. There is a thematic element in the opening few bars that seems to look forward to Schubert, but the style in general is closer to Mozart, with a poignantly lyrical Andante più tasto larghetto central movement and a final Allegretto that teases us with inventive tonal ambiguities, playful variations and a very soft ending indeed.














The String Quartet in G major may not actually be by Beecke, but is an attractively light work with two of its five brief movements being Minuet and Trio almost has the feel of an old-fashioned suite. The *Quartet in C major* (ca. 1780) is more substantial by contrast, giving more or less equal weight to all of the parts and breaking with the convention of the day which tended to favour the lead violin. The first movement has a distinctive and quite lengthy slow introduction which explores some interesting harmonic tensions. The following Allegro maestoso is certainly not something you would mistake for anything by Mozart, though it's hard to pin down quite why. The central Siciliana. Un poco adagio is a lovely movement with plenty of melancholy in its mood, also being unusual of its kind for being in rondo form. The final movement is marked Allegro. Tempi di giaconne, which we're told is an indication to moderation in terms of speed. This has a dance character in its triple metre, but has intriguing inner voices and the working out of some fine ideas."
-Dominy Clements









String Quartet in C Major: III. Allegro


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

https://www.classicstoday.com/review/review-3349/
"Ignaz von Beecke (1733-1803) belongs to the silent army of 18th century composers eclipsed by the genius of Gluck, Haydn, and Mozart (who were nonetheless his friends). Gifted dilettante composer and harpsichordist, he wrote music as a hobby, in addition to pursuing a successful military career. His catalogue includes works in every genre, from Singspiels to piano concertos and symphonies. If his music sounds interesting, it's not only for its own qualities, but also because it gives us an idea of the standard of music making at the time. The three string quartets presented here (out of 17) have in common a taste for flowing melodic lines, simple contrapuntal writing, and expressive development sections, sometimes with an effective use of the minor mode. Also noteworthy are the instances of "sotto voce" dynamics in the introduction of the quartet in G major M. 11 and the Adagio of the B-flat major.






Had he only written the beautiful and moving Adagio of the *quartet in G major M. 9*, von Beecke would have deserved the present resurrection.
Review by: ClassicsToday"

String Quartet in G Major, M. 9: I. Allegro moderato




String Quartet in G Major, M. 9: II. Adagio




String Quartet in G Major, M. 9: III. Menuetto scherzando




String Quartet in G Major, M. 9: IV. Presto





String Quartet in G Major, M. 11: I. Arioso sotto voce - Allegro




String Quartet in G Major, M. 11: II. Menuetto




String Quartet in G Major, M. 11: III. Adagio ma non troppo




String Quartet in G Major, M. 11: IV. Presto





String Quartet in B-Flat Major, M. 16: I. Allegro un poco moderato




String Quartet in B-Flat Major, M. 16: II. Adagio sotto voce




String Quartet in B-Flat Major, M. 16: III. Allegretto


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