Pavel Vranický (Paul Wranitzky) was born in Neureisch (now Nová Říše) in Moravia on December 30, 1756 and died in Vienna on September 29, 1808. At age 20, Paul, like so many other Bohemian composers of that period, moved to Vienna to seek out opportunities within the Austrian imperial capital. He immediately Germanicized his name to Wranitzky and until recently was only known to posterity by this spelling. He played a prominent role in the musical life of Vienna. He was on friendly terms and highly respected by Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven who preferred him as the conductor of their new works. Wranitzky was, as so many of his contemporaries, a prolific composer. His output comprises ten operas, fifty-one symphonies, at least fifty-six string quartets and a large amount of other orchestral and chamber music. His opera Oberon - the fairy king from 1789 was one of the favorite works in this genre and inspired Schikaneder to write The Magic Flute Moravia in relation to the current kraje of the Czech Republic Moravia (Czech and Slovak: Morava, German: ( ), Hungarian: Morvaország, Polish: Morawy) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic. ... December 30 is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 1 day remaining. ... 1756 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Vienna (German: Wien [viːn]; Slovenian: Dunaj, Croatian and Serbian: Beč Romanian: Viena, Hungarian: Bécs, Czech: Vídeň, Slovak: Viedeň, Romany Vidnya, Russian: Вена) is the capital of Austria, and also one of the nine States of Austria. ... September 29 is the 272nd day of the year (273rd in leap years). ... 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Bohemia. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Franz Joseph Haydn (March 31 or April 1, 1732 – May 31, 1809) was a leading composer of the Classical period, called the Father of the Symphony and Father of the String Quartet. A life-long resident of Austria, Haydn spent most of his career as a court musician for the... Mozart drawing by Doris Stock, 1789 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart; January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) is among the most significant and enduringly popular composers of European classical music. ... Ludwig van Beethoven by Carl Jäger (Date unknown). ... See Conductor for other possible uses of the word. ... Sydney Opera House: one of the worlds most recognizable opera houses and landmarks Opera refers to a dramatic art form, originating in Europe, in which the emotional content or primary entertainment is conveyed to the audience as much through music, both vocal and instrumental, as it is through the... A symphony is an extended piece of music for orchestra, especially one in the form of a sonata. ... The resident string quartet of the Library of Congress in 1963 A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments—usually two violins, a viola and cello—or a piece written to be performed by such a group. ... The Boston Pops orchestra performing on the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, Massachusetts. ... Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. ... 1789 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Emanuel Schikaneder (Straubing, September 9, 1751 – September 21, 1812, Vienna), born Johann Joseph Schikaneder, was an Austrian impresario, dramatist, actor, and singer. ... Die Zauberflöte (en: The Magic Flute) is an opera in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. ...

His string quartets are generally regarded as his most important and lasting works. Although some scholars believe that he studied with Haydn, there is no proof of this. But there can be no question that he studied and was influenced by Haydn’s quartets. Like Haydn, Wranitzky’s quartet writing went through many stages of development beginning with the pre-classical and evolving to the finished sonata form of the late Vienna Classics. The majority of Wranitzky’s quartets are set in the three-movement format of the Parisian quatour concertant. In these works he explored the emerging Romantic style with (for the time) daring harmonic progressions, theatrical gestures, and virtuoso display. Sonata (From Latin and Italian sonare, to sound), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to cantata (Latin cantare, to sing), a piece sung. ... Romanticism was an artistic and intellectual movement that originated in late 18th century Western Europe. ...

Writing about Wranitzky's chamber in the last part of the 19th century, the famous French critic and musicologist Fetis recalled: “The music of Wranitzky was in fashion when it was new because of his natural melodies and brilliant style…I recall that, in my youth, his works held up very well in comparison with those of Haydn. Their premature abandonment of today has been for me a source of astonishment.”

References

Some of the information in this article appears on the website of Edition Silvertrust but permission to use this text under the GNU Free Documentation License has been provided to Wikipedia.

External links

• Biography
• Paul Wranitzky String Quartet Op.23 No.5 "King of Prussia" Soundbites & Information.