Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of Johann Vanhal. Even though he was one of the most successful composers residing in Vienna during the latter half of the 18th century, he had the misfortune–as far as history is concerned–of choosing to practice his art at the same time and place as Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven. What’s even the most competent composer to do under these circumstances, except hope that someday his music will fall into the hands of ardent supporters who also happen to conduct orchestras and run record labels? Although Vanhal may not have opted to wait 200 years for this to happen, we are indeed fortunate to have access to a growing recorded catalog of Vanhal’s orchestral and vocal music–he wrote more than 700 instrumental works and at least 200 sacred compositions–and this series from Naxos promises to bring us closer than ever to this really fine, seriously underappreciated master of symphonic form and style. Yes, the music sounds like Mozart and Haydn, but you also hear the points of departure from these two geniuses, where Vanhal reveals that although he’s very good, he’s not quite in same class as his exalted contemporaries. Still, there are many wonderful moments, movements, themes, and developmental ideas in these four symphonies that make for productive, happy listening. And the Nicolaus Esterházy Sinfonia is totally in tune and in touch with this bright, vigorous, optimistic music. There’s a terrific, very beautiful, unexpected cello solo in the middle of the A major Symphony that, along with an unusual, quiet ending, shows Vanhal at his most inspired and original. We know that music in 18th-century Vienna wasn’t all Mozart, and this program reminds us that even among the second-tier composers, audiences back then had it pretty darn good.
