Mayr, J. S. – Concerto n° 1 for cembalo [fortepiano] and orchestra

Johann Simon Mayr (1763—1845) is a composer rarely performed today. His music, reflecting the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era, inspired Rossini and was crucial in the development of Donizetti’s style.

He became a central figure in the musical life of the Italian city of Bergamo where, in 1805, he founded the Conservatory, at the time known as “Lezioni Caritatevoli di Musica”. One of the first pupils of the “Lezioni” was Gaetano Donizetti, whose production and fame soon arose above everyone else’s.

The first concerto, in C major, is one of the three surviving keyboard concertos from Mayr’s manuscripts kept in the Biblioteca Musicale Gaetano Donizetti and in the Museo Donizettiano. It is pedagogical in nature, its light orchestration (only 2 oboes and 2 horns joining the strings) allowing it to be performed with minimal forces.

In three movements, spanning about 18 minutes in total, it looks back at a late Classical style that was quickly fading out of fashion at the time of its creation (1825-6).

This edition comes with the unique contribution of M° Fabrizio Capitanio, in the form of a thorough musicological research delving deep into the historical context, and all of the critical aspects that made this work possible.

A reduction for two pianos is available under Catalogue N° ASE 0051, while orchestral parts can be found as a bundle under Catalogue N° ASE 0053.

This edition is also the first one in the new series dedicated to the City of Bergamo: La Bergamasque!

Listen to how it sounds here:

UPDATES:

v3: 2024-01-27

• Small corrections in the score and addition of Table of Content (interactive)
• NEW VERSION: reduction for two pianos by M° Fabrizio Capitanio
• Orchestral parts are now available as digital purchase.

v2: 2023-11-30

• First movement, bar 51, viola: corrected note 5 from D to E
• Third movement, bar 65, violin 1: corrected last note from F to G