Pleyel, Ignaz (1757-1831)

Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) was at one time the most famous composer in the world. The popularity of his music eclipsed that of even his teacher Haydn and publishers vied to bring out his latest works as soon as they were finished. Some 2000 separate prints of Pleyel works had appeared by 1800 and his fame extended to every corner of Europe and as far afield as North America. Pleyels career as a composer spanned less than thirty years with the majority of his works composed in the 1780s. He founded a successful publishing house in Paris in the mid-1790s and later began manufacturing keyboard instruments. With increasing demands on his time from his business concerns Pleyels productivity as a composer dropped sharply and he ceased composing around 1805. Among the authentic chamber works the duos occupy a particularly interesting place. Pleyel composed duos of varying technical difficulty in order to appeal to the widest possible market and he clearly intended that players progress from easy works, signalled by titles such as Duo Facile or Petit Duo, to more ambitious works. The present works, composed ca 1788, lie between these two extremes: they require players with well-developed techniques but do not present exceptional difficulties to the performer. They are graceful, attractive works and their great popularity in Pleyels lifetime comes as no surprise to the modern performer.