Richter, Franz Xaver (1709-1789)

Franz Xaver Richter (1709-1789) was one of the foremost composers of the Mannheim school even though he consciously eschewed the fashionable style prevalent there and eventually left to pursue his career elsewhere. The present work was published in Paris in 1759 by Huberty as one of a group of six symphonies by Differents Auteurs and was probably composed several years earlier. Of the four composers represented in the collection, three Johann Stamitz, Franz Beck and Richter - are associated with the Mannheim court orchestra while the fourth, Georg Christoph Wagenseil, is Viennese. Wagenseils inclusion in the set highlights the haphazard way in which publishers like Huberty frequently compiled their oeuvre. Not only did he have no direct association with these composers but his works are very different both structurally and stylistically owing little to the fashionable Mannheim style. Allan Badley