Yuichi Yazaki, a viola and baroque viola player currently residing in Mannheim in southwestern Germany, will perform the chamber music of the Mannheim School, which flourished in this region in the 18th century, using a period approach and multitrack recording. The pictures of Mannheim, Schwetzingen, and Heidelberg, two cities associated with the Mannheim School, will be presented.

The Mannheim School was a group of composers, led by Johann Stamitz (1717-1757), who was active in Mannheim, a city in southwest Germany in the mid-18th century. J, Stamitz, born in Bohemia, was employed as a violinist in the court orchestra of Mannheim in 1741, became concertmaster in 1743 and court music director in 1750, when Carl Theodor succeeded him as Elector of the Palatinate in 1743. Carl Theodor was so keen on the promotion of culture and scholarship, he was very appreciative of Johann Stamitz's talents and spent a lot of his own money on the court orchestra, bringing together outstanding musicians from all over the world, such as Johann Baptiste Wendling, Alexander Lebrun, and Innocenz Danzi, who made the orchestra describe one of the best in the world.

Carl Stamitz, the composer of today's piece, was born in 1745 in Mannheim, the son of Johann Stamitz. He was educated by his father and, after his father's death, by Ignaz Holzbauer and Christian Cannabich, among other musicians of the Mannheim School. 1762 he assumed the post of 2nd violinist at the Mannheim court orchestra and played there till 1770. After that he succeeded as a soloist on the violin, viola and viola d'amore throughout Europe.

Carl Stahmitz (1745-1801)
Duet for two violas No. 1 in C Major
1. allegro
2. andante
3. Rondo

This is the first one of a six-part viola duet collection. The date of composition is not known, but considering the style of the work and the difficulty of playing it, we can assume that it was composed during Carl's Mannheim period. It is also possible that the piece was written for playing with his 5-years-younger brother, Anton Stamitz, who was a violinist in the court orchestra in Mannheim, and that it was intended for a private performance in a small space called "Hausmusik". The way the two parts play the melody alternately is like an intimate musical dialogue, and the very simple beauty of the harmony, the melody and the structure of the piece is impressive. For both players and listeners, this is an appealing piece of music that allows you to relax .

This time, I will present this work in a performance that aims to be in the style of Mannheim in the following respects. The pitch of this piece is A=432Hz. Classical bow, which was first made in Mannheim (or Paris), is said to be the transition from baroque to modern style. And of course, the bow is played with gut strings.

(Translated with DeepL)