Johann Stamitz, Clarinet Concerto

On one of his many trips through Central Europe to secure a position in a renowned orchestra, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart landed in Mannheim on October 30, 1777. The city enjoyed an intense musical life under the patronage of Elector Carl Theodor, and its orchestra was one of the best in Germany, so the 21-year-old Mozart's aspirations could not have been better directed. Unfortunately, despite befriending several musicians in the orchestra, including the Konzertmeister, the answer was the usual: "there was no place for him at the moment".

Mannheim School

A pity. Because if there had been "room", the famous orchestral ensemble that became a school under the title of Mannheim School could have increased its glory even more, when looking back and being able to say that among its members there was the most brilliant composer in history. 
Not so, but the German composers and musicians who wrote music for Carl Theodor's court from the middle of the 18th century until the end of the classical era, did blaze a trail. Among them, the Czech violinist and composer Johann Stamitz stands out.

Johann Stamitz, an innovator

Little is known about his life, other than he was born in Nemecky Brod (Bohemia) in mid-June 1717 and that he took lessons from his father. Whatever his path may have been, in 1742 we see him become a respected violinist in the Mannheim orchestra.

After a few years, he was appointed its conductor. It was under his leadership that the orchestra became so renowned, for the Czech composer's innovations played an important role in the development of the symphony as a genre.

Johann Stamitz (1717 - 1757)

To Johann Stamitz, for example, we owe the modern structure of the symphonic genre structured in four movements. Add to this the construction of the first movement with the structure of what later became known as "sonata form", with the first theme, second, development, and recapitulation.

Stamitz died in Mannheim very young, at the age of 39. His musician sons, Carl and Anton, will continue the task.

The oeuvre

During his short life, in addition to the obligatory sacred music, Stamitz produced about 72 symphonies, ten orchestral trios, and numerous concertos for solo instrument.
Among the latter, the Clarinet Concerto in B-flat major stands out. A large part of the original manuscripts have been lost, so it is impossible to date its composition, let alone venture a "premiere" date, other than the unknown date when Carl Theodor, the Elector, heard it for the first time.

Movements: 

(tempi are in brackets because the composer did not indicate them)

00        [Allegro] 

07:54   [Andante sostenuto]

12:04   [Rondo (Poco allegro)]

The performance is by the Chinese artist Jaehee Choi, accompanied by the New Fine Arts Project Orchestra.

Chopin, Ballade No 2 in F major

Most likely, Chopin finished the Ballade No. 2 in Majorca, while staying there in the company of George Sand and her children, in the winter of 1838-39. Or perhaps he only took care of its revision. In a letter to his friend Fontana, dated January 1839, Chopin tells him that he is sending the Ballade to Camille Pleyel, his publisher in Paris, along with a good batch of other pieces, the complete Preludes among them.

A hesitant dedication
It is well known that the work is dedicated to Robert Schumann, in retribution for the German composer's dedication to Chopin of his Kreisleriana, completed a few months earlier. Less known is that Chopin never played the work of his colleague, whose output he was reticent about, even though the generous Schumann spared no praise for almost all of Chopin's oeuvre for many years.

And truth be told, the purpose of dedicating the ballade to Schumann does not appear at all categorical or unrenounceable, as we read later in the letter to Fontana, already mentioned:

R. Schumann (1810 - 1856)

"[...] I would like my Preludes to be dedicated to Pleyel, and my Second Ballade to Schumann. Now, if Pleyel does not want to give up the dedication of the Ballade, then dedicate the preludes to Schumann..."

And the trade-off may have been for the better, for while Schumann greeted the Ballade No. 1 with fervent enthusiasm, he was somewhat less enthusiastic about the Second, which he found a bit "less artistic".

All in all, what has been pointed out should not be understood as Chopin's dislike of Schumann (which would be, on Chopin's part, at least an extravagance). It is simply that, as creators, the two artists were at antipodes, even if they were strictly contemporaries.

Chopin, young.
A painting by Ary Scheffer

Ballade No 2 in F major, opus 32
And they truly were at the antipodes, if we recall that for Chopin music was only music, unlike Schumann, who could find inspiration for musical creation in poetry. However (the perennial contradiction of a creative soul) Chopin confessed to his friend and ardent commentator that in composing the four Ballades he had taken inspiration from the reading of poems by his compatriot Adam Mickiewicz.

The "source"
For Ballade No. 2, the source poem is "Switez," which tells the story of Polish maidens from a besieged city who, to avoid falling prey to their captors, sink into the earth surrounding a lake. Turned into mysterious flowers, they adorn its shores ever since.

The piece is built on the alternation of two themes, one idyllic and the other a tempestuous burst of rapid arpeggios. The final bars evoke young girls turned into flowers.

The rendition is by the brilliant Chinese pianist Yundi Li, the youngest winner of the International Chopin Competition, in 2000, at the age of 18.