Album insights
Born in Mannheim, Johann Baptist Cramer (1771-1858) was a prodigy raised in a highly musical environment, thanks in part to his father Wilhelm Cramer, a celebrated violinist. The family relocated to London in the 1770s attracted by the city's flourishing music scene, where many immigrant musicians resided. London's economic vigor drew musicians across Europe, including Johann Christian Bach and Carl Friedrich Abel, who introduced groundbreaking subscription concerts shaping the city's music culture. Muzio Clementi, an influential immigrant musician who made Britain his home in 1766, became Cramer's teacher in 1783. Though Cramer's studies with Clementi were brief, the Italian's influence instilled in the young musician a passion for composers like Haydn, Johann Christian Bach, and Mozart. Cramer embarked on a tour of Europe before his 20th birthday, establishing himself upon return in 1791 as one of London's leading pianists. His reputation extended abroad, admired by Beethoven, whom he met in Vienna during his second European tour in 1799. A prolific composer of piano works, Cramer's sonatas were praised by Beethoven, Moscheles, and Schumann. His tenure as a lecturer at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he taught since its founding in 1822, was marked by his "Studio per il pianoforte" (1804 and 1810), a leading educational work for many years.
Cramer composed nine piano concertos between 1795 and 1825 to showcase his prowess in modern piano techniques, particularly intricate figurations, elaborate embellishments, and legato playing. Following the model of Salomon's subscription concerts attracting large audiences, Cramer often premiered his piano concertos at his annual charity concerts, sometimes performed by his students. His Piano Concerto No. 4 in C Major, composed in 1804, displays a structure akin to a classic concerto. The first movement starts with an orchestral ritornello firmly anchored in the tonic, blending ritornello and sonata form, a style exemplified by J.C. Bach. The orchestral ritornello introduces the second theme in the dominant key, a technique adopted by his contemporaries like Hummel, Dussek, and Steibelt, potentially influencing Beethoven. The piano entry introduces a new theme with Mozart-like simplicity. Cramer's balanced and graceful approach characterized both his piano passages and orchestration, showcasing his conservative musical stance. The development section works towards harmonies in A minor before returning to the tonic, leading to a conclusive orchestral ritornello.
His Piano Concerto No. 5 in C Minor, op. 48, composed in 1807, premiered at another charity concert on May 22, 1807. The serious tone of the C Minor Concerto accommodates a larger orchestra including timpani and trumpets, enhancing the tutti passages with volume and dignity. Unlike the London style, the second theme appears in the parallel major key of E-flat Major. The soloist's thematic material introduces chromatic turns and Neapolitan harmonies, evoking Beethoven's dramatic interruptions in a minor key. The refined slow movement marked "Romance: Affettuoso" features a lyrical piano theme intertwined with variations, adding elegance to the rondo structure. The final movement, in a Hungarian style, presents a rustic yet memorable rondo theme, adorned with playful harmonic shifts and quirky elements. Unexpected structural twists, including diverting to distant keys and thematic transformations, enhance the movement's humor and unpredictability. The concerto closes in a brilliantly crafted Coda, fusing all orchestral voices into a unified conclusion.