CD 66

Chamber Music 2

The year 1811 was probably one of the happiest in Gänsbacher’s life: he spent many months in Darmstadt with his old and much revered teacher Abbé Vogler. It is remarkable that Gänsbacher,    already    33 years  old  and  with  quite  a few compositions printed by reputable publishers and fi nding critical acclaim, should, in his striving for perfection, take lessons again. Gänsbacher’s output received an important impetus from his studies in Darmstadt. This is noticeably evident  particularly  in  the Divertimento in E Major (tracks 10-13). Here, as in hardly any other composition, Gänsbacher succeeds in expressing himself musically   with   stringent consistency,  the  form  and content blending completely. On the other hand, his daring in  the  sequence  of  keys  of the individual movements is surprising. Impressive are the artistic skill of the concentrated piano writing, the wealth of invention in the development of the theme’s mood throughout the  entire  piece,  and  the expertise of the craftsmanship as a whole. The intensifi cation of the counterpoint in passages of the fi nale clearly reveal he was trained on the works of Händel, which Abbé Vogler had assigned and recommended warmly to his pupils. In any case  the  third  movement, Tempo moderato di Menuetto, is a precious gem. Without a doubt this work for piano duet dating from 1811 is one of the outstanding examples of its genre.

Track 12, 2:15
Grand Divertissement [...]
Tempo moderato di Menuetto-Trio

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