One of the most underrated composers of the classical era, Johann Baptist Vanhal (1739–1813) enjoyed a long and successful career in Vienna as a freelance composer. His symphonies are among the most important works of their time and were admired by Haydn, who is known to have directed performances of them. He also composed prolifically in a wide range of other genres, including church music. A highly respected figure in the Viennese musical world, Vanhal is known to have played string quartets with Haydn, Mozart and Dittersdorf.
About the Author
A senior lecturer in Musicology at the University of Auckland, Dr Allan Badley is an internationally renowned specialist in late eighteenth-century Viennese music whose publications include several hundred scholarly editions of works by major contemporaries of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. He co-founded the Hong Kong-based publishing house Artaria Editions in 1995, which is now regarded as the leading specialist publisher in its field. His own editions have featured in over fifty critically acclaimed recordings on the Naxos label.