Franz Ignaz Beck - Symphonies Op. 4, Nos. 4-6 (Michael Schneider)

Information

Composer: Franz Ignaz Beck

• 6 Symphonies, Op. 4: No. 4 in D Major
• 6 Symphonies, Op. 4: No. 5 in G Major
• 6 Symphonies, Op. 4: No. 6 in E-Flat Major
• Pandore (Excerpts)

La Stagione Frankfurt

Michael Schneider, conductor

Date: 2026

Label: CPO

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Franz Ignaz Beck (1734–1809) was a composer associated with the Mannheim tradition who trained under court musicians after his father’s early death and later studied in Venice with Baldassare Galuppi before continuing his career in France. He gained early recognition in Paris at age 23, when several of his symphonies were successfully performed, and subsequently spent over three decades in Marseille and Bordeaux as maître de musique, overseeing opera and concert life while composing and directing performances. His six symphonies Op. 4, written during his early years on the Garonne, represent his final contributions to the symphonic genre, marked by dramatic, experimental, and highly expressive writing that earned him the reputation of a “Berlioz of the 18th century.” His later melodrama Pandore reflects a contrasting stylistic evolution.

Michael Schneider is a German flautist, recorder player, conductor, and academic known for his work in historically informed performance practice. Born in 1953 in Nordhorn, he studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln and gained early recognition after winning the ARD International Music Competition. He later founded the ensembles Camerata Köln and La Stagione Frankfurt, through which he became widely known as both a soloist and conductor specializing in Baroque and early Classical repertoire. Schneider has performed and recorded extensively with major European orchestras and at leading festivals, while also serving as a professor in Berlin and Frankfurt, where he contributed significantly to the teaching of historical performance practice. His work is especially noted for reviving neglected repertoire and advancing authentic interpretations of composers such as Telemann and C.P.E. Bach.