Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754 – 1812) was German born and moved to Vienna at age 14. By the 1780’s he was one of the most popular composers in Vienna. One of his greatest accomplishments was founding a publishing company, the ‘Bureau de Musique’, which published much of Mozart’s and Haydn’s music as well as the first edition of J.S Bach’s Keyboard Works in 14 volumes (1802). This company was later purchased by C.F. Peters, which is still in existence today. He was held in high regard by his colleagues, as is evidenced by the following quote from Ernst Ludwig Gerber in Neues Lexikon der Tonkünstler:
“If you were to take a glance at his many and varied works, then you would have to admire the diligence and the cleverness of this composer…. He earned for himself a well-deserved and wide-spread reputation through the original content of his works, which are not only rich in emotional expression but also distinguished by the interesting and suitable use of instruments and through good practicability. For this last trait we have to thank his knowledge of instruments, which is so evident that you might think that he was a virtuoso on all of the instruments for which he wrote.”
Hoffmeister’s Duo in F Major for Flute and Viola is a lovely and substantial part of our concert program! The first movement is an energetic Allegro, the second a sweet and lovely Romance, and the third, Allegretto, is a playful Theme and Variation format.
