Pleyel, Ignaz (1757-1831)

Ignaz Pleyel (1757-1831) was at one time the most famous composer in the world. The popularity of his music eclipsed that of even his teacher Haydn and publishers vied to bring out his latest works as soon as they were finished. Some 2000 separate prints of Pleyel works had appeared by 1800 and his fame extended to every corner of Europe and as far afield as North America. Pleyels career as a composer spanned less than thirty years with the majority of his works composed in the 1780s. He founded a successful publishing house in Paris in the mid-1790s and later began manufacturing keyboard instruments. With increasing demands on his time from his business concerns Pleyels productivity as a composer dropped sharply and he ceased composing around 1805. The Violin Concerto in D (Benton 103/103A) is unique among Pleyels concertos and symphonies concertantes in being preserved in two versions which represent neither an original and a parallel version nor an original and an arrangement: they are unquestionably an original and its revision. Both versions have much to recommend them. The earlier (Benton 103) is longer and at times more demanding for the soloist but the revision, which not only includes a new finale but also a thorough reworking of the first two movements, loses nothing by its reduction in size. The two versions are exceptional works and together cast a fascinating light on Pleyels creative processes.