Wanhal, Johann Baptist (1739-1813)

The symphony e1 has a terminus ante quem of 1770 based on an entry in the Breitkopf catalogue but as will be seen in the commentary that follows, it can be dated more precisely to the years 1764–67, thus predating Wanhal’s Italian sojourn.

Wanhal is believed to have thought highly of this work at least until the early 1770s and its general popularity is attested to by the extraordinarily high number of extant manuscript sources in archives all over Europe. Furthermore, it was still being copied in the 1790s, some thirty years after being composed, though it is not known to have been appeared in print until 1986.

The enlarged wind section and its p-cantabile melodic style make it stand out from its contemporary works as modern sounding and, at times, even innovative.The authenticity of e1 is attested to by surviving sources with reliable provenance; two misattributions to Michael haydn (Source J) and Carl Stamitz (Source O) can be easily discarded.
Christian Schubert, Weimar, January 2023