Mannheim school refers to both the orchestral techniques pioneered by the court orchestra of theElector Palatine inMannheim in the latter half of the 18th century and the group of composers of the early classical period, who composed for the orchestra of Mannheim. The father of the school is considered to be the Bohemian composerJohann Stamitz.[1] Besides him, two generations of composers wrote compositions for the orchestra, whose reputation was due to its excellent discipline and the individual skill of its players; the English travelerCharles Burney called it "an army of generals".[2] Their performance style included new dynamic elements, crescendos and diminuendos. Composers of the Mannheim school played an important role in the development of the classical period's genres and of the classicalsymphony form.[3]
The origins of the Mannheim school go back to the court of theElectorCharles III Philip, who moved fromHeidelberg to Mannheim in 1720, already employing an orchestra larger than those of any of the surrounding courts. The orchestra grew even further in the following decades and came to include some of the best virtuosi of the time. Under the guidance ofKapellmeisterCarlo Grua, the court hired such talents asJohann Stamitz, who is generally considered to be the founder of the Mannheim school, in 1741/42, and he became its director in 1750.
The most notable of the revolutionary techniques of the Mannheim orchestra were its more independent treatment of the wind instruments, and its famous whole-orchestracrescendo. Contemporary musicians mentioned the high level of the orchestra, among them,Leopold Mozart in 1763, andW. A. Mozart in his letters in 1777/78,[4] and the English music historianCharles Burney.[2]
The role of the Mannheim school's composers in the evolution of the classical symphony is thus significant, although most scholars now agree that these changes occurred nearly simultaneously at various other centers, e.g. in Berlin and Vienna.[2] Their influence on the evolution of the classical music period is due to the reputation of the ensemble at one hand, and on the other hand to the fact that the compositions of the Mannheim school's composers were published in Paris and London.
Members of the Mannheim school included Johann Stamitz,Franz Xaver Richter,Ignaz Holzbauer,Carl Stamitz,Franz Ignaz Beck,Ignaz Fränzl, andChristian Cannabich, and it had a very direct influence on many major symphonists of the time, includingJoseph Haydn andLeopold Hofmann. (Cannabich, one of the directors of the orchestra after the death of J. Stamitz, was also a good friend ofWolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the latter's visit to Mannheim in 1777 onwards.)
Johann Stamitz visited Paris, and the Mannheim school had an influence on theConcert Spirituel Sacred Concert since 1754. WhenJoseph Legros took over the Parisian concert series Concert Spirituel, the relationship with the Mannheim School flourished and the music of Haydn became extremely popular in Paris. Prominent concerts in Paris during the 1770s were theConcert de la Loge Olympique (Concert of the Olympic Lodge) and theConcert des Amateurs (Concert for the Fans) which may have been part of the Concert Spirituel.[5]
Claude-François-Marie Rigoley (the Comte d'Ogny) commissioned Joseph Haydn's six "Paris Symphonies", Nr. 82–87, for performance by Concert de la Loge Olympique.Chevalier de Saint-Georges conducted their world premiere. The influence of the Mannheim school is evident in these symphonies.
Composers of the Mannheim school introduced a number of novel ideas into the orchestral music of their day: suddencrescendos – theMannheim Crescendo (a crescendo developed via the whole orchestra) – anddiminuendos; crescendos with piano releases; theMannheim Rocket (a swiftly ascending passage typically having a rising arpeggiated melodic line together with a crescendo);[2] theMannheim Roller (an extended crescendo passage typically having a rising melodic line over anostinato bass line); theMannheim Sigh (a mannered treatment of theBaroque practice of putting more weight on the first of two notes in descending pairs of slurred notes);[6] theMannheim Birds (imitation of birds chirping in solo passages); theMannheim Climax(a high-energy section of music where all instruments drop out except for the strings, usually preceded by aMannheim Crescendo); and theGrand Pause where the playing stops for a moment, resulting in total silence, only to restart vigorously. TheMannheim Rocket can be a rapidly ascending brokenchord from the lowest range of thebass line to the very top of thesoprano line. Its influence can be found at the beginning of the fourthmovement of Mozart's Symphony No. 40 and the start ofEine kleine Nachtmusik, and the very start ofBeethoven'sPiano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2, No. 1.
Members of the Mannheim school abandoned quickly the praxis of thebasso continuo in their compositions, which was almost universal in the Baroque era, and they used the minimum ofcontrapuntal elaboration. One of their chief innovations is the four-movement symphony form, introducing themenuet as its third movement, which was originally one of the Baroquesuite's movements. The Mannheim school played an important role in the development of thesonata form, which is generally the form of the classical symphony's first movement. In theirorchestration practice, theclarinet appears both as part of the woodwind section and as a solo instrument.[3]
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