Ignaz Josef PLEYEL

Born in Ruppersthal in Austria, Pleyel studied with Vanhal and, from around 1772, with Haydn. In the early 1780s, he was living in Italy. However, by the time his Ifigenia in Aulide was premiered at the San Carlo theatre in Naples in May 1785, he had already been living for several months in Strasbourg where he worked first as assistant Kapellmeister, then Kapellmeister at the cathedral. After the Revolution, he left for London, accepting an invitation to conduct the Professional Concert. He put on performances of his orchestral music (particularly his symphonies concertantes) and his chamber works, which were a great success. When Haydn came to London on the invitation of the impresario Salomon, he found himself in direct competition with his former pupil. In 1795, Pleyel moved to Paris where he would stay. He opened a publishing house, issuing scores by Boccherini, Clementi, Haydn, Méhul, Rossini and Beethoven and distributing them throughout Europe. In 1805, he began making pianos. His son Camille took over the business in 1830 and added a concert hall (9, rue Cadet) where Chopin performed. In the eyes of posterity, his entrepreneurial activities overshadowed his compositions which, apart from two operas (Die Fee Urgele for puppets in 1776, and the Neapolitan Ifigenia), several religious works and revolutionary hymns, were largely instrumental: a large number of symphonies, concertos, chamber works for different forces, and pieces for piano and for harp. Extremely popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Pleyel’s music was perfectly in keeping with the needs and tastes of his contemporaries.