Musicatlas
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Music
- 26 operas: "Medea"; "Il Bellerofonte"; "Farnace"; "Il Trionfo de Clelia"; "Il Demofoonte"; "L’Ipermestra"; "Ezio"; etc.
- 6 oratorios: "La famiglia di Tobia"; "Adamo ed Eva"; "La Passione di Gesù Cristo; "Isacco figura del Redentore"; etc.
- 85 symphonies
- String quartets and trios
- Several concerts for violin and for piano
- Piano Sonatas
(Remarks by Daniel E. Freema <freem005
tc.umn.edu>)
[...] there are a few things to be mentioned. One is that there never was a production of Medea by Myslivecek (this is myth). His true first opera was a Semiramide performed in Bergamo in 1766. There are 8 oratorios known to have been performed, and Tobia was never known as La famiglia di Tobia, just Tobia. It’s hard to come up with a true number of symphonies, because there are difficulties with attribution. Also, some of the number of 85 would have to be overtures that were originally attached to operas. I would say that there were about 45-50 authentic independent symphonies, plus about 25 overtures. [...]
Life
Myslivecek was one of identical twin brothers born on 9 March 1737 in Prague. Reports of their receiving tuition from Felix Benda cannot be substatiated but both certainly entered the Charles University as philosophy students. Josef showed more interest in music than in anything else and, despite becoming a master miller (his father’s trade) in 1761, the violin bow prevailed over grain. That calling he left to his brother, Jáchym. Josef began composing in about 1760: a reported set of symphonies titled after months of the year is a myth, but he did indeed become an important symphonist, producing eighty-five examples. His vivacious personality endeared him to the Mozart family when they met in Bologna in 1770. "He exudes fire, spirit and life", wrote Wolfgang. There is no doubt that Myslivecek’s Italianate style influenced Mozart a great deal in opera, symphonies, and violin concertos. Furthermore, Myslivecek wrote the earliest examples of string quintet (before 1767), a form Mozart made his own much later. Myslivecek’s musical style reflects Mozart’s impression of the man himself.
Josef Myslivecek met an unfortunate end. After a brutal operation which removed his nose in attempt to "cure" his venereal disease, his earlier successes were forgotten and he died in poverty in Rome in 1781, aged forty-three.