Musicatlas
Music
- Concerto No. 11 in B flat major
- Concerto No. 8 in E flat major
- Concerto No. 9 in B flat major
- Concerto No. 7 in B flat major
MDG 301 0718-2
Life
Johann Christoph Vogel (1756–1788) was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1756 and was among those musicians who made their way to Paris. After studying composition under Joseph Riegel in Regensburg, he set out to make his fortune as a composer and horn player in Paris. He began his career there as a coveted soloist in the orchestras of the Duke of Montmorency and Duke of Valentinois. In these posts he had the opportunity to gain a thorough knowledge of Gluck’s operas which were in vogue. Vogel later called Gluck his teacher. He not only studied his operas with great zeal but also made his personal acquaintance and solicited many a compliment for him for his new attempts at composition in the dramatic field. When Vogel dedicated one of his first operas to Gluck the Journal de Paris was quick to respond with a positive statement about the new dramatic talent represented by Vogel. The intention of this statement was that Vogel not only had learned his trade but also was a born musical genius. Vogel’s importance is music history lies primarily in the dramatic field. Demophon, his second opera, enjoyed great popularity in Paris over many years. In fact, it was so successful that there was even a movement to set up a monument to him in front of the opera house. Vogel himself did not live to see the opera’s premiere. He died in Paris at the early age of thirty-two. His extant works include instrumental compositions, the overture to Demophon, noteworthy concertos and symphonies concertantes for wind instruments. Not surprisingly Vogel proved to be a creative musical inventor in the Mozart tradition given the fact that he was a Gluck pupil.