Francesco Zappa
Encyclopedia
Francesco Zappa was an Italian
cellist and composer
. He is known for his virtuoso cello
playing.
Zappa was first employed by the Sicilian Count Catani, to whom he dedicated his first work, 6 Trio sonatas. He worked for the Duke of York, giving him music lessons during the Duke's stay in Italy, from November 1763 to the middle of 1764. When the Duke died in 1767, Zappa held the rank of maestro di musica (Kapellmeister
), as the title page of his Trio sonatas Opus 2 records.
In 1771 he played a series of concerts in Germany, visiting the Polish city of Gdańsk
and, on 22 September, Frankfurt am Main. According to Mendel (1879), he undertook another tour of Germany in 1781, and with "his gentle and beautiful sound" inspired wonder in all who listened.
By the end of the 1780s Zappa was employed as master of music in The Hague
(Maître de musique à la Haye), and this is noted in the 1788 manuscript of his Quartetto concertante.
, trio
s, sonata
s, divertimenti and songs, but nothing more of his output has been transmitted.
1984 brought "His First Digital Recording in over 200 Years," as Frank Zappa
performed Francesco Zappa's Opus 1 trios and Opus 4 sonatas on Synclavier
and released the resulting album
on CD and LP. While commonly assumed by many to have been related, Frank Zappa stated in his biography, The Real Frank Zappa Book, that in fact they were not.
There is a new recording of two of Francesco Zappa's symphonies (The New Dutch Academy directed by Simon Murphy (Pentatone PTC 5186 365) released in 2009.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
cellist and composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He is known for his virtuoso cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
playing.
Life
Little is known about Zappa's life: what information is available comes largely from his own publications and manuscripts.Zappa was first employed by the Sicilian Count Catani, to whom he dedicated his first work, 6 Trio sonatas. He worked for the Duke of York, giving him music lessons during the Duke's stay in Italy, from November 1763 to the middle of 1764. When the Duke died in 1767, Zappa held the rank of maestro di musica (Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister
Kapellmeister is a German word designating a person in charge of music-making. The word is a compound, consisting of the roots Kapelle and Meister . The words Kapelle and Meister derive from the Latin: capella and magister...
), as the title page of his Trio sonatas Opus 2 records.
In 1771 he played a series of concerts in Germany, visiting the Polish city of Gdańsk
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
and, on 22 September, Frankfurt am Main. According to Mendel (1879), he undertook another tour of Germany in 1781, and with "his gentle and beautiful sound" inspired wonder in all who listened.
By the end of the 1780s Zappa was employed as master of music in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
(Maître de musique à la Haye), and this is noted in the 1788 manuscript of his Quartetto concertante.
Musical Output
Zappa composed symphoniesSymphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, trio
String trio
A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. The term is generally used with reference to works of chamber music from the Classical period to the present.-History:...
s, sonata
Sonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
s, divertimenti and songs, but nothing more of his output has been transmitted.
1984 brought "His First Digital Recording in over 200 Years," as Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
performed Francesco Zappa's Opus 1 trios and Opus 4 sonatas on Synclavier
Synclavier
The Synclavier System was an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation, manufactured by New England Digital Corporation, Norwich, VT. The original design and development of the Synclavier prototype occurred at Dartmouth College with the collaboration of...
and released the resulting album
Francesco Zappa (album)
Francesco Zappa is a 1984 album by Frank Zappa. It features chamber music by the Italian composer Francesco Zappa, who composed between 1763 and 1788. David Ocker played a piece of Francesco Zappa's music for Frank Zappa because it was popular with some college music students...
on CD and LP. While commonly assumed by many to have been related, Frank Zappa stated in his biography, The Real Frank Zappa Book, that in fact they were not.
There is a new recording of two of Francesco Zappa's symphonies (The New Dutch Academy directed by Simon Murphy (Pentatone PTC 5186 365) released in 2009.
Works
- Duets:
- 6 Sonatas for keyboard/harpsichord, as Opus 4a (Paris, n.d.)
- 6 Duos (violin, cello/2 violins) (Paris, n.d.)
- Duo for 2 cellos, Ms., m. 5740, Sammlung Hausbibliothek
- Trio sonatas, 2 violins and bass:
- 6 Trios (London, 1765), as Opus 1 (The Hague, n.d.)
- 6 Trios as Opus 2 (London, ca. 1767)
- 6 Trios as Opus 3 (Paris, n.d.)
- 6 Trios as Opus 4 (London, n.d.)
- 6 Sonates à deux Violons & Basse, (The Hague, n.d.), Sammlung Thulemeyer
- Other Works:
- 6 Keyboard Sonatas, Opus 6 (Paris 1776), mentioned by Mendel (1879)
- 6 Symphonies (Paris, n.d.)
- 2 Romances, 1 violin, piano, as Opus 4 (The Hague, n.d.)
- 2 Romances, 1 violin (The Hague)
- Sonata for cello, Mus. ms. 23490, Berlin Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz
- Sinfonia con Violoncello obbligato No. 1 for 2 violins, viola, violoncello obbligato, 2 oboes, 2 horns, Ms., m. 5737, Sammlung Hausbibliothek
- Quartetto Concertante for 2 violins, viola, cello, "composta all Aya li 8 Liuglio 1788," Ms. m. 5740, Sammlung Hausbibliothek
- 27 Pieces, 2 for piano, 5 for 1 violin, piano, as Opus 11 (The Hague, n.d.)
- 2 Sonata à tre for violin, violoncello obbligato, bass, in Early Cello Series, xxiii (London, 1983)
- Other works: Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Bad Schwalbach Evangelisches Pfarrarchiv, Milan Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Verdi