Boccherini as Chamber Composer to Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia: some insights from the Catalogues of the king’s Music Collection
PublicDeposited
Creator
Drosopoulou, Loukia
()
2013
Add to collection
You do not have access to any existing collections. You may create a new collection.
Abstract
King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia (1744-1797) had a strong interest in Boccherini’s music already from his time as Crown Prince. His collection contained almost the complete published oeuvre of the composer, acquired before Boccherini’s official employment with him begun. In October 1783 the prince sent a letter of interest for new music to Boccherini ‘just at a time when I have begun to perform your instrumental work’, further indicating that he was already familiar with Boccherini’s music, and it is now believed that Boccherini began sending his works to him already from this time. In January 1786, whilst still Crown Prince, Friedrich Wilhelm furthermore offered Boccherini the position of Compositore di Camera, a position that Boccherini retained until the end of the king’s life in November 1797, and during which time the composer kept sending his works to him. By the end of the king’s life, his collection contained –in addition to the printed music– a substantial number of manuscripts of unpublished works by the composer, becoming one of the largest collections of Boccherini’s instrumental works. However, apart from those two letters sent to Boccherini, no other correspondence survives today concerning this important period in the composer’s biography. In lack of such archival information, scholarship has concentrated on the surviving sources of the king’s music collection concerning the composer’s dealings with this court. This article offers further information on this subject, as well as the court’s copying and performing practices of Boccherini’s works, drawn from the surviving catalogues of the king’s music collection.