BEETHOVEN

March No. 1, WoO 18, Hess 7

March No. 2, WoO 19, Hess 9

Ensemble 18+Marek Štilec

Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) March No. 1, WoO 18, Hess 7 • March No. 2, WoO 19, Hess 9

Beethoven’s first two military marches were written in 1809 for the Bohemia militia and dedicated to Archduke Anton, an older brother of his friend and pupil Archduke Rudolph, future Archbishop of Olmütz and Cardinal. The first of the two, also known as the ‘Yorck March’, after the general of that name, was rewritten to be played, with the second of the pair, on 2 August 1810 in a celebration of the birthday of the Archduke’s mother, Maria Ludovika, at Laxenburg, with a traditional tournament.

Scored for military band, the Marches, for which Beethoven preferred the title ‘tattoos’, include the traditional percussion, imported under Turkish influence and to retain a continuing place in band orchestration. In a letter from Baden to Archduke Rudolph in August 1810, Beethoven jokingly refers to the two Marches as his ‘music for horses’. The letter implies Archduke Rudolph’s involvement in the use of Beethoven’s marches.

Keith Anderson

Marek ŠtilecMarek Štilec began his musical studies on the violin at the Prague Conservatory and studied conducting with Leoš Svárovský at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. Štilec is an alumnus of the International Järvi Academy and Jac van Steen’s Emerging Conductors Series, and has participated in the masterclasses of Michael Tilson Thomas and Jorma Panula, among others. He conducts a wide range of leading orchestras, including the New World Symphony, the Ulster Orchestra, Das Kurpfälzische Kammerorchester Mannheim, the Wiener Concertverein Orchester, the Orchestra of the Swan, the London Classical Soloists, the Berlin Camerata, the Kammerphilharmonie Graz and Sinfonietta Bratislava, as well as the top orchestras in the Czech Republic. www.arcodiva.cz/en/agency/instrumental-soloists/marek-stilec/

Photo: Daria Kalinovska

Ensemble 18+Founded in 2009, chamber orchestra Ensemble 18+ focuses on historically informed, non-orthodox performance of 18th-century music, with the ensemble setup mimicking that of Jiří Antonín Benda’s orchestra at the court of Duke Friedrich in Gotha, Germany in 1772. The ensemble presents works spanning from the late Baroque and Classical eras to early Romantic composers, including a broad spectrum of large-scale compositions, such as oratorios, masses and operatic works. The ensemble often performs chamber programmes without a conductor, and instead is led by soloists such as Ivan Ženatý. Alongside recordings for Czech media, the ensemble have recorded two albums that have been released to critical acclaim. Upcoming performances include a concert series dedicated to violin concertos by Czech composer Josef Mysliveček, which will be authentically performed and recorded for Naxos. Future highlights also include performances and recordings of newly discovered pieces by the Czech classical masters of Vienna and Mannheim in partnership with the Mannheim Chamber Orchestra, the first performance of an original 18th-century Singspiel and the world premiere of a work by a contemporary Czech composer for the Prague Spring International Music Festival.

NAXOSBEETH

OV

EN: M

arches Nos. 1 and 2

9.70293

DDD9.70293

Playing Time6:41

℗ &

© 2019 N

axos Rights (Europe) Ltd

Booklet notes in English

ww

w.naxos.com

NAXOS9.70293

BEETHO

VEN

: Marches N

os. 1 and 2

Recorded: 15 April 2019 at Studio Domovina, Prague, Czech RepublicProducer: Jiří Štilec • Engineer: Václav Roubal • Booklet notes: Keith Anderson

Cover image: ID 49603034 © Mikael Males | Dreamstime.com℗ & © 2019 Naxos Rights (Europe) Ltd

Ludwig vanBEETHOVEN

(1770–1827)

March No. 1, WoO 18, Hess 7March No. 2, WoO 19, Hess 9

Ensemble 18+Marek Štilec

1 March No. 1 in F major, WoO 18, Hess 7 3:02 ‘Für die Böhmische Landwehr, Zapfenstreich No. 1’ (‘For the Bohemian Territorial Army, Tattoo No. 1’) (1809–23) Version with Trio

2 March No. 2 in F major, WoO 19, Hess 9 3:39 ‘Zapfenstreich No. 3’ (‘Tattoo No. 3’) (1810–23) Version with Trio

730099

729314