In the last decade of the 18th century, the Moravian composer Paul Wranitzky was Vienna’s leading symphonist. As orchestral director of the court theatre he also composed many works for the stage. The ballet-pantomime Das Waldmädchen (‘The Forest Maiden’) proved one of his greatest successes, enchanting the Viennese public with its tuneful score and the charming story of a feral girl found in the forest by a Polish prince out hunting. Its enduring popularity sparked numerous productions across Europe and inspired works by Beethoven and Weber. The delightfully rustic Pastorale and Allemande was written for Empress Marie Therese, an important musical patron who favoured Wranitzky as composer and concertmaster.

Czech conductor Marek Štilec is known as an interpreter of Classical orchestral repertoire and is a specialist in Czech Romantic and contemporary music. He has collaborated with orchestras the world over, including the New World Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, London Classical Soloists, Orchestra of the Swan, Berlin Camerata, Kammerphilharmonie Graz and Sinfonietta Bratislava. He is also the founder of the Wranitzky Kapelle and artistic director of Academy Prague Mannheim with Das Kurpfälzische Kammerorchester Mannheim. He attended the masterclasses of conductor Leonid Grin at the International Järvi Academy for Conducting, and has also taken masterclasses with Michael Tilson Thomas, Jorma Panula and Gerd Albrecht. Since 2020 he has been the permanent principal choirmaster of the Czech Boys’ Choir, Boni Pueri.

Vol.1 in this series (8574227) was released in April 2021: ‘all the inventiveness of Haydn and Mozart’s essays in the genre, are a sheer joy, and I hope these recordings will spark renewed interest in this greatly imaginative composer’ (Fanfare).

Vol.2 is on 8574255: ‘Marek Štilec makes a strong case for these works and his expansive approach brings out all the charm and richness of Wranitzky’s scoring. Warmly recommended’ wrote Classical Music Daily.

AllMusic.com commented on Vol.3 (8574289): ‘The Czech players seem to be warming to their task as the series proceeds, and the sound from the House of Music Pardubice is idiomatic. Who knows what else this enterprising series may yet reveal?’

Marek Štilec and the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice are prominent in Naxos’s catalogue of discs. Together they have also recorded the music of Wranitzky’s contemporary Franz Ignaz Beck on 8573248, 8553790, 8570799 and 8573249: ‘The playing is nicely nuanced, and even the slow movements have a forward-leaning flow’ (American Record Guide).