Franz Danzi (1763 – 1826) was a cellist, composer and
conductor. He spent his life in several residential
cities in Southern Germany. When in about 1800 he
served in Munich in the court orchestra as vice
conductor, he made a series of 24 arrangements of
pieces from operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In an
old print these arrangements appeared under the title
‘Vingt quatre petits duos pour deux violoncelles :
tirés des divers Opéra de Mozart. Danzi, Franz. -
Zuric: Naigueli, 1800‘. The co...(+)
Franz Danzi (1763 – 1826) was a cellist, composer and
conductor. He spent his life in several residential
cities in Southern Germany. When in about 1800 he
served in Munich in the court orchestra as vice
conductor, he made a series of 24 arrangements of
pieces from operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In an
old print these arrangements appeared under the title
‘Vingt quatre petits duos pour deux violoncelles :
tirés des divers Opéra de Mozart. Danzi, Franz. -
Zuric: Naigueli, 1800‘. The copy of this print is
digitally preserved in the ‚Badische Landesbibliothek
Karlsruhe‘. The cello parts, especially the first
part, are technically very demanding for the cellists,
pointing at the virtuosity of Franz Danzi. In the old
edition the origin of the pieces is not indicated in
detail. We have been able to identify most of the
pieces, stemming from the operas ‘Die Zauberflöte,
La Clemenca di Tito, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte, Le
nozze di Figaro’. Here an arrangement for basset horn
and bassoon (or violoncello) is presented.
