Giuseppe Sammartini

Giuseppe Sammartini trained as an oboist under his father’s guidance. Already at thirteen he joined his father in the Novara orchestra during 1711. By 1720 he held a post at Milan’s Teatro Regio Ducal, although his earliest concerto had appeared in print in Amsterdam in 1717, or perhaps shortly afterward. Contemporary audiences praised his technical command and expressive range on the oboe. His London debut took place at the Haymarket Theater; he subsequently joined the orchestra at the King’s Theater for opera performances. In 1736 he entered the household of Frederick, Prince of Wales, and Augusta, providing instruction to the princess and her children, and he continued in that role until his death. Only after his lifetime did his compositions attract widespread admiration, for they remained little known while he lived. He produced twenty-four sonatas for flute and bass, thirty trios for recorders or violins, twenty-four concerto grossi scored for strings with added oboe solos, four keyboard concertos, one oboe concerto, sixteen overtures, flute duets, and a cello sonata, varying the number, sequence, and character of movements from work to work. Many of his later pieces adopted the three-movement plan then current. His concertos helped shape the evolution of the trio sonata. Critics noted his assured handling of harmony and his gift for melodies that were both restrained and incisive, together with a particular affinity for slow movements that revealed a wide harmonic palette.