Born: November 22, 1709; Alt-Benatek, Czechoslovakia
Died: March 7, 1786; Neuendorf, Germany
Franz Benda was one of the leaders in a generation of Bohemian musicians who entered Austrian and German musical life, filling important roles in the development of late Baroque and early Classical music.
Frantisek Benda (later Germanized to Franz) was the oldest of five musical children of a linen weaver and village musician who had married Dorota Brixi, an offspring of another major Bohemian music family. This was the foundationRead more of a dynasty of musicians that continues to this day, when one can readily obtain compact discs performed by a family group called the Benda Musicians.
Frantisek, the eldest, became a choirboy at St. Nicholas church in Prague when he was nine, giving him the opportunity for musical studies. However, he ran away from its discipline at 11 to Dresden, Germany, where he got a similar position and learned violin. He returned to Prague in 1723, becoming alto soloist in a Jesuit seminary, where he received a good general and musical education, remaining there until his voice changed and he then returned home and resumed violin studies.
When he got a little older, he fell in love with a baker's daughter and petitioned the local count for permission to learn the secrets of Bohemian gingerbread. The count offered as an alternative to pay Benda's way to Prague for more violin studies. After ten weeks, his teacher there, Konicek, pronounced him a fully trained professional. Benda later said he learned more by following around a Jewish street musician named Lebel.
The 16-year-old Benda escaped Bohemia without permission and got work in Poland. Benda formed a house orchestra for Governor Suchaczewski that was so good he was hired away by the King of Poland, Augustus II the Strong, in 1732. The king died a year later, leaving Benda unemployed. He went to Dresden, got a job, and came to the attention of King Frederick the Great of Prussia, who hired him in 1740 to a job Benda kept for life. He even accompanied Frederick (who was a flute player) on his military campaigns. He had six children, among whom four (two boys and two girls) became professional musicians. His main compositional legacy is an assortment of violin sonatas written at the Prussian court, in which he influenced the future development of violin playing. These manuscripts also contain many observations about style and ornamentation of the period, valuable to research in the "authentic" performance movement. Read less
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Catalog: 001818702
Release Date: 04/02/2013
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Johann Joachim Quantz,
Franz Benda,
Frederick the Great,
Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach
Performer:
Klaus Kirbach,
Patrick Gallois,
Karl-Heinz Schröter,
Harald Winkler
Conductor:
Peter Schreier
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra
Label: C Major
Catalog: 711308
Release Date: 08/28/2012
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Frederick the Great,
Johann Joachim Quantz,
Franz Benda,
Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach
Performer:
Emmanuel Pahud
Conductor:
Trevor Pinnock
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Potsdam Chamber Academy
Label: C Major
Catalog: 711404
Release Date: 08/28/2012
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Frederick the Great,
Johann Joachim Quantz,
Franz Benda,
Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach
Performer:
Emmanuel Pahud
Conductor:
Trevor Pinnock
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Potsdam Chamber Academy
Label: Supraphon
Catalog: 4087
Release Date: 05/15/2012
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Johann Philipp Kirnberger,
Johann Joachim Quantz,
Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach
...
Performer:
Lenka Torgersen,
Jana Semerádová,
Bertrand Cuiller,
Hana Fleková
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 0842302
Release Date: 01/10/2012
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach,
Franz Benda,
Frederick the Great,
Johann Joachim Quantz
...
Performer:
Emmanuel Pahud,
Trevor Pinnock,
Matthew Truscott
Conductor:
Trevor Pinnock
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Potsdam Chamber Academy
Label: Amon Ra
Catalog: 70
Release Date: 01/11/2011
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Carl Maria von Weber,
Thomas Augustine Arne,
Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach,
Mauro Giuliani
...
Performer:
Richard Burnett,
Jennifer Ward-Clarke,
Stephen Preston,
Mark Caudle
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Nouveau Quartet,
Preston's Pocket,
Cambridge Baroque Camerata
...
Label: Amon Ra
Catalog: 52
Release Date: 01/11/2011
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Franz Benda,
Jacques-Christoph Naudot,
Johann Joachim Quantz,
Giuseppe Tartini
Performer:
Neil McLaren
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cambridge Baroque Camerata
Label: Cbs Masterworks
Catalog: 39702
Release Date: 05/07/2009
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Johann Joachim Quantz,
Frederick the Great,
Franz Benda
Performer:
Jean-Pierre Rampal
Conductor:
Jean-Pierre Wallez
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Paris Orchestral Ensemble
Recommendation
Label: Christophorus
Catalog: 77182
Release Date: 07/09/1996
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach,
Johann Gottfried Müthel,
Johann Philipp Kirnberger
...
Performer:
Andrew Lawrence-King,
Laurence Dean
Label: Intim Musik
Catalog: 38
Release Date: 05/14/1996
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Franz Benda,
Carl Philipp Emmanuel Bach,
Franz Joseph Haydn
Performer:
Ashildur Haraldsdóttir
Conductor:
Thord Svedlund
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Umeĺ Sinfonietta
Label: Sony Classical Vivarte Series
Catalog: 66267
Release Date: 03/19/1996
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Frederick the Great,
Carl Heinrich Graun,
Johann Philipp Kirnberger,
Johann Gottfried Müthel
...
Performer:
Bob van Asperen,
Barthold Kuijken,
Wieland Kuijken
Recommendation
Label: Cbs Masterworks
Catalog: 45548
Release Date: 05/25/1989
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Fernande Le Borne,
Johann Joachim Quantz,
Traditional
...
Performer:
Robert Veyron-Lacroix,
Jean-Pierre Rampal,
Jean Huchot,
Lily Laskine
...
Conductor:
Placido Domingo,
Jean-Pierre Wallez,
Claudio Scimone,
Michel Colombier
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra,
Paris Orchestral Ensemble,
Paris Baroque Ensemble
...