6 - Genre, Style, and Transnational Crosscurrents

Summary

This chapter presents an overview of instrumental music performances within the rarified environs of the royal court and associated social and political circles. It draws on the holdings of the Conservatory of Naples Library (San Pietro a Majella), the present-day custodian of the original possessions from the royal archive – which reveal a much broader, extensive collection of instrumental music from the late eighteenth century. This body of material includes a thorough representation of the composers who visited Naples and were promoted by Norbert Hadrava – namely Ignaz Pleyel, Adalbert Gyrowetz, and Johann Sterkel. The music under examination represents different instrumental genres – including sonatas (solo and duo), string quartets, string quintets, concertos, and sinfonie – revealing a broad cultivation of these forms. Through the coordination of contextual sources with extant works, as well as their careful examination and analysis, a detailed snapshot may be established of Maria Carolina’s tastes in instrumental music.