Othon Joseph Vandenbroek
Quartet No. 3 in D minor (G. 264) for flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon on themes by Luigi Boccherini
Othon Joseph Vandenbroek (often incorrectly given as Vandenbrock, Wandenbrock or Van den Broeck) was born in Ypres (Flanders) on 20 December 1758 and died in Passy near Paris on 18 October 1832. He was probably of Dutch descent. He received his training in The Hague: on the horn from the virtuoso Spandau (active c. 1770–1780), in theory from Fuchs, Kapellmeister to the Prince of Orange, and in composition from J. Schmitt. In 1781 he was a member of the orchestra of the Théâtre français in Maastricht. He must have moved to Paris around 1783, for in January 1784 he performed a horn concerto at the Concert Spirituel. The editor of the Mercure de France, however, considered him not yet mature enough to appear before a Parisian audience. By 1788 he was appearing successfully as a horn virtuoso at the Concerts de la Loge Olympique, and on 31 May 1789 Antoine Buch and Frédéric Duvernoy performed his Nouvelle symphonie concertante pour 2 Cors in Paris.
Vandenbroek’s name appears on the rosters of several Parisian orchestras: he was first horn at the Théâtre de la rue Feydeau (1789–1791), fourth horn at the Opéra (1793–1816) and a musician of the “1re classe” in the Garde Nationale. In 1795 he was appointed professor at the Conservatoire de Musique, but gave up this post in the “Réforme de l’an VIII” (1800). In 1812 he was “attaché à la chapelle de l’Empereur et Roi”; he retired in 1816.
Between 1812 and about 1825, three collections of three quartets each for flute, clarinet, horn and bassoon were published in Paris under the name of Luigi Boccherini (1743–1805). All three name the horn player Othon Joseph Vandenbroek as arranger. For the first two collections the sources can be identified: the quartets G. 262 (Pleyel, Paris 1812) and G. 263 (Hentz Jouve, Paris c. 1823) are based on works and single movements by Boccherini which Vandenbroek arranged for wind quartet.
The third collection, G. 264, is a different matter. It was published around 1825 by Bouillon in Paris and contains quartets in F major, C major and D minor. Here too the title page speaks of works by Boccherini arranged by Vandenbroek, yet the pieces correspond to none of Boccherini’s known works. Where the music actually comes from remains unknown to this day.
The present edition (ROM 441) offers the third of these quartets, the Quartet in D minor, in a new edition with score and parts. In addition to the original part for clarinet in C, a part for clarinet in B flat is included.
Audio sample
2nd movement: Andante con Variatione