Johann Baptist Vanhal

Bohemian composer Johann Baptist Vanhal (1739-1813).
So famous did he become that he was probably the first musician to earn a living entirely from composing without any appointment or patronage. He had to be a prolific writer to meet the demands made upon him, and attributed to him are 100 quartets, at least 73 symphonies, 95 sacred works, and a large number of instrumental and vocal works. The symphonies, in particular, have been committed increasingly often to compact disc in recent times, and the best of them are comparable with many of Haydn's.