Czech by birth, Paul Wranitzky settled in Vienna where he became highly respected as an orchestra leader and composer. Today overshadowed by his friends Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, Wranitzky was the most important symphonist in Vienna in the late 1790s. The colourful overture to Der Schreiner (‘The Carpenter’) is followed by three contrasting symphonies. The dramatic ‘La Tempesta’ contains elaborate storm effects, which predate Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ by over a decade. The compact Symphony in A major represents Wranitzky’s early symphonic period of the mid-1780s while the Symphony in F major is notable for its catchy themes and masterful scoring.