The court at Mannheim, one of Europe’s great eighteenth-century musical centres, provided myriad opportunities for creative development. Having absorbed the ideas of his teacher, Johann Stamitz, and of other luminaries, Beck wrote a series of symphonies notable for their dramatic contrasts, breadth and sweep, the progressive inclusion of woodwinds and a willingness to explore expressive intensity. Further Beck Symphonies may be heard on Naxos 8.553790, 8.554071, 8.570799 and 8.573248.