Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf

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Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf

Johann Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (born November 2, 1739 as Johann Carl Ditters in Vienna , ob der Laimgrube , † October 24, 1799 in Neuhof , Bohemia ) was an Austrian composer and violin virtuoso and forester . Ditters was an extremely productive composer of the Viennese Classic , wrote 32 operas and singspiele , some of which he wrote the libretti himself. In addition to some instrumental works, his Singspiel Doktor und Apotheker is still known today .

Life

Memorial plaque for Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf an der Burg in Freiwaldau

He began his musical career as a chamber boy with Prince Joseph von Sachsen-Hildburghausen in Vienna and at the same time as a violinist in the Vienna Court Opera Orchestra. Christoph Willibald Gluck took him on a trip to Italy in 1763 , where Dittersdorf enjoyed great success as a violin virtuoso.

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf: Ovid Symphony No. 2: Introduction and 1st movement

In 1765 Johann Carl Ditters became Kapellmeister of Bishop Adam Patachich von Großwardein in Transylvania . Michael Haydn held this post from 1757/1760 to 1762 . In 1769 the orchestra and the theater had to be dissolved due to an order from the Jansenist Empress Maria Theresa . In 1770 Ditters became conductor of the prince-bishop of Breslau , Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch , at Johannesberg Castle (Janský Vrch) in Jauernig ( Javorník ). He was also an episcopal forester.

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf: Ovid Symphony No. 1: End of the 3rd movement (Menuetto con garbo)

In 1773 he was ennobled by the emperor and was allowed to call himself Johann Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf from then on. In the same year he was appointed governor in Freiwaldau (Jeseník). Shortly before, he had been awarded the papal order of the Golden Spur . In contrast to Gluck, like Mozart , he did not make use of the right to call himself a knight for this reason; but unlike Mozart, he was immediately raised to the nobility.

In the summer of 1784 he visited Vienna, where he once heard the Irish tenor and later first “Don Basilio” and “Don Curzio” at an evening entertainment with the English composer Stephen Storace (1762–1796; brother of the later first “Susanna” in Mozart's Figaro Nancy Storace ) “ Michael Kelly met. The absurd legend according to which Dittersdorf was only stimulated to compose in this genre by playing a string quartet with J. Haydn , Mozart and Vaňhal , goes back solely to Kelly's description of that evening:

“[…] In the interim, Storace gave a quartet party to his friends. The players were tolerable; not one of them excelled on the instrument he played, but there was a little science among them, which I dare say will be acknowledged when I name them:

The First Violin: HAYDN.

The Second Violin: BARON DITTERSDORF.

The violoncello: VANHALL.

The tenor: MOZART.

The poet Casti and Paesiello formed part of the audience. I was there, and a greater treat or a more remarkable one cannot be imagined.

On the particular evening to which I am now specially referring, after the musical feast was over, we sat down to an excellent supper, and became joyous and lively in the extreme. [...] ”

- Michael Kelly : Reminiscences
Grave in Deštná u Jindřichova Hradce

This first-hand report also seems to put Dittersdorf's claims to violin virtuosity into perspective.

Around 1790 Dittersdorf became conductor of the orchestra of Duke Carl Christian Erdmann von Württemberg-Oels (1716–1792) in Oels, Lower Silesia (today Oleśnica ). In the summer months the band played in Carlsruhe , Upper Silesia , which was the duke's summer residence at the time.

He spent the end of his life, destitute and suffering from gout , from 1796 as a guest of the owner of the Rothlhotta estate , Ignaz von Stillfried (1734–1805) from Silesia at the Neuhof near Deschna in southern Bohemia. He dictated his memoirs to his son, which appeared shortly after his death (Leipzig 1801) and which are today an important source for this period (a reprint appeared in 1940).

His final resting place is in the Deštná u Jindřichova Hradce cemetery , Czech Republic .

Honors

In 1913 Dittersdorfgasse in Vienna- Hernals was named after him.

Works (selection)

Solo concerts

  • Double bass concerto No. 1 in E flat major (today mostly played in D major)
  • Double bass concerto No. 2 in E flat major (today mostly played in E major)
  • Harpsichord Concerto in A major (1779) (today often played as a harp concerto)
  • Harpsichord Concerto in B flat major (1773)
  • Cello concerto
  • Viola concerto
  • Violin Concerto in C major
  • Double Concerto for Two Violins in C major
  • Double concerto for two violins in D major
  • Five oboe concerts
  • Concerto for oboe d'amore
  • Concerto for flute and orchestra in E minor

Symphonies

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf composed about 130 symphonies, 30 of which were also printed.

  • Sinfonia concertante for viola , double bass and orchestra in E flat major
  • Symphony in F major
  • Symphony in D minor
  • Symphony in G minor
  • Symphony in E flat major
  • Twelve symphonies based on Ovid's Metamorphoses , including:

Of the other six, only piano reductions for four hands have survived or the title is known:

    • Symphony No. 7 Jason and the Golden Fleece (piano reduction)
    • Symphony No. 8 The Siege of Megara (only title known)
    • Symphony No. 9 Apotheosis of Hercules (piano reduction)
    • Symphony No. 10 Orpheus and Eurydice (only title known)
    • Symphony No. 11 Midas as referee between Pan and Apollo (only title known)
    • Symphony No. 12 Ajax and Odysseus argue over the weapons of Achilles (piano reduction)

Chamber music

  • 6 string trios
  • 6 string quartets (D major, B major, G major, C major, E flat major, A major)
  • 12 string quintets
  • 136 piano pieces
  • Duo for viola and double bass in E flat major
  • Divertimento for two violins and violoncello in E flat major
  • Divertimento for violin, viola and violoncello in D major

Operas

  • Arcifanfano , 1774
  • Doctor and pharmacist , 1786 (orig. The pharmacist and doctor: a German comic opera in a keyboard excerpt )
  • Fraud by Superstition , 1786
  • Hieronymus Knicker , 1787
  • Love in the Fool's House , 1787
  • The red cap , 1788
  • Don Quixote the second , 1795
  • God Mars and the Captain von Bärenzahn , 1795
  • The Merry Wives of Windsor , 1796
  • The girls' market , 1797
  • The Opera Buffa , 1798

Oratorios

Others

  • Mass in C minor
  • Pastoral motet
  • Requiem in C minor for solos, choir and orchestra
  • Offertory in honor of St. John of Nepomuk ( Offertory in honorem S. Joannis Nepomuceni )
  • Lauretanian Litany ( Litaniae lauretanae ) in D major

Discography (selection)

  • Sinfonias on Ovid ’s Metamorphoses, Nos 1–3 , Failoni Orchestra, Hanspeter Gmür, 1995, Naxos Nx 8553368
  • Sinfonias on Ovid ’s Metamorphoses, Nos 4–6 , Failoni Orchestra, Hanspeter Gmür, 1995, Naxos Nx 8553369
  • Symphonias. Grave d1, Grave F7, Grave g1 , Failoni Orchestra, Uwe Grodd , 1996, Naxos Nx 8553974
  • Symphonias. Grave a2, Grave D16, Grave A10 , Failoni Orchestra, Uwe Grodd , 1996, Naxos Nx 8553975
  • String Quartets 1 & 3–5 , Franz Schubert Quartet, 1989, cpo 999 038-2
  • String Quartets 2 & 6, String Quintets in C & G , Franz Schubert Quartet, 1992, cpo 999 122-2
  • Sacred music (Requiem, Offertorium in honor of St. John of Nepomuk, Lauretanic Litany), Regensburger Domspatzen , Consortium musicum Munich, Georg Ratzinger , 1996 + 1987, Freiburg Music Forum / ars musici AM 1158-2
  • Symphonies in D, Eb, A , Lisbon Metropolitan Orchestra, Álvaro Cassutto, 2006, Naxos
  • Double Bass Concertos , Swedish Chamber Orchestra, Paul Goodwin, Chi-Chi Nwanoku, 2000, hyperion
  • Sinfonies Exprimant (Les Metamoprphoses D'Ovide) Nos 1-6 , Prague Chamber Orchestra, Bohumil Gregor, 1988 Supraphon
  • Piano concertos in A major and B major , Christiane Klonz , Thuringian Symphony Orchestra Saalfeld-Rudolstadt , Oliver Weder , 2009, claXL

student

literature

Web links

Commons : Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lorenz, Ditters von Dittersdorf's First Names , Vienna 2014.
  2. ↑ Helmut Wirth: Dittersdorf, Karl Ditters von. In: Music in the past and present. Bärenreiter-Verlag 1986 ( digital library volume 60), p. 17661 (cf. MGG volume 3, p. 589).
  3. ^ Hans Jancik : Haydn, Johann Michael. In: Music in the past and present. Bärenreiter-Verlag 1986 ( digital library volume 60), p. 32909 f (cf. MGG vol. 5, p. 1933 f).
  4. ↑ Michael Kelly [? 1762-1826]: Reminiscences . Edited with an introduction by Roger Fiske. London, New York, Toronto. Oxford University Press, 1975, p. 122.
  5. ^ Knerger.de: The grave of Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf
  • Piano works played by Kaila Rochelle

  • Sonata in A major, 1st movement

  • Sonata in A major, 2nd movement

  • Sonata in A major, 3rd movement

  • Overture to the opera Hocus Pocus , 1790

personal data
SURNAME Ditters von Dittersdorf, Carl
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ditters von Dittersdorf, Johann Carl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian composer
DATE OF BIRTH November 2, 1739
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH October 24, 1799
Place of death Neuhof