Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf Free Sheet Music, program notes, recordings and biography

A Quartet of Masters: Vienna's Golden Age

Imagine a small room in Vienna in the 1780s, filled with the greatest musical minds of the age. The first violinist is the "Father of the Symphony," Joseph Haydn. Playing viola is the incomparable genius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The cellist is the respected Bohemian composer Johann Baptist Vanhal. And leading the group on second violin is Carl Ditters, a man whose wit and talent were as renowned as his virtuosity. These legendary string quartet sessions, described by the tenor Michael Kelly, were not public concerts but private gatherings of friends who were also rivals and peers, shaping the very course of music history. To have held his own in such company speaks volumes about the talent of Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, a composer who, despite being overshadowed by his friends, was one of the most original and successful musicians of the Classical period.

Born August Carl Ditters in the Laimgrube district of Vienna, his early life was marked by prodigious musical talent. His father was a theatrical costumier for the Imperial court, giving the young Carl early exposure to the arts. Recognizing his son's gift, he ensured Carl received a top-tier education in music, violin, and languages. By the age of 11, Carl joined the orchestra of the Schottenkirche and soon after secured a position as a violinist in the orchestra of Prince Joseph Friedrich von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. It was here, in this cultivated aristocratic environment, that he first came into contact with major composers like Christoph Willibald Gluck and was deeply influenced by the burgeoning reforms in opera and instrumental music.

From Violin Virtuoso to Kapellmeister

Dittersdorf's career was built on the foundation of his remarkable skill as a violinist. His reputation grew throughout Vienna, and he was admired for both his technical prowess and his expressive playing. In 1761, he toured Italy with Gluck, an experience that broadened his musical horizons and exposed him to the Italian style of opera and composition. A famous (and possibly embellished) anecdote from his autobiography tells of a violin "duel" in which Dittersdorf outplayed a student of the legendary Giuseppe Tartini, cementing his status as a leading virtuoso.

However, his ambition extended beyond performance. He sought the stability and creative control offered by a Kapellmeister position—the director of music for an aristocratic court. In 1765, he accepted the post for the Bishop of Oradea (then the Hungarian city of Großwardein), succeeding Michael Haydn. This was a pivotal moment. Here, he was responsible for composing and directing a vast amount of music, from sacred works for the cathedral to symphonies and operas for the court's entertainment. It was a demanding job that honed his compositional skills and forced a prolific output. After the Bishop’s orchestra was dissolved, Dittersdorf found his most significant and lasting employment in 1770 with Count Schaffgotsch, the Prince-Bishop of Breslau. For over two decades, he served the Count at the magnificent Johannisberg castle in Silesia, where he enjoyed artistic freedom and the resources to experiment.

The Composer's Voice: Ovid, Comedy, and the Symphony

It was at Johannisberg that Dittersdorf composed his most famous and innovative works. He was a master of the prevailing Classical style, writing music that was balanced, elegant, and formally clear. Yet, he infused it with a distinctive personality, marked by humor and a flair for programmatic storytelling. His most celebrated achievement in this vein is his set of twelve symphonies based on Ovid's Metamorphoses. Each symphony musically depicts a specific classical myth, such as The Four Ages of the World, The Fall of Phaeton, and The Transformation of Actaeon into a Stag. This was a groundbreaking endeavor, pushing the symphony beyond absolute music and into the realm of narrative tone-painting, prefiguring the program music of the Romantic era.

While his instrumental music was highly esteemed, Dittersdorf achieved his greatest popular fame as a composer of comic opera, or Singspiel. His most sensational success was Doktor und Apotheker (Doctor and Apothecary), which premiered in Vienna in 1786. The opera was an immediate blockbuster, its catchy melodies, witty libretto, and farcical situations perfectly capturing the public's taste. For a time, it even eclipsed the popularity of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, which premiered around the same time. He wrote dozens of other stage works, becoming one of the most important figures in the development of German-language opera. His string quartets are also notable contributions to the genre, demonstrating a conversational and often humorous interplay between the instruments, learned directly from playing alongside Haydn.

Nobility, Decline, and a Lasting Legacy

In recognition of his service and artistic achievements, Emperor Joseph II ennobled him in 1773, allowing him to add "von Dittersdorf" to his name. This was a significant honor that reflected his high standing in the musical world. He also held a prestigious administrative post as Amtshauptmann of the Freiwaldau district, a responsibility he balanced with his musical duties. For many years, Dittersdorf enjoyed fame, respect, and financial security.

However, his fortunes declined in his later years. A dispute with his patron, Count Schaffgotsch, led to the loss of his position at Johannisberg in 1795. Now nearly sixty and suffering from severe arthritis, he struggled financially. He found a final refuge in the home of Baron Ignaz von Stillfried in southern Bohemia. It was here, in the last months of his life, that he undertook his final major work: his autobiography. Racked with pain and dictating to his son, he chronicled his remarkable life and career with candor, wit, and a wealth of anecdotes about the golden age of Viennese music. He finished the dictation just two days before his death in October 1799. This memoir remains one of the most important documents of the era and a testament to a life spent at the very center of the Classical music world. Though often relegated to a footnote in histories that focus on Haydn and Mozart, Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf was a master in his own right—an innovator, a virtuoso, and a defining voice of his time.

Section 4: References and Further Reading

• Autobiography:

  • Dittersdorf, Karl von. The Autobiography of Karl von Dittersdorf. Translated by A. D. Coleridge. Da Capo Press, 1970. (The essential primary source for his life and times).

• Books:

  • Rice, John A. Empress Marie Therese and Music at the Viennese Court, 1792-1807. Cambridge University Press, 2003. (Provides context for the Viennese musical scene).

  • Wyn Jones, David. The Symphony in Vienna, 1780-1830. Cambridge University Press, 2016. (Contains detailed analysis of the symphonic work of Dittersdorf and his contemporaries).

  • Heartz, Daniel. Haydn, Mozart and the Viennese School, 1740-1780. W. W. Norton & Company, 1995.

• Reference Works:

  • The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. "Dittersdorf, Carl Ditters von." Oxford University Press.