| Today in Music History A Daily Look at Music History For Violin Students A Look at What Happened on Today's Date Long, Long Ago . . . Or Maybe Just Last Year |
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| TODAY IS November 2 |
| Can You Guess? No guess, today, but a piece of trivia. Emerson, Lake and Palmer are mentioned below. Even though they were a rock band, they were known for performing their own version of classical works. The most famous is probably their rendition of Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition. |
| What Else Happened Today? |
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| Joseph Ziegler, his second teacher, was impressed with his talent and arranged for him to be appointed as a member of the orchestra at the Benedictine church on the Freyung. On March 1, 1751, Carl joined the musical establishment of Prince Joseph Friedrich von Sachsen-Hildburghausen and began violin study with Giuseppe Trani. Trani was impressed with his pupil's early attempts at composition and commended him to Giuseppe Bonno who offered him instruction in Fuxian counterpoint (Fux's book can be found here) and free composition. |
| Carl Ditters was born November 2, 1739. He grew up comfortable financial circumstances and received the benefit of a good general education at a Jesuit school. He also received private lessons in music, French and religion. He began violin lessons when he was seven years old. |
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| Carl Ditters
von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) |
| 1873 - First performance of Brahms's Variations On a Theme by Haydn, in Vienna by The Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Felix Dessoff. 1944 - Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, was born. 1960 - First performance of Dmitri Shostakovitch's 8th String quartet, in Leningrad. 1961 - Dion's Runaround Sue hits UK chart 1963 - The Beach Boys' Be True To Your School was released. 1978 - Premiere of Druckman's Concerto for Viola and Orchestra, with soloist Sol Greiyzer, James Levine conducting. 2003 - Premiere of John Harbison's Two Motets based on Romans and John in the New Testament. Emmanuel Music series, Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. |
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| No.'s 1-3 No.'s 4-6 Sinfonias on Ovid's Metamorphoses Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf: |
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| It's not too early to start thinking about Holiday Decorations Violin Christmas Ornaments |
| Pictures at an Exhibition Emerson Lake and Palmer at Amazon |
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| In 1761 Ditters joined the theater company at the Imperial Court when Prince Joseph's company was disbanded. He stayed there until 1764 when he became Kapellmeister to the Bishop of Grosswardein. At this time he began to compose his first vocal works including an oratorio and several operas in addition to his instrumental music. |
| In 1769 Ditters met his next patron, Count Schaffgotsch, the Prince-Bishop of Breslau, where he would spend the next 20 years. Breslau's location allowed his instrumental and vocal work to circulate widely, and his operas became especially popular in Vienna. His patron was so impressed with his work that Ditters was named Knight of the Golden Spur in 1769, and the Empress Maria Theresia granted him a certificate of nobility in 1770, this let him adopt the name "von Dittersdorf."
The Prince-Bishop died in 1795, and von Dittersdorf was awarded a small pension, but it was too small to meet his needs. He had developed arthritis, and was no longer able to play well enough to be employed in an orchestral position. Thankfully von Dittersdorf was offered lodging by Baron Ignaz von Stillfried in Bohemia. At this time he started to write his autobigraphy, and he completed this last work two days before his death, October 24, 1799. In all he produced more than 120 works, and the development of his compositions over the decades of activity show an evolution of form. He is noted for a wit in his music, similar to that of Haydn (his contemporary along with Mozart), and was considered one of the most engaging professional musicians of his time. |