Stamitz, Johann / Stamitz, Karl / Stamitz, Anton

Johann Stamitz

Flute Concerto G major

(baptized Deutschbord, 19. June 1717 – buried Mannheim 30. March 1757)

Karl Stamitz

Flute Concerto D major

(b. Mannheim, 7. May 1745 – d. Jena, 9 November 1801)

Anton Stamitz

Flute Concerto D major

(b. Mannheim, November 1750 – d. Paris 1798 or 1809)

Preface
In 1716, Karl Philipp (1661-1742) became Elector Palatine of Mannheim. A patron of the arts and sciences, Karl Philipp leveraged his wealth and influence to grow Mannheim into one of Europe’s finest musical courts. The centerpiece of Mannheim musical life was the opera house, designed by Alessandro Galli-Bibiena (1686-1748) and completed in 1742.1 When Karl Philipp died shortly after the opera house was completed, he was succeeded by his eighteen-year-old nephew, Karl Theodor (1724-1799). Mannheim continued to flourish under the young Elector. By 1747, Karl Theodor had expanded the roster of musicians at the court to sixty-one. By 1778, the year that he left Mannheim for Munich, the number was ninety.2

The size and power of the Mannheim court attracted many talented musicians. Some became permanent fixtures in the court orchestra, others stayed only briefly before leaving for other court positions. Several musicians from Mannheim received tuition elsewhere in Europe, including study tours in Italy for Christian Cannabich (1731-1798) and Georg Joseph Vogler (1749-1814).3 Many performers also embarked on concert tours in other major cities. The relationship between Mannheim and Paris was particularly productive for both sides. Compositional ideas that may have germinated in Mannheim, including the four movement symphony, were introduced to the much larger French audience through these cultural exchanges.4 Mannheim composers could also benefit financially from the music publishing industry in Paris.

Karl Theodor persuaded several eminent performers to join the Mannheim orchestra. In 1747, flutist Johann Baptist Wendling (1723-1797), oboist Friedrich Ramm (1744-c.1808), and the bassoonist Georg Wenzel Ritter (1748-1808) joined the court. In 1754, cellists Innocenz Danzi (1730-1798) and Anton Fils (1733-1760) were added, and in 1758 or 1759 the clarinetist Johann Michael Quallenberg (c.1726-1786) was engaged by the orchestra.5

In 1746 or 1747, Karl Theodor hired Franz Xaver Richter (1709-1789). Richter had developed his craft in Vienna, Stuttgart, Ettal, and Kempten before joining Mannheim as a bass. He wrote symphonies and liturgical music, but is best remembered for his contributions to developing the string quartet. Ignaz Holzbauer (1711-1783) joined six years later, after a successful staging of his opera Il figlio delle selve at the Elector’s home at Schwetzingen. When Holzbauer arrived, he quickly earned the Kapellmeister position, unseating another significant Mannheim composer: Johann Stamitz.

Johann Stamitz was born in Německý Brod in 1717 and died in Mannheim in 1757. Educated by Jesuits in Jihlava, and at Prague University, his early ambitions were toward performance, not composition. His proficiency on the violin was rewarded with a position at the court of Mannheim around 1741. By 1743, he was made Erster Hoff Violinist and then Concertmeister in 1745 or 1746. By 1751 or 1752 he was appointed Kapellmeister at Mannheim…

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