Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf: Sinfonia Concertante for Viola & Double bass, Maly, Posta

Karl Ditters von Dittersdorf - Sinfonia Concertante for Viola, Double bass and Orchestra Lubomir Maly, viola, Frantisek Posta, double bass, , Dvorak Chamber Orchestra, Frantisek Vajnar, conductor. Cadenza , arrangement . I. Allegro 7:48 II. Andantino 7:06 III. Menuetto 3:36 IV. Allegro ma non troppo 5:43 “Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, original name (until 1773) Carl Ditters (Nov. 2, 1739, Vienna, Austria-Oct. 24, 1799, Rothlhotta Castle, Neuhof, Bohemia [now Nové Dvory, Czech Republic]), violinist and composer of instrumental music and of light operas that established the form of the singspiel (a comic opera in the German language). A brilliant child violinist, Ditters played regularly at the age of 12 in the orchestra of Prince von Sachsen-Hildburghausen and later in the orchestra of the Vienna opera. He became friendly with the composer Christoph Gluck and accompanied him in 1761 to Bologna, Italy. There Ditters gained considerable celebrity with his violin playing. In 1765 he became director of the orchestra of the bishop of Grosswardein. In 1773 he was ennobled by Empress Maria Theresa under the name Ditters von Dittersdorf to enable his appointment as Amtshauptmann (district administrator) of Freiwaldau. In about 1779 he formed a close friendship with Joseph Haydn, who directed five of his operas at Eszterháza, and from 1783 he played in string quartets in Vienna with W.A. Mozart (on at least one famous occasion joined by Haydn and Johann Vanhal, then a popular composer of string quartets). In 1795, following the bishop’s death, Ditters was dismissed with a small pension. Poor and broken in health, he accepted a post with Baron Ignaz von Stillfried at Rothlhotta Castle in Bohemia. On his deathbed he dictated his autobiography, which is of great interest to students of 18th-century music.” (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica)