Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf: Sinfonia No.3 in G major, Actéon Changé en Cerf, Bohumil Gregor

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, Symphonies After Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Sinfonia No. 3 In G Major “ Actéon Changé en Cerf “ (The Metamorphosis of Acteon into a Stag), Prague Chamber Orchestra, Bohumil Gregor (conductor), Václav Kunt (flute) – 00:00 (Più Tosto Andantino) – 06:39 Di Minuetto – 14:34 : Vivace – 20:43 Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (2 November 1739 – 24 October 1799) was an Austrian composer and violinist. “Dittersdorf was born in the Laimgrube (now Mariahilf) district of Vienna, Austria, as August Carl Ditters. In 1745, the six-year-old August Carl was introduced to the violin and his father’s moderate financial position allowed him not only a good general education at a Jesuit school, but private tutelage in music, violin, French and religion. Carl studied violin with J. Ziegler, who by 1750, through his influence, secured his pupil’s appointment as a violinist in the orchestra of the Benedictine church on the Freyung. Prince Joseph of Saxe-Hildburghausen soon noticed young Ditters, and on 1 March 1751 hired him for his court orchestra. After a few years, in 1761, he was engaged as violinist in the Imperial Theatre orchestra, and in 1762 its conductor. It was during this period that he became acquainted with Christoph Willibald Gluck. In 1763 he traveled to Bologna with Gluck and in 1764 he traveled to Paris. Back in Vienna in 1764 he met the great Joseph Haydn and became one of his closest friends. In 1764, Ditters assumed the post of Kapellmeister at the court of Ádám Patachich, Hungarian nobleman and Bishop of Nagyvárad (Oradea, Romania). The following year he was introduced to Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch, the Prince-Bishop of Breslau, who was in the process of creating a cultural center around his court based at Javorník (today part of the Czech Republic). He accepted the post of Hofkomponist (court composer) in 1771, and it was during his tenure at Johannesberg that most of his creative output was produced. In 1794, after twenty-four years at Johannesberg, Dittersdorf, after a serious clash with von Schaffgotsch, was expelled from his palace. He died at Nový Dvr (Neuhof, or “New Court“) where Château ervená Lhota stood, and was buried in the town of Detná. He finished his autobiography just three days before his death. Ditters’ early work laid the groundwork for his later more important compositions. His symphonic and chamber compositions greatly emphasize sensuous Italo-Austrian melody over motivic development (which is often entirely lacking even in his best works, quite unlike those of his greater peers Haydn and Mozart). Even with these reservations, Dittersdorf was an important composer of the Classical era. Among his 120-or-so symphonies are twelve programmatic ones based on Ovid’s Metamorphoses, although only six have survived (and have also been recorded). (from Radio Swiss Classic – music database)