Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf: Violin Concerto in G major, Martin Kos (violin)

Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf - Violin Concerto in G major, Martin Kos (violin), Czech Chamber Philharmonic & Petr Chromčák (conductor) Rec. June 2010 1. Allegro moderato - 0:00 2. Adagio – 11:04 3. Presto – 19:13 Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf, b. 1739 Vienna, d. 1799 Červená Lhota (German: Roth-Lhotta) near Jindřichův Hradec, was an Austrian composer and violinist. 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. As a violin virtuoso, he received support from all of his three noble employers and sponsors: Prince Joseph Friedrich von Sachsen-Hildburghausen in Vienna, Bishop Adam Patachich in Grosswardein (today Oradea, in Romania), and the Prince-Bishop of Breslau (today Wroclaw, Poland), Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch, at Javorník in Bohemia. Accordingly, even as a composer he cultivated the genre of instrumental concerto which occupied roughly the twelfth part of his output (totalling over 500 works). Ditters’ concertos are written with the technically accomplished performer in mind, moreover involving — apart from the author’s own instrument, the violin, and the harpsichord —also instruments little frequented in solo play at the period, such as the harp, viola, cello, double-bass and oboe. He even produced two concertos for the full string quartet with orchestral accompaniment. At the same time, he would feature a wide variety of solo instruments, not just in concert pieces and concertante symphonies, but also in other genres, mainly for special purposes, to achieve certain mood and / or illustrative effect, particular musical expression, or simply to provide ample room for outstanding players of the period, including above all members of the orchestras which he had set up and directed in the services of the bishops at Grosswardein and Javornik. Of the former ensemble he himself says, in his autobiography: “We have in our orchestra twelve concert players and four singers.“ In 1772 Ditters gained noble status and appended “von Dittersdorf“ to his surname. In the middle 1790s, Ditters’ employment with the Prince-Bishop Schaffgotsch came to an end. History is obscure about why, but the separation was caused either by the Prince’s death or by court intrigues that led to Ditters’ expulsion. Ditters’ popularity began fading as well. His final years were spent editing his works and writing his autobiography.