DITTERS VON DITTERSDORF, CARL

born Nov. 2, 1739, Vienna, Austria died Oct. 24, 1799, Rothlhotta Castle, Neuhof, Bohemia [now Nov Dvory, Czech Republic] original name (until 1773) Carl Ditters violinist and composer of instrumental music and of light operas that established the form of the Singspiel (a comic 18th-century 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 and wrote for it his first opera, Amore in musica (Love in Music). His first oratorio, Isacco (Isaac), was also written during this time. By 1770 Ditters was in the service of Count Schaffgotsch, prince-bishop of Breslau, at Johannisberg, Silesia, Prussia. There he composed 11 comic operas, among them Il viaggiatore americano (1770; The American Traveler), and an oratorio, Davidde penitente (1770; Penitent David). In 1773 he was ennobled under the name Ditters von Dittersdorf. In about 1779 he formed a close friendship with Joseph Haydn, and from 1783 he played in string quartets in Vienna with W.A. Mozart. From this period onward his output was enormous. He produced the oratorio Giobbe (1786) and several operas, three of which, Doktor und Apotheker (1786; Doctor and Apothecary), Hieronymus Knicker (1789), and Das rote Kppchen (1790; The Little Red Hood), had great success. Doktor und Apotheker, in particular, became one of the classic examples of the German Singspiel. He also wrote a large quantity of instrumental music. 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. Ditters was one of the earliest composers of the Viennese Classical school. His symphonies are often of great interest. His violin concerti are worthy of study, and his concerti for harp, for flute, for harpsichord, for double bass, and for other instruments are performed and recorded. As an opera composer Ditters is chiefly remembered for his lighthearted and sometimes sentimental Singspiels.