Carl philipp stamitz biography

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In 1770, Carl Stamitz travelled to Paris and lived there more or less stably. His stay in London was possibly facilitated through his contact with Thomas Erskine, Earl of Kelly (1753–1781), who during a tour of the continent had received lessons from Carl’s father Johann Stamitz.

Between 1782 and 1783 we find Stamitz in the Netherlands where he gave converts in The Hague and in Amsterdam.

In 1795 he was Kapellmeister and teacher at Jena University but died in poverty in 1801. As a boy he received his first lessons in violin and composition from his father. From this it was guessed that he dabbled in attempts of gold making. Sometime in the winter of 1794-95 he moved his family to the university town of Jena where his wanderings came to an end.

1795-1801 Last years in Jena

When Stamitz settled in Jena the town had less than 5000 inhabitants, the first steam engine lay still 70 years in the future and there was just a handful of real workers living there.

Some time after 1779 he moved to The Hague where he appeared as a viola soloist in at least 28 concerts at the Court of William V of Orange including one on 23 November 1783 in which Beethoven (aged twelve) played the fortepiano.

During the next few years Stamitz travelled incessantly, presenting academies in Hamburg, Luebeck, Magdeburg, Leipzig and many other centres.

Al least one of Stamitz’ clarinet concertos (concerto No. 6 in E flat major) seems to have been jointly composed by Stamitz and Beer as both names appear on the title page of the Viennese manuscript. Hector Berlioz tells that during his musical journeys in Europe, his Harold In Italy was always performed by the first violin of the orchestra, only once by one of the violas.

Hamburg, Lübeck, Braunschweig, Magdeburg, and Leipzig. 1555.

  • ^ (Randel, 1996), p. Jena was still by far and large an almost medieval town surrounded by a mostly agricultural society. Papers on alchemy were foundafter his death.

    Stamitz wrote symphonies, symphonies concertantes, and concertos for clarinet, cello, flute, bassoon, basset horn, violin, viola, viola d’amore and differentcombinations of some of these instruments.

    • Born
    May 8, 1745
    Mannheim
    Also known as
    • Karel Stamic
    • Karl Stamitz
    • Stamitz, Carl
    Siblings
    Profession
    Died
    Nov 9, 1801
    Jena

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    Submitted
    on July 23, 2013

    Carl Stamitz

    and the viola

    Carl Stamitz is not a very familiar name to most music lovers but it has a special role in relation to the viola.

    At that time, and indeed until the 20ᵗʰ century, with Lionel Tertis and William Primrose, the normal thing for a virtuoso to do was to play violin and maybe, sometimes, pick up the viola. Eminent Poets, writers and historians such as Friedrich Schiller, August and Wilhelm Schlegel and the philosophers Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Georg Wilhelm Hegel all were professors at Jena University.

    In 1794, he gave up travelling and moved with his family to Jena in central Germany, but his circumstancesdeteriorated and he descended into debt and poverty, dying in 1801. In 1770 Stamitz went to Paris where he went into service with Duke Louis of Noailles, who made him his court composer.

    carl philipp stamitz biography

    A printed catalogue of his music collection was printed for a separate auction in 1810 but the collection has long since disappeared.

    Buy sheet music editions and PDF files of music by Carl Stamitz

    As a performer Carl’s style of playing must have been really impressive because there are several testimonies of his qualities, especially on viola and viola d’amore.

    At the same time this old town with its cobbled streets and Tudor style houses was home to one of the most prestigious German universities.